Christmas 2010 in Nica Part II

So, I have heard people are reading this although nobody´s left a comment (ahem!), so here´s a little update on the last few days...

Monday night we ended up getting food from one of the local ¨fritgangas¨- basically where people set up food stands right outside their house. They have some of the best food I´ve had here. We both got gallo pinto (rice and beans), maduro (fried sweet plantain), cheese (fried, which sounds gross and maybe is, but it´s amazing), a tortilla and a meatball. I´d never had a meatball here before, but man they are delish. We went to the hotel to eat and then walked around the park for a while and took in the sights. The park has been absolutely packed at night lately, and we like to people watch. Then, just as we were leaving, I ran into my friend Karla and we made plans to hang out the next day.

Tuesday we went to the house in the morning where Jorge washed all my dirty clothes for me (minus underwear, that´s weird). He also made me breakfast again - scrambled eggs and little pieces of fried plantain. Again, delicious. While Jorge washed, I sat and visited with his sister-in-law some more, and then later his brother came home and we sat and spoke in English for about an hour. His brother has been learning English for a few years now and is pretty good. It was really nice for me to have it so easy for a little while, although I have to say I haven´t noticed myself feeling tired from constantly having to think in Spanish.

Then Jorge went off to the stadium to run again and I went over to Karla´s house to pick her up. From there we headed to Liza´s mom´s house, which is sort of a common meeting ground, because we always know Liza will be there. Soon after, Freddy showed up and the four of us just sat and visited for a while.

Something sort of fun is that we got to Skype with Leah and Mauricio (her Brazilian boyfriend, for those of you who don´t know), so we got to ¨meet¨each other´s significant other. It was a little frustrating because we were using a headset and so we couldn´t both really hear or participate in the conversation at the same time. But it was so fun to get to talk, and Mauricio´s Spanish is great. Leah was too wimpy to speak but promised that next time she would. I so enjoyed getting to have Jorge meet my friends!

Then Jorge and I went and got ready for church. It was actually cold in church because of the crazy wind and I had no need for the fans to be turned on, which is very strange for me. After church we grabbed food at the same fritanga and then headed over to the basketball courts to watch Anthony play. His team is in the finals and they won (not sure what the score was since there´s no scoreboard, just a man that keeps score). If they win tonight´s game, they win it all. We drank milkshakes and then just walked around the park for a little while.

Today we got up sort of early and went over to the house for breakfast again - he made me scrambled eggs with cheese, and a repocheta, which is a fried tortilla with this sour cheese inside. It´s really good, but that cheese definitely is an acquired taste. I sat and visited with the girls of the family a bit while Jorge went to his little cousin´s house and played video games. Then we headed back to the hotel, took a nap, and played cards. I need to go look up the rules of War because I´m pretty sure I was forgetting something really basic. Even though there are like three rules total. Anyway, now I´m here writing this and he´s taking a shower and getting ready at the hotel. We´re headed to one more baseball game at the stadium tonight (Chinandega versus Granada again). I thought the last one was the last one, but apparently this one is.

We just found out yesterday (Jorge heard it on the radio) that his last baseball game on Sunday will be at 6:00 at night and will be in the stadium where we´re going tonight, so that is really neat. It will feel like a real game! and there will only need to be one, since they´re tied 3-3.

In the next few days we´re hoping to visit some people we haven´t seen yet, to go to the beach, and to get out to Jiquilillo to visit Toney, who I may end up working for next year down here.

There´s the update as promised! Hope all is well with all of you. Hope you have a Happy New Year!

Christmas in Nica Part I

So, being that I´ve been here in Nica almost a week, I figured it was time to update this old thing. The week has flown by, of course, and I love knowing that this trip is so much longer than the last, and I still have 12 days! Here´s a recap, as quick as I can make it, with some pictures (hopefully they work).

* Getting here was relatively uneventful. It was good I got to the Ft. Lauderdale airport so early because I had to wait at the ticket desk for a little over an hour, and there were still about 100 people behind me... it was a HUGE flight coming out, even at 11:30pm! When you walk out of customs and into baggage claim, there is a huge glass window-wall where the people coming to pick people up and stand and look at you. I had a small fear that something had gone wrong and Jorge would be running late or something and not be able to tell me since I didn´t have a phone, but after looking around for two or so minutes, I saw him waving at me. Well, actually I saw his giant brother´s head and then saw Jorge right next to him, waving at me. It was one of those super sweet moments because all we could do was just wave at each other after 100 days of not seeing each other (besides on Skype, of course). My bag was about the third one out, which was awesome, but then I had to pass it through another security point which took a while, so I was just plain exhausted by the time I actually got to leave the airport (at about 2:30am eastern time).

* Day 1: Wednesday, 12.22 - We basically slept all day because of the exhaustion from the night before. Then we went to the Chinandega versus Granada baseball game in the stadium, which was lots of fun. It was pretty similar to a baseball game at home. Chinandega won, so it was a good time! Then we went by Jorge´s house to say hi to his family. I then met another few family members I hadn´t met before... some aunts, his godmother, some cousins, etc.

I also couldn´t wait and I made Jorge open his Christmas gifts. He already knew about the baseball bag and Gator hat, but the surprise was a Yankees t-shirt with Robinson Cano´s name and number (his favorite player and also the number he wears when he plays). He loved it all and he has worn the hat everywhere we´ve gone. He says my present is coming on New Year´s Eve, for whatever reason.

* Day 2: Thursday, 12.23 - I spent a while in the afternoon visiting with Liza over at her mom´s house. We were just catching up, eating lunch and the like. Then we went over to Jorge´s house again for a little bit to visit with family, and then back to the hotel. Jorge´s mom ended up stopping by the hotel and we just visited for a while. Then we went and ate delicious tacos and rode on the ¨bus pelon¨, the ¨bald bus¨, which is like a little touristy open-topped bus that drives around the city. He said only kids go on it, but Jessica and I definitely went on it with Freddy and Liza back in March and I thought it was fun, so I made him. There were definitely not many kids, and it was fun.

* Day 3: Friday, 12.24 - I honestly can´t remember what we did most of this day, but I do remember that we went to church that night - an almost three-hour service. It was a beautiful service and each of the different ministries (men, women, children, youth, etc.) had a ¨special performance - a song, dance or a puppet show (the men had way too much fun with that). We then went over to the house again to visit with family. Most people open their doors and basically the whole street just hangs out and visits. It was really pretty. We also ate some really delicious chicken with vegetables and rice. Yes, I have been eating amazingly delicious food.

* Day 4: Saturday, 12.25 - In the morning we went to visit Jorge´s grandma (his dad´s mom) who he hadn´t seen in about a year. There´s no real reason he hasn´t been to see her, because she lives in town, but he just hasn´t. His brother and his family were already over, and some cousins came over too. It was nice to meet even more of his family. They all knew about me and were anxiously awaiting to meet me, so that was nice. We spent a few hours there just visiting and getting to know each other. I´ve been really surprised with how comfortable I´ve felt with his family, although I am pretty quiet because I´m usually just taking a lot in.

Then I spent a good bit of time in the afternoon at Liza´s mom´s house visiting with Liza, Freddy and Adela, Liza´s mom. Then Jorge and I went to a ¨fancy¨Christmas dinner - the Rostipollo of course! He ate pizza and I had my delicious taco suizo - a grilled chicken breast with melted mozzarella cheese and a tortilla on the bottom, with delicious refried beans. yum! I also helped him out with the pizza a bit... Then again, we went by the house to visit with family. It has been really nice to get to know his family so much better.

* Day 5: Sunday, 12.26 - Yesterday was baseball day. We were at the field from about 9:00 until almost 3:00. Jorge´s team is in the finals now, and they play 7 games, just like baseball in the States. They play two games each Sunday, and going into yesterday they were tied 2-2. They lost the first game 3-2, which was especially rough because Jorge had a chance to tie it and wasn´t able to, but they won the second game 11-1! Jorge hit a ¨double¨and he scored two runs. It was so fun to see him play, especially because he played really well. Everyone was really into the game too, which got me into the game, even though I don´t really care about baseball.

