March 21 am and afternoon

This is Jess writing. Sorry for the delay in the blog - the internet was down yesterday. Last night, all of the teachers put on presentations for us which included various Nicaraguan cultural dances. It´s always so interesting to learn parts of their culture. We played a game in which we all grabbed a balloon that contained a paper inside. We had to try to pop it by pressing it between a teacher´s body and ours. Let´s just say that this was a little too close for comfort but it was still funny to see everyone´s facial expressions. When the balloon finally popped, we all read what was inside. Mine said to hug a friend. This was easy compared to the various things that others had to do.... This activity was hilarious. Jesse had to sing a song, and for some odd reason he chose opera. Zoe had to jump like a kangaroo across the room. Excenia and Kevin and to make monkey and rooster noises. This was such a bonding experience which allowed me to see the more humorous side of my friends and our Nica teachers. Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
I arrived at my house to be welcomed by kisses and hugs. I was then bombarded with questions about how I was doing and how I spent my day. Each time I see my family, it´s just like meeting them for the first time. They are so inviting and friendly. I am so incredibly happy with the relationships I am creating with both my brother and sister in Nicaragua. Almost every night, my brother, Wildredo, and I play soccer together; and it´s also so funny, because he is so silly and constantly tripping over the ball. My sister and I have a heart to heart right before we go to sleep. She loves telling me about her life and we sometimes talk about how hard it is to learn a language.
Every morning, I wake up at 5:00 from the sounds of the roosters. There is always a glass of fresh mango juice waiting for me that tastes just like a smoothie. It has truly changed my standards of what 'delicious' is. Today was different than most days, because instead of all of us going to la Nicaraguita, we split up into two groups. One group went to a local clinc, where they did various jobs such as weeding the garden, filing papers, and weighing patients. I however was in the group that stayed at school. I feel so bad for the teacher and my class. She must truly be exhausted by the end of the day. She is in charge of 30 little munchkins who have more energy than their 5 year old bodies can handle. I really feel like I´m helping out because there is no way she can handle that by herself.
We spent our afternoon finishing up coloring in the drawings, posters and mobiles that we made. They are going to be hung up in a different school, where the walls are barren. I can´t wait to see the kids´ faces when they first see the bright colors.