Lessons Learned

1. The sooner you learn to go with the glow and make spur-of-the-moment decisions, the less stressed you´ll be. The Peace Corps office is usually pretty good about having transport to and from events pretty organized, but in the case of ¨Counterpart Day¨(where we met our counterparts in Managua), it was complete chaos. Most trainees had brought a chunk of their belongings with themwith the intention of leaving it with their homestay at site. Well, we were told to get ourselves to Mercado Roberto Wembes in Managua. First of all, getting your luggage to the highway at our training pueblo already has its challenges. Second of all, getting our belongings onto an already full schoolbus is just nuts. Thirdly, they put your luggage ¨on¨ the bus, meaning on TOP of the bus (if you´re lucky). In this case, you won´t have to worry about people with sticky fingers trying to rob you--just worry about everything you own flying off the top of your bus as you drive full speed down the Pan-American Highway. Two words: material detachment. Then, we were told that we would be picked up at a non-specific spot in front of the above mentioned bus stop. This didn´t really help matters. All trainees were told that we were staying at the conference center that night with our counterparts. Excepts, our counterparts did not get the same message and didn´t pack an overnight bag to stay. Needless to say, the Peace Corps drivers were driving as fast as possible down the highway to get all 38 of us in 3 different cars (and our bags) to bus stations. The last bus to Rivas from Managua leaves at 6PM and my counterparts and I barely jumped on the bus as it was leaving the station. Meanwhile, some guy tried to rob me of my mosquito repellent. He received a well deserved slap on the hand and a dirty look. We had some transportation hiccups along the way and arrived at 9:30PM in Rivas.
2. What you ordered may not be what you get. I had ordered a sandwish with turkey, ham and asked them to hold the bacon. I asked for more tomato, cucumber, olive slices, and lettuce. I didn´t want mayonnaise or salt. None of these things happened. I got ham, turkey, and 4 slices of bacon, 1 slice of tomato, no olives, one slice of cucumbers and a sprinkle of lettuce, a glob of mayonnaise, and chunks of salt. I was so surprised that none of this made me upset. I just picked off everything I didn´t want off, and made a mental note to teach my students about the value of customer service because it will be what differentiates their business from others.
3. Cheaper by the dozen--potholes, not donuts! I am forever indebted to my parents for taking me on long, windy, and potholed road trips. I haven´t been getting sick from long bus rides like some of the trainees and locals. My back and butt just hut a LOT and I feel like my insides get jumbled up. Thank goodness for yoga and pilates to get me all straightened out again.