Afterwards we went over to the house and hung out for a while and then went to the park. There are a bunch of fair-type rides set up at the park and a bunch of booths to buy stuff because of all the holidays (not only Christmas and New Year´s but they had a big Catholic holiday on the 7th). We went on a ferris-wheel type ride that is different though because it goes super fast and you almost flip upside down. Jorge was sort of scared, which I thought was really funny and I have pretty much not stopped making fun of him since. We then got some smoothes to go (mine cacao, his banana) and went back to the hotel and just sat outside talking and drinking our smoothies.

* Day 6: Monday, 12.27 - This morning was a special treat - Jorge took me to his house and made me breakfast and coffee. We have been eating at really weird times because my appetite is just so different here, and his has been a little off too, so I haven´t eaten breakfast this entire time. Well, this morning I woke up starving and said I needed food stat, and coffee, which I also hadn´t drank since I got here - can you believe it!?!

While he was cooking, I sat and visited with his mom, sister and sister-in-law. I have really grown to love his family. They are so super sweet and welcoming to me. They love to sit and tell me about how much Jorge talks about me and what he says, and how he was so excited those last few days before I came, etc. I have really treasured the things they´ve told me. It´s cute to see, too, how embarrassed he gets when he walks in the room and knows we´re talking about him.

After hanging out at the house for a while, we went back to the hotel where he read the newspaper and I read my book, and then went back to the house to eat, and then parted ways. He is at the stadium running (in about 90 degree sunshine heat) and I´m here writing all this. I knew I had to come to the internet cafe alone to update this, because he definitely does not have the patience to sit here and wait for me to type this novel! I wanted to have it all down though, so I could remember what I´ve done. I´m mad that I can´t remember what we did on Friday, but I´m sure it´ll come to me later.

Overall the trip has been AMAZING so far. We have had some really good future-type talks, and we have shared some hilarious moments, some sweet moments and definitely some good family moments. I feel so welcomed into his family´s house, and they don´t necessarily treat me like a gringo all the time. I think his sister-in-law and I are really becoming friends, and I could see us being good friends in the future. I have learned so much more about Jorge by meeting more of his family, and I have loved every moment.

P.S. As far as the weather - I was warned it has been ¨so cold¨at nights here... I will say that until today I have not actually felt hot. Today is super sunny though, and I was melting when we were walking. Most days though, have had a cool breeze, and when I sit outside but under the shade of a tree, I have felt great. We walk everywhere and I have been completely fine. I´ve even worn jeans three days so far! I do get a little chilly at night every once in a while, but these Nicas are hilarious because they walk outside and they´re like ¨Man, it´s freezing!¨and it will be about 74 degrees, ha! I sat outside for about 6 hours at the baseball game on Sunday though, and I didn´t feel hot at all! and I was in jeans! I hear it´s been freezing in Florida... yikes!

I will try not to wait another week before updating again. If you feel like spending money to communicate with me, my cell phone number here is 505.8866.0778. You have to have a phone card or use Skype though, and you have to dial ¨011¨first. Or if you are interested in Skyping, let me know! I miss everybody and hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your families. I can´t wait to see what the new year brings!

I'll Be Back

So, I've officially been back for a week now, and I decided it's about time for a debrief.

By now everyone knows that I changed my flight to be able to stay an extra five days. The decision was a no-brainer, since I hadn't prepared myself to leave and the group that was here really needed my help. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made!

During that last week, the Indiana group had a lot of stuff planned, and although everything didn't go exactly as planned (since nothing in Nicaragua does), God was definitely glorified and we were able to minister in lots of different ways throughout the city.

I can't remember on exactly which day we did each thing, because I'm horrible at journaling and it all sort of blends together, but I'm going to try to sum up what we did during the last week:

- The Indiana group came prepared with three different bible school stories, which we did at the church, at La Grassa (where they are building the new church), and at La Resistencia. La Resistencia is a barrio where Marlon (otherwise known as Lito) is from. Lito used to be in a gang and was an all-around real rough guy, which is hard to believe given his gentle spirit. He found God and has since started a gang outreach program and comes back to the same area he used to live to minister to the people there. He has helped win hearts over for God and continues to do amazing things in that area.

- Two nurses came with the Indiana group, so we were able to hold two medical clinics. It is so neat to see how someone's career so directly enables them to serve God in different areas of the world. The first day we started a clinic (just for kids, except for vitamins and parasite meds for adults) in the area where we do the feeding line. The nurses had gone the day before with Freddy to the pharmacy to buy tons of medicine - mostly vitamins, parasite meds, antibiotics, rash cream, etc. We set up the clinic without any real notion of how to best go about doing it, and boy did we learn from that - the line (or lack thereof) was insane, and there was just no order to the day. After a little less than two hours and only having seen a couple patients, we called it a day. I could feel the sense of discouragement among the group, as the nurses sort of felt overwhelmed and we didn't know how to organize things to make everything go more smoothly. It's always hard when you have something in mind and it doesn't pan out. However, the pastor announced that we would be holding the clinic again the next day, but at the church. This way, the people that really needed to see someone would travel, and the ones who just wanted "free meds" wouldn't make the trip. I believe they also gave money to some people who seemed like they really wanted to come but couldn't afford the trip.

One reason I felt the clinic was going to go so well was that we had randomly met a Nicaraguan family at the hotel the group was staying at. They are Nicaraguan but have lived in Texas and are currently in Costa Rica. The family was there on the dad's business trip, and the mom and three kids were pretty bored during the day while he was at work. They met the group and talked with them a bunch and when they found out what we were doing, got really excited and said they'd love to come help instead of sitting around the hotel all day. What a blessing! They are all perfectly fluent in both Spanish and English, which was a HUGE help. Two of the kids also want to be doctors, so it was right up their alley. They helped out a TON that first day. However, we found out the second day that they weren't going to be able to come, as they are actually relocating to Chinandega and it was the only day their realtor could show them houses (and they wanted to check out the schools for the kids).

The next morning we went into the clinic not knowing what to expect, since we wouldn't have the help of the family, and since the day before had been so chaotic. However, God went ahead and set everything up for us. The pastor and church leaders had already set up a system, so when we got there we were pretty much good to go. As people came in the church, they signed in with Karla, the pastor's daughter. They then were called in order to go to a table to meet with two or so of the church leaders, who asked them their name, age and symptoms, and wrote it all on a piece of paper. They also took that opportunity to ask them about their faith and to give them copies of the book of John and other "literature". Then the patients came to us in order with their little paper with all their info, and we were able to quickly tell the nurses what was up and figure out what they needed. I was on duty as the main translator, which scared me, since I knew about zero medical terms before this day. However, Chris (the leader of the Indiana group) had his trusty dictionary, and boy did I use it. I often wondered if it scared people to see me looking up words in a dictionary when we're talking health here... Anyway, I learned how to say things like rash, bumps, itchy, and other much grosser words I don't want to share. Also Talia, who has been studying English for a while, was a HUGE help. Between the two of us and Sara, whose English is much better than she claims, we were able to see about 100 kids (and treat most of their parents for parasites), as well as give everyone that came through vitamins to last a few weeks. We certainly felt day two went extremely well, and I was so proud of the nurses, because it had to be very intimidating to walk into this knowing that they were in charge, and yet there was a huge language barrier there.

- We had promised the girls at the orphanage that we'd be back on Wednesday to play with them and have ice cream, and after a long day at the clinic (and most of the guys doing construction all morning), many people were exhausted and, I think, not too excited about going straight to the orphanage and acting like they had energy. However, when we got there, everyone's spirits were immediately lifted and they were so stoked, because these girls were SO happy to see us, and were expecting us. They had each made a handmade card to welcome us, and went around handing them out. We played outside on the basketball courts for a while, writing with sidewalk chalk, playing with a plastic bowling set, and eating popsicles. Then we headed inside to where the TV is, and the girls jammed out to random music videos. Current favs in Nica right now are Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, not unlike in the US, I suppose. It was hilarious to watch them all singing along to JB, even though they had no idea what the words meant, and also to see the guys from our group dancing and singing with them, screaming like little girls. It's so fun to see these girls so easygoing and carefree, because their lives are not easy. The ladies who work there take great care of them though, and they love on them a whole lot. It's just hard when the ratio is about 3 ladies to 35 girls. You can imagine how little individual attention each girl gets on a daily basis.

