Life in Nicaragua

Hi Everyone,
Well we've been here for two weeks & we're all still alive and in good spirits! :)  We have all good news to report.  We moved into our house last Saturday and other than the bathroom sink falling out of the wall creating a massive flood (didn't know the water turn off was out in the sidewalk or that the sink was supported by two screws in the wall), & discovering we have a bar or disco directly behind our house, all has been good!  Fortunately the music only goes all night on Sat. and ear plugs and white noise apps are helping.  But it wouldn't hurt to pray for Annette especially to become a much deeper sleeper, amazingly & thankfully the kids don't even notice it.

Our first weeks have been FULL!  Our days have been occupied with walking around town looking into little shops for all the various items we need for our house, all day teacher trainings, & learning to operate without all the luxuries we're used to.  We are adjusting better than we could have expected and are so thankful it has been a smooth transition so far.  Thank you for all the prayers of support and good wishes you have sent our way.

Everything has been so much easier because of the wonderful staff at NCA, they have been extremely helpful in welcoming us and helping us get settled.  We had the opportunity last Sunday to go on a hike with several staff members and a visiting speaker to go on a beautiful hike to the nearby town of Jinotega (about 45 min. away).  It was our first chance to get outside of our busy little city and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us here.

Speaking of busy, we are slowly getting used to city life!  Pedestrians do not have the right of way here and cars use their horns rather than their brakes or blinkers.  So we are learning to be very careful crossing the street & watching out for cars, motorcycles, buses and holes in the sidewalk and streets (see picture).  We're also becoming experts at riding the VERY crowded buses.  We take the bus to and from school each day, the morning bus is usually not crowded and we get to sit down, but the ride home is another story.  This explains why there is no concept of personal space in this country.  We have to squeeze our way between people who are already smushed up against each other standing in the aisles.  I hope I can manage to get a picture of it someday.  The kids are getting the hang of it though and have already learned how to grab a seat fast, as soon as the person gets up next to them. (To the surprise of even the local Nicaraguans:).  These are old school buses just to help you get an idea.

Our training days have been a combination of bible study, professional development, and basic orientation to our new school.  We have been in a group with two other Americans (Mark & Tamara Mulvahill) and three other Nicaraguans who are also new to NCA this year for our orientation, and then with the rest of the staff (mostly Nicaraguan) for the other sessions.  Our trainings have been led by Carey Franklin (our director) and a variety of both Americans and Nicaraguans.  We have been very pleased with the quality of trainings & the philosophy & positive environment of the school!

The kids have been AWESOME, and we are so proud of them.  They're doing a wonderful job of taking care of themselves in a classroom next to ours, kind of 'playing school'.  They have their own homeschool assignments in addition to reading (or coloring in Kai's case) and playing outside to keep them busy.  We will have a few more weeks of this schedule before school begins on Feb. 10th.  The kids have been open and good natured about the new things they experience daily here.

We are hoping to find a reliable used car soon, which will help tremendously with our daily routine and just allowing us to get around the country more easily, not to mention getting to and from school once we all have backpacks on!

We hope you all are doing well and would love to hear what you are up to, feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.

Peace & Blessings,
The Mueller Family

WE MADE IT!

Arrived safe & sound & had a very successful first day here!  Managed to purchase our kitchen appliances, a wash machine, furniture, & mattresses today!  That sure wouldn't happen at home.  It's nice that all of the 'department' stores are right next to each other on one street.  We've had wonderful help from NCA's director Carey Franklin & another English teacher Elisabeth Elliott.  They have been SO kind to us, helping us feel welcome and showing us around Matagalpa.

Kids are doing great too!  Thank you for your prayers!  We'll be moved into our home by Tuesday hopefully & in the mean time so lucky to be staying in a really cool home of another missionary family who is out of town.  The house is very 'Central American' with a beautiful courtyard, & they even have a dog named Kai!

We'll keep getting to know our way around town, work on getting a heater contraption set up on our showers (mmhmm), and work our way over to our new home once our furniture arrives.  First day of teacher orientation begins on Thursday.

Funniest part of life here today was explaining where our house was for each store delivery here.  No addresses or street names here in Nicaragua, and I mean none.  So we will live 3 blocks towards the river from Parque Dario on the opposite corner of the old theater in a white & red house:).  We'll let you know if our furniture arrives, but somehow all the delivery guys seemed to know exactly where we were talking about!

Thanks to all of you who have helped to get us here and for all your prayers and support!

Love,

The Muellers