You wake up next to 5 other girls in our bedroom, which is a concrete room upstairs. There is a good chance you have accumulated two legfuls of mosquito bites by 7:30 am. You might not have slept well because of all the animals. You will get used to it but for your first night there, you struggle to sleep the whole night due to the very confused rooster who mistakes the moon for the sun at 10 pm.
You will go to the bathroom and pray that nobody sees you through a little missing part of the door. Then you get to start the day with typically tortillas, beans, and sometimes avocados along with your coffee.
You get to then walk down the street to the church where you will begin your work cleaning and doing physical labor. You get to dance around the church to the music while cleaning while the pastor laughs at you. He will then tell almost everyone you meet how much you like to dance.
At 12, you get to go home for lunch and take a break until 2. You get tortillas again with rice, chicken, and other various foods to mix in. To drink, you get some type of freshly squeezed fruit that is so stinkin amazing. After working two more hours, you get to go home and enjoy the rest of the night including dinner (with tortillas of course), team time, and showering away all the dirt you dragged home from the church. You only have running water 4 days a week, however, so you might have to conserve water. If there is no running water, don't worry, because water has been saved in a huge barrel that we can use to shower. You just may have to use a smaller amount or your poop may be floating in the toilet for a while with no water.
You may get to experience some very interesting and hilarious things throughout your week. For instance, in a family conversation (with the pastor's family you are staying with), they may give you feedback on washing your clothes. You will handwash your clothes here in the middle.
The grandma (or abuelo) may tell you you stink at washing your clothes by laughing at how you do it. She will then tell you that you cannot get married until you learn how to wash them right. They will then later ask all about your love life and tell you they believe you will get married within the next year. When you freak out about that thought, they will tell you not to worry because they will teach you how to cook (as if that is what you are worried about). They will then add your love life as a prayer request.
When you walk down the street, you will be whistled at on multiple occasions. Just ignore it.
You may stop to ask a lady for directions, and in the middle of your conversation, have something fairly big fall on your head and get scared. Don't freak out. You will realize that it's a banana peel that her son decided to throw at your head for no apparent reason.
You may also have a random bird fly into your room and have to chase it out. It may take getting the pastor to chase it out because the bird keeps flying around in circles, ignoring the doorway. Don't worry because the pastor will catch it with his bare hands. Apparantly, he's a pro.
All in all, you will greatly enjoy your trip in Nicaragua, but not just because random church people keep bringing you avocados. You will enjoy it so much more because of the culture and people. Plus, you get this great view every morning from your second floor.
Your month in Nicaragua would be one of your favorites, if you were there.