- At the last regular church service while we were there, the gringos pretty much took over. Brittany, who is my age, sang a solo (in Spanish, which was awesome), a boy Shane, who's about 21, gave his testimony, and Daniel, another man, preached. It was really interesting to see this group loving the Nicaraguans and showing them how they worship their God. Neat stuff.

- On Friday morning, the group headed to the handicapped children's orphanage. This is always the toughest thing (I think, anyway) that the groups do down there because it is so hard to see these kids. Most of them can't walk or talk, and some of them can't move at all on their own. Their families just couldn't handle raising a kid "like them" so they leave them here. The children are in GREAT hands, though. One of the nurses with our group said she had never seen kids taken care of so well anywhere in the States. I always bring bubbles, because many of the kids that lay on mats on the floor love when you blow bubbles over them, and just talk to them, brush their hair off their face, etc. They just love attention, and they eat it up like crazy. Lots of kids were sitting up in wheelchairs, and they love just racing around the building. It is a very tough emotional experience, and I'd dare say nobody ever walks out of their with dry eyes, including me with my cold, cold heart that has been numb to many of these things for the past several years.

- Friday afternoon's plans were that the group wanted to thank all the Nicaraguans who had helped us so much over the course of their trip, so we loaded up the bus and went to Paso Caballo, a local beach. We swam for what seemed like hours, and then we all sat (about 53 I think) at a long table and had a nice dinner together! The food was great (I had curry chicken) and the conversation even greater. You could tell the Nicaraguans really enjoyed themselves and of course, we all loved being treated to a great meal! It was a long day, and the ride home was very quiet. Swimming in those rough Pacific waves sure takes it out of you...

- Saturday was the group's last day, and in the morning we decided to take them to Leon, which is a very historical city (used to be the capital of Nicaragua) about an hour away. We stopped first, though, at the hot springs - Hervideros de San Jacinto. Because of the nearby volcanoes, these hot springs formed, and man are they cool. I long ago gave up on putting pictures into these posts, mainly because I'm super lazy, but I believe I put some up in my facebook album. There are lots of little kids who live in the area or whose parents work there, and they act as little tour guides. Two girls quickly took me by the hand and started showing me around, all the while explaining what each thing was and where the volcanoes were, etc. Too adorable. The kids also make pots and little trinkets out of all the fresh clay in the area, and they "give" them to you, meaning you are of course expected to give them a donation. It was a really neat experience, especially because at this point, I've seen almost everything else touristy in the area!

We then headed to Leon, which usually is full of cute little shops and people in the park. There is a beautiful ancient cathedral, and it's just a really pretty little area. This day, however, was very rainy, which brought most people inside. It is still always neat to see the church though, and a few people from the group were able to get some great souvenirs nearby. I didn't buy a souvenir, but instead a delicious cacao drink. Man, I miss that stuff!!!

On the way back from Leon, everybody was really excited because we were off to give a bed to a family that we had met over the course of the trip. This story is just one of many examples of how God works in mysterious ways and how we never know one-one-millionth (not sure if that makes sense) of his plan... During the first week the Atlanta group was in Nica, we ate at a local restaurant a lot, and kept seeing these two little girls who were hanging around outside. Jim kept playing with them and making them laugh, and one day we gave them a big plate of leftovers. Then they talked to the girls and found out they were out selling plastic all day for their mom (no, I don't know who buys plastic). We invited them to our bible school at the church. Turns out they didn't show because they were out selling plastic, but they did show up to church the next day. That night, Steve and Freddy took them home because it was late and dark out, and they met the girls' mother and talked and prayed with her. Turns out there are 5 kids all together, one being a tiny baby, with no father, all living in a tiny shack. The kids were all sleeping on cardboard on the mud floor. Just imagine. By this time the Indiana group was in town and Steve shared this with the group. God placed on the group's heart to buy this family a bed, a bunk bed, in fact, so that all the kids would have somewhere to sleep. The group purchased the bed and that afternoon we all went over to deliver it. They were surprised, but the crazy thing is, the day before at the feeding line, the oldest girl handed a note that she had written to Hannah, who asked me to translate it for her. In the note, she was basically asking for Hannah's help to get them a bed. I know that you might read that and say, "wow, I can't believe they would ask for that," and that is how I used to think, but when you are that down and out, and you see an opportunity to get something you need, any sort of politeness or courtesy go out the window. And I don't blame them one bit. So the neat thing is, the group had already decided to get them a bed and were actually already in the process of getting it, when this girl wrote Hannah the letter. God is so good!

It was a great time watching the guys set up the bed and seeing the glowing smiles on the kids' faces, as well as how grateful their mom was for it all.

Saturday evening the church had a little surprise for us. We showed up and they had a whole table of fresh fruit ready for us, and they had gifts for everyone. The women all got a wood bracelet and little purse/backpacks that have the name of the church on them, and the men got bracelets that say the name of the church. They are so sweet to think of giving us gifts like that. They said they wanted to show us appreciation, but in reality I think we all realize how much more they always do for us. We ate the fruit and said our goodbyes (even though some of us still had one more day), and I could really tell how much the Indiana group fell in love with these people. There were lots of tears and lots of "next year"s... I know they'll be back; in fact, I think they'll be back soon and with a lot more people!

That night Freddy and Lito came over to the group's hotel to share their testimonies. I have seen Lito speak before, and his story is ALWAYS so inspiring and such a great testimony to God's goodness and faithfulness, and I had never heard Freddy speak before. He is always just translating what other people say. Freddy is a really strong man of God that has endured a lot, and it was very interesting to sit and listen to my good friend share his heart. Definitely a great night.

I woke up Sunday with a heavy heart, knowing it was my last day in this city that has completely taken over my heart. It was a busy day spent with people I desperately wanted to see as much as possible before I left. It wasn't enough, but I knew in my heart it was a great trip filled with wonderful people and the knowledge that God was glorified, and that, of course, I'd be back.

This trip was definitely the most inspiring, the most life-changing, the most attitude-changing, the most amazing time of my life. This trip has made me question where and how I'll live, what I'll do, and what my life will look like. Most of all, it has made it very clear to me who I am and whose I am.

Five More Days!

So, I have been extremely blessed by being able to stay five more days here, which means I´ll be coming back on the 19th. With everything being so busy with the group here, I hadn´t prepared myself mentally to leave, so two days ago I practically had a melt down at the thought. Also, the group from Indiana REALLY needs my help. I have had very little rest time for sure, except at night when they all go to sleep. My brain hurts from all the translating, but I recognize that this is what I have to offer to God as my service here, so I enjoy it. My Spanish is also getting a LOT better. I´ve learned a lot of medical terms too, as we did a medical clinic from about 8:00 - 2:00 today. Things are going great. These five days will buy me lots of time, and I´ll be able to visit Emilio and his family again.

I´m off to take care of a few logistical items, like buying essentials for things I ran out of right on time - IF I were leaving today as planned. We´re off to the girls´ orphanage to have ice cream and play with them at 4:30, so I´ve got an hour to shop, go to the hotel, shower, change, etc. We´ll see! More to come.

I´ll leave you with the words to one of my new favorite Spanish praise songs.

Tu amor por mi es mas dulce que la miel Your love for me is sweeter than honey
Tu misericordia es nueva cada dia Your mercies are new every day
es por eso que te alabo It´s because of this I worship you
es por eso que te sigo It´s because of this I follow you
es por eso que te doy todo mi amor It´s because of this I give you all my love

It sounds much prettier in Spanish than it translates into English. Trust me.

Chasing Bulls, Bible Schools and Eyeglasses

I know, I know. I suck. Just like I feared, when the group came in, my life became super hectic and I have had absolutely NO time to come and write. The few precious moments I´ve had to myself have been spent relaxing. Yesterday I finally just got overtired and felt like crap, but I slept a lot last night and have been taking it easy this morning.

There is definitely no way I have time right now to explain all the events of the past week, but I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that I´m still alive and still have lots to tell. Here´s a glimpse of what´s to come...

