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.