Eleven months? Holy cow!

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow marks 11 months in Nicaragua and I can hardly believe it. I feel like time has been flying by which scares me a little because everyone says your second year goes even faster. Yesterday I received an email from the medical office stating I need to sign up for my "mid-service" medical appointment. How can it be that Im at the midpoint in my service??

The new business group is going in the second week of May and I´m so excited for them to get here! Another Gator will be joining our program which I think is sweet. I hope that I get to be one of the "greeters" (seasoned volunteers that go to meet the newbies at the airport). Every time a group comes in (which happens three times a year) all of Peace Corps is buzzing with questions about the new guys. There is a lot of "What are they like? Are there any cute guys/girls? Who do you think will ET?" Our excitement could be likened to seniors in high school waiting to see the new freshmen. And yes, I realize it all sounds a little ridiculous.

My foot is doing well. It still hurts when I spend a lot of time on my feet but at least I´m rid of that ugly walking cast. I´m consciously working on not falling in any more ditches.

The conference I spoke at went well. I got the opportunity to have lunch with a representative from the White House about my Peace Corps experience. Pretty exciting, I say. The woman I met with is the first appointment President Obama has made for Peace Corps and I think he made the right choice. I also really appreciated that the start of President Obama´s relationship with Peace Corps began with him sending a representative to really try and get to the know the program, not just read the reports handed to the administration.

Work is very busy right now. I feel like I´m going in a million directions at once but I´m still really enjoying it. This week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) so the entire country is celebrating. Not much work is going to be done. Per Nicaraguan tradition, I plan on skipping off the to beach for a day or two.

Before I left, many of you (my loved ones) expressed interest in visiting during the two years. Start planning! There is only 13 months left!


Miss you all!