- Chili went well - the women loved it and we had a great time cooking together.
- At night, the church had planned a special 4th of July celebration for us gringos - they even bought fireworks - massive, legal-in-the-US-fireworks. And one of them is a wooden box that´s supposed to be a bull. A guy puts it on his head and chases after everybody. You´re supposed to taunt him by running towards him and running away, but the entire time, fireworks are shooting off both sides at you. It was pretty crazy, to say the least. And no, there are no pictures, because I was basically running for my life. Oh yea, and it all took place in the middle of a busy street at night time.

- We have done four one-day bible schools, two eyeglass clinics, and about a million church services.

- I went to Managua Friday night with a bunch of the Nicaraguans to pick up the group that came in from Indiana.

- I moved back to my hotel after only 3 nights at the fancy hotel. Everybody changed hotels. Long story, but it worked out REALLY well.

- I am leaving in two days and as usual, have mixed emotions about it. I have absolutely fallen in love all over again with this place, and am really starting to wonder where God´s taking me. Sure, I´ll be happy to have warm water again, but I really am starting to question the way I´ve been living my life in a lot of ways and how much happier I seem to be when things are simple. Í don´t know why it´s taken me six years..

Updates soon, promise!!!

Time Flies When You´re Sweating This Much

So, while it has still been raining every day, it´s been more at night and less during the day, which means the days are really, really hot. So I have finally been ¨Nicaragua sweating¨, which is like regular people sweating but to a much higher extreme. It´s all good, though. Who doesn´t like sweaty gringos?

To catch up, Thursday´s day in town was awesome. The only bad part was that it was blazing hot. We set to meet at 11:00, and last time we met they were punctual, so imagine my dismay when the family showed up at 12:00. Hmmm. First we went to Tip Top, which is like a Chic-Fil-A with a play place upstairs. However, the last two times we´ve gone, the whole upstairs with the play place has been reserved for a private party, so that was a bummer. Anyway, we always have the same waiter when we go. It´s a guy who lived in Miami for years, so he speaks English, and he always recognizes us and we speak in English and it´s all very enjoyable. I don´t know what I would do at Tip Top if he weren´t there. It´s as if he is part of the restaurant. The boys and mom chose their food (little Manuel wanted an entire roasted chicken, which of course he didn´t get) and after eating, headed out to the playground in the park. The park is always filled with lots of kids, and this day was no exception. Lots of kids were just getting out of school so it was hopping. The boys went on the swings, the slides, the jungle gym-type thing. It was great. Then we headed to the arcade to play air hockey, shoot some hoops, and for the little guy to ride in the fake police car. After beating Oscar 7 to 6 in air hockey, I was pretty proud of myself, even if he is 8 years younger than I am. After arcade games, we went to the Eskimo ice cream place and had huge ice cream cones. There is a little jungle gym inside the store, so the younger boys played while I saw with mom and Oscar. There was a little boy outside selling gum, and as each boy handed their ice cream to their mom so they could play, she would hand them to the boy outside. He was obviously VERY excited to have TWO ice cream cones in one day.

The routine is so familiar to the boys now, as this was the 5th or 6th time we´ve gone to the park. They look forward to it SO much, and you can see the excitement in their eyes as they´re walking up to Tip Top. They know that whatever they ask for on that day, I´m going to get it for them, and it doesn´t bother me at all, because they so deserve a day like that, even if it´s just once or twice a year. I love being able to do that for them, and their mom obviously loves seeing their smiling faces too. And truth be told, the entire day cost me about $50, which included food for 6, about $5 worth of arcade games, and ice cream for 6. Not bad at all, considering 6 ice cream cones at Bruster´s or Cold Stone would be about $35 in itself.

After I left the family in a taxi to head for home, I headed back to the hotel to rest for a while before church. Church starts at 6:30, so naturally I showed up around 7:10, to find that they had not yet started. The pastor had taken Jim and some other guys down to this neighborhood where they were doing some gang outreach, so everyone just waited for him to get back and set up all the sound equipment. I love how patient people are here. Definitely something I´ve had to learn and am still learning. So once church started, the rain started. And this was some serious rain. Eventually the lights went out and 50 people just sat there in complete darkness for about ten minutes. The night ended early since there was nothing to do, and I just headed back to the hotel for the rest of the night.

Friday morning, after I wrote, I was headed to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients for chili. When I make chili at home, I use turkey meat (because I´m not a big beef fan), three types of beans, cumin, chili powder, etc. You can probably guess that ground turkey is not available here, nor are Great Northern beans. Or chili powder. They don´t use a lot of spice in their food here. So I definitely had to improvise. The chili was still okay, it just didn´t have that kick that I would like it to have, without chili powder and all. The best part about that afternoon was when I asked Liza how Freddy and I were going to get the chili to the school (about a 3 qt. pot), since we normally would take the motorcycle. She asked if I felt comfortable riding on the motorcycle with the pot on my leg. I thought she was kidding. She was not. So yes, I rode on a motorcycle on the bumpy, pothole ridden streets of Chinandega, with a towel and pot holder underneath the pot (since we had JUST taken it off the stove), with a giant pot of chili on top, and held the lid on with one hand holding a towel, and the other side with the bottom of my left rib cage, since I thought it was a good idea to hold on to the motorcyel with at least one hand. It was awesome. I felt like the best gringo ever.

I felt horrible going to Freddy´s English class so gross and sweaty, as cooking a hot meal in a hot kitchen with no air or fan will make you hot and sweaty, but there was no time to change. All the kids were dressed in their school uniforms, and their parents were there as well. Here it´s customary for parents to come get the kids´ final grades, which I think is kind of neat. After a couple skits (students practicing conversational English), and a few songs sung by students and one playing the guitar, it was time for me to introduce myself. Freddy had told me that he wanted me to tell the students the recipe for chili in English, so they could write it down. Well, once I went up in front of the room full of 40 people, he then told them that I was going to ¨tell them a little bit about myself, as well as what the 4th of July is like in my country, how we celebrate it, and all about the chili¨. I was surprised, to say the least, and a little flustered, since I had to speak in Spanish about everything except the recipe and I hadn´t exactly prepared. And what exactly DO we do on the 4th of July? I don´t do a whole lot. Last year, if I remember correctly, I walked to the bridge to see the fireworks with two people and then we went to Squid Lips and had some drinks and appetizers. It went well though, because the kids are SO sweet and I think they can appreciate how hard it is for me to stand up in front of a group of people and speak a second language, since that is basically what they were doing too.

After that, we passed out little bowls of the chili for everyone to try. I think mostly people were impressed with how easy it was to make. ¨Cook the meat and then put everything into the pot¨ is a lot easier than most of the things they cook here. Then Freddy called each student´s name and their mom-dad-grandma-grandpa-older sister, or some family member, went up to the front to get their final exam and final report card. Freddy also called out each student´s grade, which made me laugh, since we´d probably get sued for doing that. The student with the highest grade then gave a little speech to thank their families and Freddy for everything they do. It was really sweet to see such devoted students. Freddy´s ¨normal¨job is at a private school, where the students are mostly spoiled rich kids who don´t appreciate much, so Liza has told me how much better these students are for him to work with, and also for her to be around at school events.

Back at the hotel later on, it started raining, and it was the biggest storm there has been since I´ve been here. It is fascinating to sit outside and watch the lightning in the distance, but it was raining so much that they shut the hotel doors and I even shut my room door because the rain was so crazy. By this time, it was just the hotel worker, the one I´m not friends with, and me in the hotel. The TV in my room was busted, and there wasn´t enough light to read, and this guy, Carlos, does NOT make conversation with me, or really with anybody, so I was BORED out of my mind. I thought many times, once the rain stopped, about going out to Liza´s house just to see if she was there and wanted to get something to eat, since I really didn´t want to go out at night by myself, but I thought she might not be there and the whole trip might be a bust, etc. So imagine how happy I was when I heard her voice in the distance. I slammed open my door and there she was, asking Carlos if I was there. I was SO happy to see her, and even more so when she told me she came to see if I wanted to go get something to eat. She read my mind!!! So we walked down to this place that sells the best darn taquitos in this hemisphere. SO good. It´s so nice to spend time alone with Liza where we can just talk and be like ¨regular¨ friends. We have no shortage of things to talk about, and she is one of the few people here that I feel this closeness with.

