Fighting the Urge to...

For anyone traveling to or from Nicaragua, I would not recommend the four flight rout- it's a bit exhausting. But I'm back in one piece and have began reflecting on my travels.

I find that I keep fighting the urge to:
- Put on bug repellent before going to sleep
- Trow away toilet paper
- Honk all the time when driving
- Greet everyone with "buenas"
- Consistently take pictures

I am enjoying:
- Running water
- Food that is not fried
- Washing machines
- Green
- Understanding everything
- Not being tssss, tssssed at (the sound men are constantly making in attempts to get your attention)
- Not being perpetually sweaty and sticky
- The quiet

Things I'm Missing:
- The noise
- being warm
- Not being able to tune things out (there were a few conversations on the airplane I would have rather not understood)
- Meeting new people everyday
- Funky tan lines
- Mangoes and pineapples
- The exchange rate
- Major rain storms
- Counting how many times I hear "Si tu estuvieras" each day (a popular song)
- Eskimo (the ice cream)
- Natural fruit juices
- Being around kids
- Passing volcanoes
- Geckos everywhere
- Sitting in rocking chairs outside in the evening and just chatting

Things I think are strange:
- Fat animals
- People talking on their cell phones for extended periods of time (In Nica no one has phone plans they just buy minutes but it's expensive so everyone has a cell phone but no one ever has money to talk)
- Refrigerators that aren't used for storage
- Having to make appointments to see anyone here
- Thinking that people are continually trying to rip me off

La Epoca de lluvia

Everyone kept telling me that we were on the verge of "la epoca de lluvia" the rainy season, a fact the brown landscape around me seemed to be denying. There are only two seasons on Nicaragua, summer and winter, dry and wet. Sure enough, it was like someone had turned a switch to winter. The air filled with anticipation and then with little warning it began pelting rain. Coming from a state notorious for rain, I thought I'd seen it all but the rain here is warm and there is not the pretense of rain as often fills WA days, it just rains as if it's got a job to do. It is proceeded and followed by a suffocating, sticky mugginess that clings to your body and oozes out your pores. It is cruelly ironic that with all this rain, my family in Santo Tomas is still without water. No bathing, no laundry, no washing dishes, nothing.
On Tuesday Dawn and I took a van to Managua to the hotel I was staying at across from the airport. On the way there we began to see mounting flashes of lighting accompanied by occasional claps of thunder. Then biblical rains began to fall. The lighting cracked so close that I felt like a cartoon character; my heart leaping out of my chest, followed by my skin, and leaving my naked body behind. We bid our fellow passengers a hasty good bye and good luck and sprinted from the van to the hotel; in the 50 seconds it took to make the dash it looked as if I'd decided to take a swim backpack and all. I am now a believer in the epoch of rain.

A three hour tour...

Yesterday I scraped myself out of bed to meet the 4:00 am bus headed for the atlantic coast. A group of about fifty people from three different groups in the commnuity boarded the big yellow school bus for a five hour trip to La Laguna De Perlas. Stepping off the bus was like stepping into another country. Chontales, the region where Santo Tomas is located, is relatively dry and dusty; yet the atlantic coast is tropical and wet! Most surprisingly the people speak creole along with Spanish. It felt more like Jamaica than Nicaragua and it was surreal translating for our spanish speaking friends in their own cournty. The samll town was filled with umbrellas headed on their way to church and a sense that time ran on a much slower clock. We walked half hour to Awas, an indigenous hamlet on the beach. We swam in the shallow bay where the water was warmer than the rain and flung handfulls of sand at eachother. For lunch we ate fish stew, a speciality of the region. After which we ventured into the village where we were promptly met by Orlando who introduced himself as the head of tourism. The tour itself primarily consisted of turning in a 360 degree cricle and ended with one of the men shimmying up a coconut tree and cracking some open for us to drink. Due to an oncoming storm we had to make a quick dash back to the bus; our arms filled with loaves of freshly made coconut bread. The trip back was long and precarious since the road conditions were poor and the old school bus ailing. Yet with crossed fingers we made it home tired but safe. If I had more time to spend here I would definitely love to go back to the atlantic coast- alas!

