Last week my dad came to visit me. We went to Leon- a beautiful city with a lot of revolutionary history and a whole bunch of churches. From there we went north to the beach where i received THE WORST sunburn of my whole life and I think an entire layer of my skin has peeled off! (sorry that is really gross). Now I'm back in San Ramon and the mountains and the rain. I'm sad my dad left, i feel a little homesick and i miss my boyfriend a lot. But also its nice to be back to my family and my home here (even though the food here is STILL making me sick!)

Some new things have happened at work. Last Friday I went to a monthly meeting put on by Yadira and Harold (coordinators of the social aspects of La UCA). It was for Promotoras and jovenes whose job is to represent their communities and give them support in various forms. At the meeting they discused what their job entailed ( ex. a promotora needs to be available, comfortable, and open). They also decided on and organized dates for capacitaciones (workshops) in their communities and then watched a play about sexual health and then discused the play and what should be added and/or changed. It was a really funny play- a man instead of selling candy or food on the bus instead was selling birth control! or a gameshow where the contestant had to put a condom on a banana in the correct way. Going to the meeting was super interesting and important for me. I feel like i now have a greater understanding for the different aspects of my work.

Yesterday Levi, connor, bri, and myself went with Sol CAFE and Cecocafe- the coffee processor and distributor in Matagalpa. It was really interesting to see all of the different places the coffee goes. From producer to consumer it is inconceivable to me how many hands the coffee is going through! The man who worked a Sol Cafe showed us how to do a coffee test to decide on the quality of the cafe (the smell and taste). This is what buyers come to do and determine its quality. With the taste test you slurp up the percolated coffee in a spoon, swish it around in your mouth, then spit it into a bucket! I dont know why but I thought it was totally hysterical. When I did the test I went to spit out the coffee and I dribble of spit was still hanging out of my mouth with everyone watching me! It was pretty gross and embarasing