By the time we got back, my hotel worker friend, Moises, was back, so she left me to visit with him for the rest of the night. About a half hour later, the power went out for about 10 blocks, including the hotel. So we sat in pitch blackness for about a half hour, just talking. It was strange, to say the least. At 12:00 we watched the show we´d become obsessed with the last few nights, I Love Money (which is horrible, really), and then I went to bed. It was my last night in the hotel and it was very bittersweet. I absolutely LOVE that hotel, both for its location and for the people that work there. I hate to leave, but the other group came in Friday night and it was time to go. So, in the morning, I packed my things and moved to Villas del Cortijo, the Ritz Carlton of Nicaraguan hotels.

and the rest will have to wait. It´s about to start pouring, and I am going to run back to my old hotel to sit in the lobby to wait out the storm. At 2:00 I´m due back at the church to start cooking the chili! We´ll see how this goes. We are supposed to be making enough for 100 people... Stay tuned. Hopefully pictures next time. I forgot the cord for the camera.

And oh yea, Happy 4th of July!

American Cooking for Nicaraguans 101

I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote (well, since I really wrote last), but now it´s all fuzzy and hard to remember, and I guess this is why I said I was going to write every other day, so this wouldn´t happen.

Anywho, when I last left you it was Tuesday morning, and there was no water (just in the shower) at the hotel. Each day since, there has also been no water in the shower. Which stinks. I guess they are still working on fixing some filter or whatnot. The sink water runs very weakly though, so it´s enough. By the time I get back in the afternoon from whatever I´ve been doing, the water is usually back on. So no worries about my lack of showering.

Tuesday afternoon I went back to the supermarket to take a real good look at what all I could find there, so that I would know what I might be able to make on Wed. night. I ran a few other errands and when i got back to the hotel, Freddy called and invited me to come to his English class. He teaches English at a private school in town; he also teaches English at a local academy, he also does a lot of tutoring outside of school, AND he now teaches another class. It was set up through the US Embassy here. The students had to apply for the class, and must be low-income, high-performing students, ages 14-16, at the beginning English level. Freddy was helping a few students with their applications and decided to apply, and he got the job. I was happy to go, as I´ve gone to his classes before and they are lots of fun, because the kids love practicing English with a ¨real¨ English speaker - not that Freddy is not one, but since he is the teacher, they´re too used to him. Also, I was sort of excited to speak English for a while.... It´s so NICE not to have to think so much when you talk!

Freddy came and picked me up on his motorcycle (ride number 2). The class is held at a local school run by an orphanage in a beautiful, tropical location sort of hidden from the main road. I waited outside while Freddy reviewed with the kids and told them that I was there. He told them that I didn´t speak Spanish, so they had to speak to me in English. I could hear them all saying they were nervous and scared, and it was pretty funny, because as far as scary goes, I think I´m not.Then I went in and as a review for their tests the following two days, they practiced asking me questions about myself and my life. They thought of some really good questions, and their English was REALLY good, for the most part. I already mentioned how Twilight came up. They also love to ask about if you´re married, how many kids you have, what your hobbies are, what your favorite movie is, etc. They also had some original humdingers!

The kids started asking if I was going to come back on Friday, when they receive their final grades. Freddy and I talked and decided that I would make chili and bring it (because of the upcoming 4th of July) as a sort of celebration. (I digress, but I have to insert here that the Nicaraguans that have been to the States are fascinated by chili. Tina cooked it for them when they were visiting, and they just loved it. So they all now consider that a ¨typical¨ U.S. meal, which I guess in a way, it is).

After getting dropped back off at the hotel (ride number 3), I showered and got ready for church. The longer I´m here, the more Nicaraguan I feel, and that shows in how late I start arriving at things. There was a time when I would show up at church at 6:30 no matter what, because that is what time it ¨starts¨, and my anal gringa head tells me I must.be.punctual. But this day I didn´t go until about five minutes before 7:00. There I saw Jim, who I met a few years ago here wiith the group from Georgia. He is sort of like me, as he just comes when he can with whatever money he can. Unlike me though, he is leading the building of a church in an area called La Graxa, which is heavily gang-infested. He is pretty tough, as he was in Vietnam and also has lived in villages with cannbials. He has lots of interesting stories, to say the least. After church, the pastor and his family treated Jim, me, Freddy and Liza to dinner. We went to a Mexican place that has delicious tacos. It is on the corner of a road and a highway, and it sits up high, about two flights of stairs, which gives it a really neat view. The tacos were great, although a little too onion-heavy for my taste.

The next morning, FINALLY, I headed to Villa Catalina to see my people. I hopped in a taxi and was there by 10:00. Of course, the rain finally stopped and this was a bona-fide hot Nicaraguan day. I stopped first at Zayda´s house. If you recall, Zayda was the first Nicaraguan friend I met, and she is my age. When I met her, her oldest daughter Eli was a little under 2 years old, and she was pregnant with another. Now, Jeni is almost 5, and she now has a three-month-old boy, Andy. When Jessica and I were in late March, we saw and held Andy when he was just 9 days old. He was so tiny. That is certainly not the case now. He has the rolliest polliest legs and arms, and he is just adorable. And no, I know what you´re thinking, he wasn´t looking for nutrition from me. He´s just really squirmy.

Upon leaving Zayda´s house, I walked down about 10 houses to Emilio´s house. I knew the family wasn´t there, because during the week when school is in, they stay in town in Chinandega, at a house that their dad is watching, along with some cows, for some dude. But I knew Oscar was there because I had seen him walking home from school. Oscar is 16 and he stays to watch the house and go to school in the Villa. I went and talked with him for a while, and then he took me into town to go to the house where the family was, which is actually only a few miles from my hotel and from the church. The two little boys were a little sick, so they were sort of mopey, but still glad to see me. The land they´re staying on is beautiful, and they´re not the most social family, so I think they really like being away from the millions of people in the Villa. It was decided that the next day we´d do our ¨day in town¨ like we always do, and I left.

I went back to the hotel to get ready for cooking dinner that night. I decided to make chicken piccata, which I´ve made once before, mashed potatoes, which I´ve actually never made but of course know how to make, and corn, which of course I´ve made tons of times, as it comes from a can! I was even able to buy the same exact brand that I buy at home. I made my list and went to the supermarket to buy all the cold ingredients I didn´t buy the day before. Chicken piccata has lemons, but they only have limes here, so I used those. From the store, I went to Liza´s house and started cooking. Everything turned out well, and they really love butter, so we loaded up those mashed potatoes good. Liza said she liked how in the States we serve all the food in the middle of the table and eat from there, whereas here they just leave it on the cooktop and serve the plates. I explained to her that I eat my dinner on a plate on top of a pillow on my lap sitting on the couch watching TV, so there are all types. Although when I lived with my parents, we did eat a little more formally...

After cleaning up, we went to the church. There was a group of American kids on a mission trip to Managua, who came to Chinandega just for the night to have some fellowship with the church here. I didn´t realize until that night that it was Americans coming. I thought it was Nicaraguans from Managua. So I felt bad that we came just about when all the fun was ending. But it was still nice to get to meet them and again, speak English. The group was going to spend one night at a local hotel here, but didn´t know how to get there, so Freddy was going to lead them on his motorcycle, and then take me home afterwards. The group was hungry though, so we stopped at On The Run for them to load up on some essentials, and I got a cup of coffee. To go. On a motorcycle. I watched as all the gringo teenagers looked at me like I was absolutely nuts as I climbed up onto that motorcycle with a cup of coffee in my left hand. And I rode that way all the way back to my hotel. One-handed. With coffee. I thought it was awesome.


Thursday´s ´day in town´ will have to wait for another post. I´m in desperate need of a shower and am hoping the water is back on by now. I need to go buy all the stuff to make chili and then head over to Liza´s to cook it, and then to bring it to the school.


I hope you all have a fabulous 4th of July weekend!!!

