Insert clever and catchy title here

Sup party people,
Sorry it has been awhile. You know how life gets.
Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote, so I’ll try and hit the high points and skip the boring details, though I make no promises as brevity has never been my strong suit. Alright, so in the past three weeks I have:
1) Visited a live volcano. Volcan Masaya, as well as the dormant San Fernando. It was pretty fantastic to say the least (minus my regrettable decision to wear chacos). The entire experience was one of those, is this real life or an episode of planet earth moments. If I can ever figure out how to upload pictures in a time period shorter than all of eternity, I’ll be happy to share.
2) Learned how to make soy, soy milk, and some ridiculously tasty soy chili (also the first remotely spicy thing that I've tasted in Nicaragua). Anyway, I visited a current health volunteer in Palacaguina, Madriz for a few days. Her name is Penny, she is from Alaska, and in short, the bee’s knees (for many reasons, including her knowledge of soy products). To make a long story short, we gave (or more she gave) a few charlas, met with a group of pregnant women to talk about HIV/AIDS, met with a youth group, had a cooking class with a group of Nicaraguan women, and had my ass kicked in her aerobics class. The trip was fantastic as a whole, really great to see what the life of a bad ass volunteer is like.
3) Bought a phone, lost it, found it, and have actually used it…twice.
4)Visited the department of Matagalpa. It was utterly stunning. Mountainous, green, floral, the entire bus ride I was waiting for Julie Andrews to appear singing “the hills are alive.” Wish I had brought my camera, not that I would have been able to upload the pictures had I taken any. But seriously, if you ever make it to Nicaragua, go to Matagalpa.
5) Talked to a room full of Nicaraguans about HIV/AIDS. Preparation for this charla included the drawing of various reproductive organs and cartoon caricatures having “relaciones sexuales.” This was exciting for various reasons, namely that I could actually speak in Spanish about HIV/AIDS for an extended period of time, and of course getting to draw cartoons “doing it” was a major perk.
6) Met a tarantula about the size of my hand in the bathroom one morning. She was hiding behind the toilet seat when we bumped into one another. It was pretty early in the morning, which is the only explanation I can come up with as to why I didn’t scream. That, or my fondness for Charlotte's Web.
7) Heard "Piano Man" in Spanish on the bus this morning, AMAZING.
That about sums it up. I find out my site placement on Monday, fingers crossed I'll be living the good life wherever the "site gods" elect to be my home for the next two years (and by the good life I mean to imply the happy life of course). I'll keep ya posted. Until then, keep writing me those letters I know you are all just dying to send.
Peace, love and dreams of American beer,
Katie