photos! and a rant.....and yay!

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Got my new camera! And Lenin and i have taken a lot of photos in the last few days... here is a selected photo essay....

Thursday 15 October
7:30am

Argh. Okay, so I came into Managua to have a catscan of my lungs. Fine.

The ISSUE has nothing to do with medical stuff though. The issue is that Lenin and I went to the bank and paid the fees. HE paid the total of $131 and the $12 fee for the 1-800 number to call and set up the interview appointment. MY job is to make the call and set up the appt.

However. Tuesday I called and called this 1-800 number and got no answer. So I figured I'd be in Managua at the office the next day, I'd call there (here). Except yesterday everytime the secretaries with international access tried to call, the number comes up with a "This number has been disconnected. There's no further information available."

WTF? So, we call the consulate office for the US Embassy. Four times. Saying that I cannot get through to the call center to set up an appointment. Our secruity guru, who used to work for the Embassy and knows everyone there and all of the ins and outs of visa stuff, called the consulate's office again. They still say there's no problem.

Except, that this 1-800 number goes to Mexico.

So, today I am going to take a freaking taxi to another call center and try again. Except it's 7:45 am and they probably don't open until at least 8am. And I will try to call the stupid 1-800 number that I have never gotten through to AGAIN so I can set up the appointment so we can have an interview.

If I don't get through this morning I am going to the damn embassy and making the stupid appointment IN PERSON.

Whyyyyyyyyyyy is this soooooo difficult?????????

.........
8:30 am an hour later

THANK GOD. I got through WITHOUT having to go find a call center! Called from the office, got through, and we have an interview Monday Nov 2nd at 8am at the US Embassy Consulate office for a non-immigrant visa (re: tourist visa).

Sigh of relief.

Thank you thank you thank you to the awesomest secretary in the PC office, Mimi, who knows every volunteer in Nicaragua by name, all 200+ of us, and what sector we are in and where we live and, well, everything and tried and tried and tried to help me call and let me use the phone that takes ALL THE CALLS THAT COME INTO THIS OFFICE for 10 minutes of uninterrupted use first thing this morning.

Sigh.

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Photos

moropoto water 1
This is the cement slab where we hand wash our clothes. The white thing in the foreground is a bar of laundry soap

moropoto water 2
This is where we bathe using the bucket bath system. This brick shower with a cement floor is sooo much nicer than the usual black plastic walls and small board to stand on amid a puddle of mud. They built this shower right.

moropoto water 3
A photo of the whole water sitch at the house. Foreground is the pila, or above ground cistern. Next is the cement washing slab. And the brick shower in the back. The catch is that we have to haul water from the spigot. Photos forthcoming of THAT experience.

grading English classwork
mamita's porch

rosquilla fun
Rosquillas are like corn cookies... made of ground corn and cheese and baked. They are a Somoto based food. They are usually kinda dry and are best with a cup of coffee.

juana and jael
mamita's porch

garden fun!
planting more peas, carrots, and cilantro

coffee tree nursery
80,000 baby coffee trees down the hill, where i go weed and learn about coffee production in nicaragua

Comments

[Shannon]

Oh, yay!
Issues aside, it looks like you are having a fabulous time! You and Lenin look so happy in the pictures, and I'm glad you're getting to learn more about the coffee! You are an inspiration. (Fo' real, yo.) Love, the Kiwi version of the Bryn Mawr College Alumni Extension Office. :-)