One Week Down

This is really sort of a fake post. I vowed to write every other day, and I just don´t have the energy to put into a lengthy writing today. I do have stories and fun pictures to share, but I have about an hour before I need to leave, and I really don´t feel like spending it trying to recall what I´ve been doing for the past two days. I WILL write tomorrow. So until then, I leave you with the fact that all Nicaraguan teenagers love Twilight. And I love talking about Twilight with them. I visited Freddy´s English class on Tuesday afternoon and they were practicing conversational skills by asking me questions about my life. One girl asked if I liked Twilight, and I went on and on about how much I like it and I loved the books. So then one girl asked if I liked Edward or Jacob better, which then spiraled into a class discussion about who´s better and why. I love it. Team Edward.

Baho, Dominoes & Rain

As promised, I¨m back!

A few notes:

* It has rained every single day for at least 30 minutes, and some days, it has rained pretty much the entire day. I don¨t like the fact that it makes me change my plans somewhat, but I love how cool it has been. Presently I¨m wearing jeans and a cardigan, at 11:00 in a poorly ventilated internet cafe in Chinandega, the hottest part of Nicaragua. The temperature has been in the mid 80s, which, for anyone living in Florida, probably sounds great right about now.

* I¨ve been watching a LOT more soccer here than I know I¨d be watching back home. This should please my mother to no end. Everybody here is obsessed with the World Cup, and it´s fun to watch how much they get into it. The other day (Sunday, I think, but the days sort of all run together), I walked from the hotel to Liza´s mom´s house, which is probably about .75 of a mile, while Argentina and Mexico played. While I was walking, Argentina scored twice, and I knew it each time because all the TVs were cranked up and I could not only hear the TV announcers, but also the people watching were freaking out and crazy about it. And at the hotel, they are constantly watching whatever game is on, so when I sit in the lobby, that´s what I watch.

* I ate another traditional dish here, baho. It´s made of yuca, plantains and pork, and it is basically slow-steamed over night. The yuca has this delicious soft texture, and the plantains are practically mushy - SO good. The picture really doesn´t do it justice, but here it is: They put a salad made of cabbage and carrots on top. It was all very tasty. There´s also a picture of Liza eating hers.

* After we ate the baho, we played Dominoes. Liza was given a set from some gringos last year. It was funny to me because I´ve never actually played Dominoes, and in fact, I didn´t actually know how to play. We played a game called Pata de Pollo, or Chicken Leg. It was really fun and easy to catch on to. It took what felt like hours to play the whole game, but it was really fun. That night, we ate dinner at Karla´s house from a place nearby, and afterwards Freddy dropped me off at the hotel on his MOTORCYCLE! I had never ridden on one before, and I had hesitations, to say the least. This doesn´t exactly seem to me to be the safest place to first ride on a motorcycle, (without a helmet of course), but Freddy is a really good driver. It was actually really fun and I think I´ll do it again!

* Hospitality is really taken to the next level here. I am never permitted to help prepare any food (and no, they aren´t just worried about me burning the house down or anything like that), wash a dish, or pay for any meals when we all go out together. For example, when we ate baho, there was only enough prepared for three people, so instead of giving me less (I had quite the plateful), Freddy went out and bought something to eat for himself, while Liza, Karla and I ate the baho. Many people have offered for me to stay in their houses. While I would love to do that, to feel more ¨Nica¨, I really don´t want to be a burden to anybody. I know that no matter where I stayed, someone would feel the need to cook every meal for me, constantly get me drinks and basically, serve me, which is exactly what I don´t want. At the same time though, I don´t want people to think that I don´t want to stay with them because their house isn´t nice enough. It´s tough to get this point across.

* Example of the difference in the importance of time in our cultures: Yesterday the plan was to go to Liza´s house for breakfast around 10:00. I was supposed to go to Karla´s house, from where we´d talk together to Liza´s. I called Karla at 10:00, and of course she was just beginning to get ready, and told me she needed another half hour. So I gave her 40 minutes and when I showed up, it appeared that nobody was there. I knocked and knocked, called out her name and called her phone, which I could hear in the front room. I figured she was still getting ready somewhere in the house and just couldn´t hear me. So I left and took a taxi to Liza´s house, because I don´t know the way well enough to walk on my own. When I got to Liza´s, she was still in her pajamas and was cleaning the house. Bonita, the adorable puppy pictured (I think she is mostly cocker spaniel), had made a mess the night before when we were hanging out at her mom´s house. Then Karla showed up and started cooking while Liza took a shower and got ready. We ended up eating around 1:00. Of course, I didn´t mind at all, as I had no other plans and like spending time with them regardless of what we´re doing. It´s just so funny sometimes to see how different we are.

* After we ate, Liza and Karla´s friend, Eunice, came over and we played Nertz! I had taught Liza and Karla last year, so Liza remembered somewhat how to play, and she helped me explain the game again. It is really hard to not know certain important words when you´re trying to give instructions for a game!

* I went back to the hotel and slept hard for about two hours. I was really sleepy because the night before, I watched the movie The End of Time, or something like that (everything translates weird in Spanish so I´m not sure what it´s actually named in English). It has Mark Whalberg and that girl Zoe something who´s in lots of movies now. I missed the beginning, but basically it´s about some phenomenon happening in the northeast US where people are just starting to drop dead, or start killing themselves, and it was happening mostly in public parks in big cities. Then it started happening in smaller cities and in smaller populations. Anyway, it was creepy and there was one especially creepy lady who I now cannot get out of my head. I had trouble sleeping that night, so I needed a nap yesterday. I hung around the hotel most of the night afterwards, because it was raining and because I had nothing else to do!

* From 2005-2007, I experienced a lot of water and power shortages here, but in the last few years, none. So I was surprised to find this morning when I was in the freezing shower, with shampoo all over my head, that the water just stopped. Not even a trickle. So I checked the sink, and it had a slow trickle. The sink is tiny, though, and there is no way I could have fit my head in there to rinse off. So my next thought was that it was raining lightly, so I could go outside and just rinse off au natural. But then I realized I didn´t want to get clothes all dirty just to go out and do so. So I just sort of sat there for a few minutes and kept trying the water. Eventually, it came back as a small trickle and I was able to rinse off. Apparently they were cleaning the city water filter or something bizarre like that, so supposedly it´s not going to happen again. We´ll see!

* I´m hoping to FINALLY make it out to the Villa tomorrow to see my two favorite families. I really don´t want to go in the rain, because everything will be muddy and make it harder for me to get out there, but it appears that the rain is not going to stop any time soon.

* Tomorrow night I am cooking dinner for everybody, and I still have NO idea what to make. Nobody has an oven in their house, just a cooktop, so that rules out a lot of things. I think I´ll make mashed potatoes, and some sort of chicken, but I´m not sure what. I´m going to do some researching of recipes online, and then go to the supermarket to see what is even available for me. I´m sure there will be an interesting story to tell about it tomorrow!

... I guess I thought I´d write less if I put it in bullet point format, but 11 bullets later, it appears that is not the case.

¡Estoy Aquí...a continuación!

Here´s take two at my first entry since I got here... I´m going to attempt to fill you in on the rest of Thursday, and then Friday and Saturday... I´ll try not to tell you every little detail since I know you all (well, most of you) have busy lives to lead and don´t really care how many bottles of water I drink daily or how many catcalls I´ve gotten... but I love to share all the details because those are what make me laugh every day.

