Ice Cubes

So this week I went to a grocery store that I don't normally go to. I went in search of one thing: ice cube trays.

It all started two weeks ago when - cue Hallelujah chorus - our old and incredibly small refrigerator got replaced by a much larger and newer one. The only issue was that the exchange happened while my roommates and I were at school. The school maintenance team was going to take care of it for us. The switch was supposed to happen in the morning, so all of our food came out of the old fridge and got placed on the counter. The new fridge didn't actually come until very late in the afternoon, which meant all the food was sitting out in 90+ weather all day. Then, after the new fridge was settled in and looking lovely with the food replaced inside, the power went out for the rest of the night. We threw away most of our food. In the process, we realized the ice cube trays had - poof ! - disappeared. Given my slight iced tea addiction, ice cube trays are a must in my apartment. Drama quickly ensued. 

The next day we went to the store to replace our spoiled food and to buy more ice cube trays. The store didn't have any trays, so we took an excursion across town to the bigger and better grocery store. 

You know how sometimes grocery stores have a little section where they sell sports t-shirts? Well, they had that at this grocery store, but a much bigger section. They also had pants and skirts. It felt odd. It wasn't like a Super Target where there is a clearly defined food section and then on the other side of the store a clothes section. It was just a grocery store that had a lot of clothes in it. Anyway, although I found it odd, I decided to browse, and found some jeans I really liked. About two seconds later I realized I could never get them because this was a grocery store, and grocery stores do not have dressing rooms. WRONG! Indeed, there was a dressing room. I stood in line next to the meat section to try on my jeans. After I got in the incredibly small stall, I discovered I could almost see over the very small door, and anyone trying to decide what type of hotdogs or ham to buy could surely see most of my legs. It suddenly turned into a very awkward experience. The jeans didn't even fit, so it was a wasted awkward moment. However, before leaving, we did buy four wonderful new ice cube trays. 

Lessons learned:

Do not lose ice cube trays

Do not try on clothes at the grocery store

My glorious ice tea that I am drinking as I type this. Notice the beautiful ice cubes. 

Some Nica Things

Volcanoes
There are many countries around the world that have volcanoes, and Central America is full of them, but I believe Nicaragua has the best selection. This country has nineteen active and dormant volcanoes that I enjoy seeing as I go to the movie theater on the other side of town or as I travel to other parts of the country.

Nicaragua is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes. 

Quesillos
If you need a delicious and unhealthy snack, quesillos are the way to go. They are made with cheese, vinegar, cream, and onions. Then it is wrapped in a corn tortilla and stuffed in a little bag.

You can eat the quesillo a couple of ways. The first way is to push the quesillo up out of the bag and eat it like a burrito. This will leave a whole lot of juice and cream in the bottom of the bag. You must bite a hole in the corner of the bag and drink it.  The other way is to tie the bag, bite a hole in the corner, and push the cheesy contents out right into your mouth. Either way is acceptable and possibly messy. Under no circumstances are you allowed to throw away the cream at the bottom of the bag.
Quesillos can be found at little stands on the side of the road or at smaller restaurant type places if you want to sit down and enjoy the cheesy deliciousness.

We obviously love the cheesy goodness.

4th Grade Fun

It's October and fall time, although that has little meaning in Nicaragua. It is still rainy season, still hot, and there are still no pumpkin spice lattes. That doesn't stop us from pretending, however. In writing class, we made pumpkins and wrote our mini autobiographies on them. This is a fun one involving the Chinese C.I.A. 

Under the flaps on the pumpkins are each student's name. They have to read the autobiography and guess which of their classmates wrote it. 

This week we just started our big 50 States Unit. Students are doing individual research on each state, and we are memorizing the location of each state and the name of its capital. 

This summer I visited Chimney Rock in Nebraska with my two sisters. At the museum they had a buffalo that I knew my class needed to have. Suzi bought it for me, and Mr. Buffalo made his grand appearance this week to help teach about the regions of the U.S. He instantly gained fame and made his way into some of our grammar practice assignments. 

The best part of 4th grade this week was celebrating Scaredy Squirrel's birthday. 

Normally Scaredy stays up on the shelf because he is too afraid to come down. There are a lot of germs in 4th grade, you know. However, the students convinced him to come down for his birthday party. After we washed our hands, we read his birthday book and whisper-sang Happy Birthday to him. Scaredy received many birthday cards and well wishes, even from my students I had last year. Scaredy is by far the most popular person in 4th grade. 

Gotta love 4th grade!