12 Days to go...

I can not talk about preparing to go to Nicaragua without talking about my new job. To finance this trip I have been working almost full time at a Mexican Taqueria called "La Verdad". I applied there purely because of it's convenience. It is right next to Fenway Park and takes me about 7 minutes to walkthere. But now after three months, it has taken over my life and it is the job that I love to hate.

On my training day, I walked in to find that the girl who would be training me had only been working at the taqueria for two days and was one of the more clueless individuals I have met in my life. After about an hour of asking her questions to which she could not respond I left, telling t

he manager to call me when someone was working that could train me. About two weeks later I get a call asking why I have not been showing up for my shifts...

After sorting out a bit of confusion I go in again to find that I am working my first shift alone without any training. Also, everything, menu, cash register, and co-workers included, is in spanish. Thank goodness for those months in Chile because I was able to pick things up pretty quickly... My job is not hard. I take orders for take out, answer the phone, and run food to the bar.

When there are no customers I mostly focus on not dying of boredom and pry into my co-workers lives. In the back where I spend most of my time, I am the only gringa so I have been able to practice my spanish regularly. The boys in the back are mostly from El Salvador and we have bonded over mopping at the end of ten-hour shifts and listening to a mezcla of Kanye and Spanish Christian music on a repeat cycle. After two months of invitations, I agreed to go to church with them and have now been promised a bling-ed out bible for Christmas.

When there are customers, my job gets a little interesting. The only people really who want to get a burrito or taco to go between 11pm and 2am are drunk or wish they were drunk. So far I have had go find two people passed out on the bathroom floor, called 911 twice to break up serious fights , had four marriage proposals, given six people food that they were not even aware they ordered and get asked for my phone number on average about 3 times per

weekend.

Like I said, it's the job I love to hate.

I have enough money for Nicaragua and still some for next semester tuition and though I have said I am quitting about a million times, I probably wont...and that's La Verdad. :D

Getting out of the Cold

Hi all!

Back on the road again soon. This time I am heading to the lovely city, San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua!! I took a class over the semester about Nicaraguan health and politics and the end of the semester was suppose to be a trip to Nicaragua as a class. Sadly the trip was cancelled to due safety reasons. The cancellation was considered very unnecessary by some (ie: me) and so me and two other girls from my class decided to go anyway. Simmons has been quite a pain and made very clear their disapproval, but we do live in a free country so I take off on Jan 4th.

When I am there I will have the opportunity to work with optometrist students from Harvard who will be doing eye exams and need translators!! Very excited!! I also will be able to visit the battered women's shelter that was started from the money raised by Simmons performances of The Vagina Monologues (which I will be performing in, in Feb). Right now there is only funds for two women and their children but we hope to raise enough money to expand from our February shows!!

In the process of packing. I am much more relaxed than when I was packing for Chile. I will only be gone for 12 days. Pretty much all I packed was shoes and school supplies for Nicaraguan kids, two bathing suits, and my passport. I am packing so early because I am being kicked out of my dorm tomorrow for the Christmas break. I will be spending some time in Allston at my friend Shira's and working in Boston, then going to New Hampshire for the Holiday, then back to Allston, then off to San Juan, then back to Boston right in time for the spring semester. Think I need a bigger suitcase.

And most importantly, when I walked home from work the other day it took me about a half hour to defrost so I am excited to getting out of the cold.

More later!!