First, I have to recognize yesterday´s crazy computer´s flair for the dramatic... It deleted everything right after ´there was nobody there to pick me up´. All I needed then was a suspenseful ¨DUN DUN DUN¨. Anyway, for the first time in 8 trips, I had decided to go it alone and navigate my own way to Chinandega. Toney, fellow American and Nica lover, told me about how much I should pay for each leg of my trip. So a nice, helpful airport worker helped throw my suitcases (each JUST under 50 lbs.) into a taxi. Now, Toney told me I should pay $10 for a taxi from the airport to the bus terminal. Well, I´ve learned that you always have to check the price before you get in the taxi. This guy wanted $20. I asked if he´d take $15, and he said no. He was a real stickler. Well, he was the only taxista there right this second, and I´m no good at haggling, so I got in anyway. I had visions of myself stuck at the airport for hours, waiting for a taxi to take my measly $10, so I went. And boy was I in for a ride! He was one of the more aggressive taxi drivers I´ve had here, and that is saying a LOT. Anyway, when I got to the bus terminal I was quickly whisked onto a van headed to Chinandega. My suitcases were able to take up a seat next to me, rather than tie them up on top because it looked like rain. For BOTH seats, I paid 120 Córdobas, which is roughly $6. So, yes, that´s $20 for a 15-minute taxi ride, and $6 for TWO seats for a 2-hour ride in a 15-passenger van... Crazy, I know.... but the van went pretty full, so I guess they feel they make enough money. Anywho, the van ride felt quick and it was nice... it started to rain so there was a nice breeze coming in through the windows. Again, I slept most of the ride. When I got to Chinandega and finally recognized things, I jumped in a taxi and went to Hotel San Juan. This is my 5th or so time staying there and I love it for its affordability, central location and the nice people who work there :).

At the hotel, they quickly got a room ready for me and then I crashed for a two hour nap. After sleeping, I realized I had not eaten since a small apple croissant at OIA, so I headed for my favorite ¨house-restaurant¨, which is when people take their house and convert the front part into a restaurant, no permit needed :). However, it was only around 4:00, and they weren´t open for dinner yet, so I settled for a smaller house restaurant about a block away from the hotel. My gallo pinto (traditional rice and beans dish), maduro (fried ripe plantain) and carne de res (beef grilled with lime juice - yes, I know I said I wasn´t going to eat beef any more, but it was SO good) cost about $2 and filled me up nicely. Then I was off to visit friends.

My first stop was Liza´s mom´s house right behind the church. Liza usually waits there for me when I´m coming because it´s close and I know how to get there. However, nobody was home except for her niece and nephew, so I headed a few blocks over to Karla´s house, but nobody was home there either. At this point I was beginning to feel very unloved, but I remembered that last time I was here, Liza had written directions to her house in my little notebook that I carry around with me (not unlike the notebook in Blue´s Clues). So, I jumped in a taxi and headed there. Boy, was she surprised to see me pull up to her house! For some reason, she thought I was coming on the 29th rather than the 24th, so it was a very fun surprise. I went in and we visited for a while. She was working on a birthday card for Freddy, whose birthday was the 25th.

After catching up and talking about dogs (they just got a new puppy, Bonita, who has similar ¨peeing¨problems as Tucker - how funny), Liza started to tell me the story of what happened after I left last time. As most of you know, Liza was 6 months pregnant in March, and she had spent one full night at a clinic while we were here because of high blood pressure, but they thought everything was fine after that. The night we left, she went back to the clinic and ended up having to be admitted again. They then transferred her to Leon because of how seriously high her blood pressure was. They decided they had to deliver the baby or risk Liza´s life, so their baby boy (Angel Caleb) was born on the 5th of April. He lived two days, and everybody thought that after the 48-hour mark he would survive, but he passed away. Liza told me how he looked just like Freddy except with light skin like hers, how he would hold on to her pinky with his tiny hand, and how she knew that he knew who she was when she was with him. She and Freddy talked to him, prayed with him, and were not with him when he passed away. It was heartbreaking to listen to this story, but beautiful in a way, too. Of course, by the end we were both in tears. Liza is SO strong, though, and has since gone to see a specialist about her condition. They were told that next time she gets pregnant, there is an injection she´ll need to have every day to keep her blood pressure low, and that each shot costs $50. Which is insanely expensive here, obviously. So please keep this wonderful family in your prayers. Freddy had come home and was changing clothes to rush out to a dinner for his work, and when he heard Liza talking about the baby, I could see such a wounded expression on his face. I feel like he feels he needs to be strong for Liza, that he holds his own sorrow in to comfort her. Such a sad situation.

Then Karla came over and we all headed for church. I had seen the pastor earlier when walking back to the hotel with my food, so I felt I should go and properly say hi to everybody. Church started at 6:30, so naturally that is when we left Liza´s house and walked about a mile and a half to get there (punctuality not such a big deal here). We got there around 7:00, and at 8:30 I had to leave because I was about to fall asleep. What the pastor was talking about was actually very interesting, but I was STILL exhausted from the day of traveling. So I headed back to the hotel and was asleep by 9:00.

Friday
I slept until 9:00 Friday morning - yes, 12 hours. Insane. Let me note that it was about 90 degrees on Thursday, not so bad compared to what I´ve been living with in Florida. It had rained, so it felt nice and cool. Friday morning felt great and breezy, which is strange for around here. I took my time getting ready and then walked around the city to re-acquaint myself. I called Karla up to get lunch at Las Tejitas, my favorite local ¨fritanga¨, which Jess and I were unable to eat at in March because of bad timing and their closing early for Holy Week. Needless to say, I was extremely excited. To the right is a picture of the outside. It is too dark to see the inside well, but it´s basically a line where you walk through and pick what you want (not unlike Picadilly´s - anybody?) I had rice, black beans, a beef dish similar to ¨ropa vieja¨and a maduro again. My food´s not that interesting, so here´s a picture of Karla eating hers.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel for a bit while Karla went to a study group (she is studying to be what is similar to a notary). A few hours later, I headed to Karla´s house to meet up with her, Liza and Freddy. We were invited to eat dinner at Freddy´s mom´s house to celebrate Freddy´s birthday. Jess and I also went to her house when we were here in March to celebrate her birthday, so I´m thinking the lady probably thinks I only come around for free food on birthdays... Anyway, we had rice and a delicious chicken with peppers in a really good sauce - no idea what it was though. Freddy´s adorable niece and nephews (one of which had a big crush on Jessica when we were there before, and asked about her :)) put on a little mini-competition for this plastic World Cup trophy they got somewhere. One o them sang, one danced and one recited a lengthy poem from memory. It was adorable. The niece won with the poem, in case you´re wondering. From there, it was about 10:00 and I headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

When I realized the first day that the hotel fridge has NO drinks whatsoever, I was a bit concerned. In March I probably averaged three bottles of water a day, no joke. However, so far this trip, I have had ONE each day, just with lunch or dinner. That´s actually less water than I drink in the U.S., which is not good really, but I plan on buying some to keep in the hotel fridge since it hasn´t been restocked still. Anyway, the first day when Moises (same hotel-worker-friend from March) saw me poking around the fridge, he jumped up and ran out to get me a bottle of water before I panicked about it. The weather has just been amazing. Friday rained in the evening so I slept nice and cool with my sheet and the fan on low. Yesterday, Saturday it rained almost ALL day, which is so unheard of here. By dinnertime yesterday, I was wearing a cardigan and JEANS. Usually it takes me a few WEEKS to be able to wear jeans comfortably. I was actually COLD. It´s insane. I think the not-using-the-air-conditioning-much-at-home and the Florida-is-so-hot-I-can-barely-breathe really helped to prepare me. I don´t think it´s actually cold here, but rather that the rain and the temp. back home help me feel right at home.

Saturday morning I decided to run some errands. I needed to go to the ATM, the supermarket and the internet cafe, since I vowed to try to write every other day. I headed first to the internet cafe, where I sat for what felt like hours. I actually was worried that I didn´t have enough money on me to pay for my time using the computer, when it was only 15 Córdobas when I left, which is about .75... ha! Anyway, as you know I typed up that diatribe just to have the computer sign me out and piss me off royally. So from there I headed to On The Run gas station to use the ATM. Then I went (P.S. Just now some crazy Nica lady with lipstick all over her lips/teeth came in and walked back into the room I´m in just to shake my hand and smile at me crazily) to the ¨corner of the banks¨to change my money into Córdobas. La Colonial is the closest thing here to our Walmart, except here it´s where the rich people shop, so I headed there to get a few gifts and bug spray (the ONLY thing I forgot to pack!). I got a shirt for a friend in Villa Catalina, a few gift bags for stuff I had brought from home, and a sweat rag, in case the heat picks up around here. Satisfied with my purchase, I headed back to the hotel to wait for Liza and Freddy. They came to get me about a half hour later and we headed out to lunch - at a CHINESE restaurant! Oh, it was great. I had what are basically egg rolls, while the lovebirds shared a plate of chow mein. It was so funny to see little Nicaraguan men dressed like traditional Chinese waiters. We stayed there for what felt like forever because Freddy insisted on me showing pride for my country and watching the U.S. vs. Ghana soccer game. Frankly, I feel my time could have been spent better doing almost anything else (especially since we lost), but Freddy and I bond over sports most times I´m here (last year it was watching the NBA finals in the park at night). So we stayed and watched the whole thing, including the 30 minutes of extra play. Ugh.

