hey der guys

so, it´s definitely been a few weeks since i´ve written. the thrill of being here (in other words, the first stage of culture shock) has officially worn off. everything is no longer new, different, and exciting. it´s just...well, it is what it is.
it didn´t help that i had a little bout with e. coli (or its evil step sister) and was in the hospital for a few days. i´m totally fine now though. but i am never making fun of anyone with diarrhea again. ever.
so, lets see. tidbits...

- i got to hike a volcano (volcan masaya) the other day. it was more like a crater than a volcano, i thought. it didn´t seem like it was up really high, and didn´t smell as much like sulfur as i thought it would. i took pictures though, and i´ll upload a few this weekend when i have a little bit more time.
- i got to visit a current TEFL volunteer for a few days last week. she lives in corinto, chinandega, which is the only international port in nicaragua. corinto is pretty and there´s enough stuff to do, and she lives so close to the beach that she can walk there in about 3 minutes. on the down side, it was SUPER hot and i got eaten alive by mosquitos! i think that just goes to show that there really is no perfect place to live here (duh). there really is no springfield, nicaragua.
- on the same note, we have our site fair this saturday. we are going to learn about all of the different departments where they´re going to send us to do our 2 year service. then, they want our input. i think that all i´m really going to say is that i don´t want to be put somewhere that has previously been a training town, and that i´d like it to be medium to large. since we´ve never been to any of these places they´re going to be putting us, i feel like it´s better to just leave my placement up to fate. they say that they put us in places based on our work priorities and personalities that they´ve already observed. but at any rate, only about a week til i know where i´ll be living for the next two years!!! crazy.
- so i never thought that moving to nicaragua would have a significant effect on my english..or at least in this way... this is funny - i´ve been hanging around a bunch with one of my site mates who is from wisconsin, and i´m starting to pronounce my long o´s differently!!! it sounds very midwest. i´m starting to localize it more in the back of my throat than in the middle...dontcha know. it´s contagious! mom, you should research why this is happening...it happened to me a little bit too when i went to school in ohio...weird.

well, it´s about six thirty and i´m sure that i have a hot plate of rice and beans waiting for me at the house. i´m going to go devour it.

elizabeth