Inauguration

Wow, it´s been a while. Just wanted to give you all a quick update. Where to begin...well, first, we finally inaugurated the library which means it´s open for business!! Two teenagers in the town will be in charge of the library. The whole town was invited as well as the mayor and several others from the mayor´s office. In the end around 50 or so parents attended and about 150 children. There were cultural dances, poems, and a snack (sandwiches which were a special treat because it was the first time many had eaten them : ) at the end. It went really well, and I am so glad that the library is finally finished. We also had the priest from Juigalpa come who is very active in the local communities and donated about 10 desks and chairs and about 8 boxes of books! Gracias a Dios! In the evening, there was a fundraising dance which also was a big hit! Here are some pictures to get a taste of the excitement that day. I wanted to send a special thanks to all of you who supported the library throughout the process, whether it be through donations of books and money or by just listening as I vented. : )

In other news...right now I am in Managua doing my COS (Close of Service) three days of medical exams. Every volunteer who is about to terminate their service has to spend three days in the capital have blood drawn, physicals, dental exams, stool samples, etc... fun stuff. It's actually a great time to catch up on all the paperwork that has to be down before we leave...well, for those lucky people like me who have remained pretty healthy throughout their service. My official COS date will be on Dec. 22, however, I will be remaining in my site until Jan. 4th. Yesterday I found out the exciting news of who the replacement volunteer in my site will be. We will be in the town together for about a month before I leave so hopefully I can give her the full scoop to help her transition go even more smoothly.

Yesterday, I am proud to say that I voted by means of an absentee ballot. Hope all of you will be doing the same this Nov. 4. It should be an exciting election and I will be watching it in the next town over where there is cable. The municipal elections are also coming up here as well on Nov. 9 which should also prove to be just as exciting.

Hope all of you are doing well, and I am looking forward to seeing all of you in a few months!