training in Nicaragua

I really like it here. It's very beautiful and the people are cool. Hearing Spanish all the time is very tiring because I'm constantly trying to process what's going on. When people talk slowly, I understand most everything, but when they talk all slangy and fast, I understand maybe 50 to 75 percent. I am opening my mind, like a child, and letting it all in. In a few months, I'll be fluent. Mark my words!
My host family is really nice. I am very lucky to be in their home. The mom is a great cook and she is sensitive to my preferences, like no bread and very little rice. She washes my clothes for me, which is also awesome. Her kids are mostly adults, except at teen girl, who is also very cool. They have a bunch of dogs and I love them... a big German shepherd who watches over the yard and a smaller mutt named Junior who loves to be pet. There are a couple more violent perros, too, and they're enclosed in their own little area.
Our home has electricity most of the time, but sometimes it goes off because of the incredibly violent storms. We don't have running water, so I have to force flush the toilet and take bucket baths, like in Africa.
There was a really crazy storm the other night, my first night in the house, and it scared me a little. The rain pounded on the corrugated tin roof and woke me up. The thunder shook the ground. And even though my room has no windows, I could see the flashes of lightning... the electricity went out for the next 8 hours or so.
During the day I have about 6 hours of intense Spanish courses, and it's tiring but my language facilitator is awesome. She always gives us time to process what's going on and she teaches us relevant Nica slang.
One thing that really confuses me is the use of "vos" instead of "tú". This is tough because none of my grammar books conjugate this verb for me, so I can understand it but I can't use it yet. I use tú for now and they get it...
Okay well I'm off to the casa for una siesta.
Love you all... and even though I have internet access, I'll appreciate letters!