Today is my last day at FUNARTE which is both amazing and saddening. It´s amazing because it means that I have actually been here for 3 months and the fact that I´m starting to wrap everything up is...incredible to me. To think that 14 week ago I was in Canada and now I´m here, in Nicaragua, getting ready to return to Canada....crazy!! But at the same time its saddening because I´ve only just become comfortable working here and getting to know my co-workers. On the one hand, I would love to stay longer to further cultivate and expand my friend network and activities at FUNARTE; but on the other hand, while I´ve enjoyed my time here in Nicaragua, I am fully ready to come home and see my family, friends and all that is familiar!!

But yesterday...OH MY GOD. What a frustrating day.

Remember when I told you about the mural I might get to paint at the school La Thompson?? One of my housemates, Jon, suggested to the director there that he knew someone who could do it, and I said I´d try and la la la...that one. ANYWAYS. I finally, after 6 weeks of trying to talk to my director about doing the mural, managed to ¨convince¨ her to let me do the name of the school. So yesterday morning, all morning, I worked on designing the outline, doing it on the computer, projecting it so that I could trace it, cutting out the letters to make a stencil, etc. Then it all went to the shitter. Excuse the language but seriously. At 1pm, the guy I was going with (Yaber I think his name was) was supposed to meet me back at FUNARTE. I personally had been ready to go at 11am but he had to go home and eat. So at 1pm he was right on time. The driver however was not. He was 40 min. late. And as each minute passed that he was late, the sky grew ominously dark, black and cloudy. So by the time he shows up, its raining and looks as though it will be a storm. At this point I was so extremely frustrated for many reasons: (a) I hate people who are late, so having to wait 40 min. for someone is ridiculous to me (b) I felt like by us not showing up on time I was letting down the people of GVI even though I basically volunteered to do it. I know there was no real pressure for me to be there and the director of the school is so completely chill, telling me not to worry about it when I called him to say I´d be late/ might not even come until the next day, but still. Do you understand where I am coming from?? (c) I had been really excited to do the mural yesterday. I had planned it all out, told everyone I was doing it and then to not have it happen is so disappointing. I became so upset and overwhelmed that I had a little cry in the bathroom. I just couldn´t hold it in anymore. All I wanted was for ONE THING...just one thing...to go to plan and not even the simplest 2hour max mural could happen smoothly.

But back to the story: because it was raining and seemed like a storm was imminent, I thought it would be best to do it the next morning; so I told Yaber and the driver to come Friday morning at 8am. Of course, like 20 min. later the sky clears up and all is beautiful. At this point its around 2pm. Ophelia, the lady helping me organize this, comes back from lunch and asks why I´m not at the school. I explain to her the situation and then asks me if I want to try calling them back. So I say yes; Yaber comes back around 2:30pm. The driver however, doesn´t come until 3:30pm. All my afternoon was spent waiting for people. At 3:30pm we pack up the truck and make our way over to the school. I thought the driver knew where it was; I´d only been there once but I had a rough idea of where it was. We drove past it and I kept telling the driver to go back, we had passed the entrace; instead he drives further the wrong way and doesn´t listen to me. I had to ring my friend at the school to come meet us at the entrance. By 4pm we are starting work on the school name. Tracing the letters onto the wall, centering everything. The only set back there was that we packed oil paint for the letters instead of acrylic so it was very sticky and gloopy and thick paint to work with. It wasn´t the smoothest finish on the letters but it looked good in the end. We didn´t finish until 6pm. While I am thankful that Yaber and the driver helped me accomplish this I was at this point in not the greatest mood. I had been supposed to go to the movies that night with some co-workers but didn´t get back to FUNARTE until 6:30pm and the movie was at 6pm. I am glad and proud that I got to paint this mural but it became so much more of a hassle than it should of been. AND I forgot my camera so I couldn´t even take a picture. But it is done; I am happy and its kind of cool that I can say I left a littl mark in Nicaragua by designing and painting the name of a school.

While I realize that the Nicaraguan culture does not posses the same meaning of being on time and whatnot, it is so frustrating for me (like I said) when people are late. Especially because (and I think this is why is was so aggravating for me) it was something I wanted to do. Normally, if we´re late going to a community or a meeting doesn´t start on time it bothers me but doesn´t get to me nearly as much as yesterday did; but when it applies to me and I feel as though I´m wasting my time and the time of others I get so annoyed. Maybe its selfish but I´m sorry. Its the way I feel. The fact that I have to rely on people to get things done here, that I can´t do anything myself---ahh!! I am a control freak I realize and its been a tough lesson to learn to let go. As yesterday has shown me.

But last nights dinner did make me happy (just in case you were wondering) - rice, soy meat, lightly breaded and fried eggplant and..the cherry on top... steamed broccoli. With pureed avocado on the eggplant. It was delicious. And a tortilla and pitaya´fruit juice (this bright purple, radioactive fruit drink that looks like a dragon fruit but isn´t). So good. I wanted ice cream at Cafe Luz because there they serve vanilla ice cream with honey and crushed Oreo cookies but they didn´t have any so I couldn´t even eat my feelings yesterday. Hahaha. I know its bad but don´t judge me.

Anyways...I guess I had go out with a bang. Begin and end with frustration. So far today I´ve been projecting and tracing new mantas and getting everyone at FUNARTE to sign their names on the back of my shirt. I think they may be planning a little leaving party for us because I saw them making a piñata with a Canadian flag on it. I love the staff at FUNARTE and the work that I do so I am going to miss it very much. Like I said: I´d stay longer to work at FUNARTE but otherwise...Canada here I come!!

Later :)