After that, Freddy headed off to work (he does LOTS of extra tutoring for students) while Liza and I hit the town for some shopping. I wanted a gift for her mom and had no idea what to get, so I enlisted her for help. I bought a beautiful white shirt that Liza had been wanting to get for her mom but hadn´t been able to yet, so it will be fun for us both to get to give it to her. Also, I told Liza that I wanted to buy her something for the house that but I wanted her to pick, so she ended up with a pot and a pan, both with lids. She was excited to double her kitchen cookware, ha! Then we bought a pair of jeans for Freddy for his bday the day before. I often wonder if I lived here, if I would ever remember where all these little shops are and how to get to them. We wound ourselves through the market to find one specific clothes vendor that Liza knows, and I had absolutely no idea where we were. I feel lucky that I know how to get to about 10 places here, total.

By that time it was time to for Liza to head back home and I went back to the hotel to hang out. I sat and talked for a while with Moises - we seem to get into these weird, uber-personal conversations, which is always interesting. He asked me when he could come to church with me here, which REALLY surprised me, in a good way, so he´ll be coming with me on Tuesday. Eventually I went to La Gayta (finally!), my favorite place, and ate some good old gallo pinto and a maduro. I watched some crazy movie, Assassin for Hire (I think) with the men at the hotel and then called it a night.

Sunday

Today I woke up and after showering, headed straight to the internet cafe with my renewed vigor to update you all. However, the one I always go to was closed because it´s Sunday, despite the painted sign on the front that says ¨Abierto todos los días¨ - open every day. So I went to On The Run for some coffee to keep WARM. Yes, that´s right, I was cold all night! No fan, but it rained all night so it kept the room real cool. The cold shower didn´t feel so great this morning, and I just needed some warmth. The catch 22 is that On The Run is crazy air-conditioned, which usually I appreciate, but this morning I detested. I was drinking my coffee and watching the Germany vs. England soccer game, when I saw Kristin and Jeremy walk in. They are a married couple who work for Amigos for Christ and live here. I met both of them 5 years ago when I started coming here. They were of course surprised to see me since I´ve yet to stop by the Amigos house to say hi, and we chatted for a while. I LOVE seeing people I know here. Especially at that moment, I was sort of craving gringo-talk, otherwise known as English. Of course Freddy speaks English, but when we´re with other people we speak Spanish, and the hotel owner´s son speaks English, but he is pompous and has yet to say one word to me, so I´ve been wanting to speak to somebody without having to think so much about it, so it was perfect!

From On The Run, I jumped in a taxi and asked them to take me to any open internet cafe. We drove by three closed ones and my chances were starting to look slim, when all of a sudden the 4th one was open. I then realized that I pass this one every time I walk to the other one, that it´s about three blocks closer to my hotel. It´s also MUCH nicer. It´s funny how I´m so oblivious to things when I´m walking. I usually just focus on knowing how to get where I need to go. I think from now on I´ll just come here! So there it is, pictures and all. I´m awful proud of my technology abilities today, friends.

For the faithful few that have made it to the end, thanks for caring. Sorry for the dissertation, but remember that this is also my way of remembering everything, since I´m too lazy to journal any more. I leave you with a picture of the pitahaya, a local fruit with a pink inside. It´s for Adam. He knows why.

Right now there´s some sort of little ´gathering´with a bunch of Movistar vans (local phone company - it´s what I have) with music and dancing, so I´m off to see that, and then to lunch at Liza´s mom´s house. Last night they started making Bau, some sort of traditional dish here, which I´ll find out more about in a little bit!

¡Adios, amigos!

¡Estoy Aquí!

¡Hola amigos!

I figured it´s just about time for my first update. As many of you know, this first week I am here alone. I like to do that because then when the group gets here from Georgia, I have a lot less time to visit with friends because we´re working a lot and staying at a hotel further out of the city. Anyway, I decided to really look at this week as a vacation. No agenda, no alarm waking me up (which as you know, I ALWAYS have an alarm set), no urgency to get lots of stuff done each day. That being said, here´s what I´ve been up to...

The Flight
My flight was very uneventful, which I like. I breezed through OIA and then slept most of the first flight, which was to San Salvador, El Salvador. I flew TACA for the first time, and it was great. I didn´t notice many of the details, because I was sleeping hardcore on the flight... I even missed the in-flight food. So I´m not sure how it was... but the first mini-disaster was when I finally woke up in time for drinks, and I got a cup of coffee. After I put in my sugar and non-dairy creamer (disgust), I put the cup on the little tray in front of me. I don´t know why I didn´t put it on the one next to me, since I had two seats to myself. Anyway, of course right after that, since I was still in sleep mode, I went to move my leg, and I knocked the entire cup off the tray and onto my purse and carry-on. The coffee part wasn´t bad, because I soaked it up with the blanket I had... but the stickyness from the sugar would not wipe off. and it was on my legs and my purse. yuck. other than that, fairly uneventful.

For some reason, I figured the San Salvador airport would be nice, but it actually wasn´t. I think even the Managua airport is nicer. The bathrooms were really primitive, and I don´t think the air was on in the airport! but I was ony there for about 45 minutes until my next flight left. This flight was only about 50 minutes, yet I still managed to get some sleep in. I was EXHAUSTED from the waking up at 4:00 that morning. Again, uneventful flight, and then I was in Managua! After I got my bags and changed some money over, I was ready to leave. The way the airport is set up, there is this huge glass window for people who come to look in at the baggage claim area. So it´s really fun to find the person who´s waiting for you and wave.The strange thing is, this time there was no one waiting to pick me up.

ARGHHHH. I finished writing this post - it was about 18,000 more paragraphs, then something happened to the computer and it ALL GOT DELETED. I´m so mad right now. Yet I don´t want to take the time to type it all again. Maybe I´ll come back later today, after I´m not so hopping mad. To be continued....

Number Eight

Never before have I taken trips to Nica so close back-to-back - and I'm thrilled! I have just 32 days until I step out into that stale Nicaraguan heat again, and I cannot wait. I am committed to doing a better job of keeping up with the blog while I'm there this time - you can hold me accountable to it. I am looking for newness on this trip - I want to branch out of my comfort zone and look for new people to interact with, and for new opportunities for me to grasp hold of - this country is constantly expanding its hold on my heart, and I don't doubt this will happen during my next three weeks there.

Number Seven

Seven. The number of times I've been to Nicaragua. One-hundred twenty-one. The number of days I've spent in Nicaragua. Each time I go, it's better. Each time I come back, it's worse. Some think the heat is unbearable. I can bear the heat. Some think it's too dirty. I can live with the dirt. Some can't cross the language barrier. I can cross it. What I can't do is forget. What I can't do is put aside those sweet faces. What I can't do is go back. What I have to do is get on with things.

Invariably, every time I come back, I am in what can only be described as a funk. It's not that I'm not happy to be home. I love sleeping in my own bed. I love my sweet dog . I love the ease of my daily life. But I miss it. Deep, deep down, lie awake at night, can't overcome it, heart-breakingly, miss it. I sit with my eyes closed, trying to picture their faces, so I don't forget. I see every laugh, every crinkled-eye smile. I hear the buses, the overused horns, the 7am siren. I smell the stale heat, the smoke-filled air, the frying oil on the side of the street. I take it all in. It is not enough to last until the next time, but it has to be.

It's not enough to tell what I did. It's not sufficient to show pictures with detailed captions. Everything I want to say is only there when I close my eyes.

This was my shortest trip, but it has made me the most unsure. I've always come back with a sense of assurance: this is where I belong for now, for God's reasons, for a purpose. Now I'm unsure. All I know is that I'm unsure.