Winners!

I just wanted to give you all a quick update on Last Friday’s competition!  Our youth group took 2^nd place over all out of the 12 groups represented at the competition!  Better yet we received first place amongst the business sector, which was awesome.    The other groups had no idea what had hit them.  We even sold three out of the five candleholders that we had made for the competition.  The presentation went really well and I was so proud of our girls looking so professional with their PowerPoint and matching ensembles.  One unfortunate instance, or fortunate depending on how you look at it, was the fact that our girls were cut short by the timer during their presentation.  He made a mistake and even though they had 3 minutes left to present they had to return to their seats.  When the judges had realized what had happened they called the girls back up at the end to finish the presentation and obviously take home 2^nd place!  I can’t tell you the amount of frustration and emotion I felt at this moment for the girls.  They had worked way to hard to be cut short.  I think I amazed myself how much I actually cared and wanted success for these girls after watching them work so hard.  The judges were really impressed by the artistic work that was represented.  I must say, the gals are really talented.  My boss even bought one of the candleholders!  I will post some pictures of the finished product so you can see for yourself. 

It was great to work with three young women on this project because I could tell that they were taking this opportunity seriously.  All three of them are very adamant about bettering their lives.  They are the first three young women I have worked closely with in Nica and I can’t wait to be able to influence the lives of many other women here.

Needless to say it was a great last weekend in our training towns.  We all went to the Laguna one last time on Saturday to enjoy its beauty and indulge in fish tacos by the shore.  That night we all reunited for chicken wings(first time in Nica) and beers to celebrate the end of all our hard work with our youth groups.  Last night we took our three young winners out to dinner as a good-bye/congratulations dinner. Tonight I'm going to my Nica girlfriends' house for another good-bye dinner.  Let’s just say I’ve been eating pretty well ha ha.

Three more days here in Nandasmo for training and then I’m off to Managua for three whole nights in a hotel!  With hot water!  And all my friends!  With bars and clubs in walking distance!  Thursday we are meeting the new Ambassador and Friday we swear in as official Peace Corps Volunteers in Managua.  We will be raising our right hand and taking an oath to serve the goals of our country as well as Nicaragua’s.  We are also taking this opportunity to celebrate Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary, which means we get to go to the country director’s house(my bosses boss) for dinner and a fiesta!  Sunday I’m off to the big city of Chinandega and never looking back, well maybe, I guess I did learn quite a bit here.

I love and miss you all back home!  Thank you so much for your support over these last months!  You have no idea what it has meant to me.  Even though these posts may seem happy go lucky, there have been some really difficult times and it helps just knowing that you are all there for me.  The skype sessions, emails, phone calls, and gchats have gotten me through.  Mom you have been amazing sending me packages to keep me sane!  Much love!