El Chancho

On Satruday we went to a friend's farm to celebrate an early Mother's day (which is May 30th here). I've been living under the impression that I was raised on a farm (however small), but after spending a day at Doña Arora's I realized what I grew up with is a mere shadow of farm life. We started the day be taking water from the creek and watering each plant individually. Upon returning to the house we discovered the main event of the day; the butchering of the "chancho" or pig. We got to witness the process from beginning (pouring hot water over it to loosen up the hair for a close shave) to end (delicious). Although I documented it all, I'll spare you the photos (I think you've probably had enough with the toe pics alone; I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading my blog). We ate the meat with tortillas and home made cheese from the farm. Later we learned to make Nacatamales, the traditional Nicaraguan tamale that is wraped in banana leaves! We brought a cake to share with the family in honor of all the amazing mother's here; women who truly do it all in a form that is so amplified from my experience in the U.S. All in all it was a humbling and satisfying day.

Bitter Sweet

I had planned to spend the summer here in Nicaragua, but after receiving word that I got the position in Spain I´ve decided to save my self $100 bucks and come home on my original ticket. So I´ll be back in O-town on May 23, less than a week! This will give me an opportunity to earn some money before leaving for Spain. On the one hand I´m looking forward to coming back (clean feet, less mosquitoes, not sweating all day, flushing toilets, and running water just to mention a few things) but on that other hand I´m really going to miss it here. The people are as warm as the weather, it is honestly beautiful and I can eat mangos to my heart´s content! But as they say, "the beat goes on." And my travels aren´t over yet!

Bug Bites

Despite my mosquito netting, I ended up with about twenty bites on my legs last night. Apparently it was an all you can eat buffet; prime white meat imported from a far! Life here in Santo Tomas is very tranquilo and the people are truly of the "mi casa es su casa" mentality. I´m getting quite good at bucket showers! Although, the latrine takes some adjusting to... My toes were doing great until yesterday when blisters suddenly appeared where the infection had been (not a good sign). I´m trying to keep them clean and hope for the best; I´ll spare you all the pictures this time.
Yesterday we went to la finca (the farm) that is run by the Comitte for Community Development (CDC) and got to see the various animals and plants there. They have this animal that is a cross between a sheep and a goat (apparently from Africa) that is called a "peliguay" which supposedly has very delicious meat. I was also cured of my notion that pineapples grow on trees. If I had more time here, I´d love to work on the farm. They have a series of water filtration pits where once the water has been cleaned it is used by the women of the village (those who don´t have access to water in their homes) to wash their clothes.
After the farm we went to Rosaura´s house (some of you may remember her, she was one of the last delegates from Santo Tomas to come to Olympia and she is a fabulous singer). Her family welcomed us into their home (her father had cooked home made pizza) and they sang revolutionary songs for us. All the family had such strong passionate voices that I was tickled pink I had remembered to bring my tape recorder!

School bus anyone?

I've done so much traveling lately my head is actually spinning! Last friday I went to Las penitas which is a beach on the pacific coast. It was beautiful! My friends and I decided to take a tour of la isla Juan Venado, which literaly translates to "John Deer Island". We saw lots of mangrove trees with their cascading roots, a few iguanas, some croc eyes, lots of neat birds and on the way back a dog eating a gaint sea turtle. After our fabulous escape to the coast we went to Leon, another beautiful but hot colonial city, and then to Managua. We stayed in Managua and ate at a Korean restaurant- it was so exciting to eat a different kind of rice, without beans, and the food was delicious. The next morning we dropped my friend Jenn off at the airport. I was sad to see her go, but glad that she would soon be returning to the land of clean feet! From Managua we went back to Granada to pick up my things and then headed to Managua again to catch a bus to Santo Tomas.
With all this travel I've learned a few things about the buses here. First there is no national transportation system, it's all individual so the drivers are competing for the passengers. Then there is the price of gas, which is expensive, as a result they pack in as many people as they can onto the bus. If someone is trying to rush you onto a bus, it's probably because there's a competing bus for the same destination that will probably get there faster. Always have small change, that way it's harder for them to rip you off. Dawn and I got charged over double the price on our way to Granada. We were robbed and Dawn let them know that, way to go Dawn!!! Always sit next to a window if at all possible. Don't sit on the floor behind the driver's seat, turns out you'll be sitting right over the motor which makes for some hot buns! Although the "express" buses are small, about the size of an airporter but they cram in over 20 people, most of the buses here are old school buses. It makes for a nestolgic ride. On the plus side, there are always vendors selling snacks. I wish we had that in the U.S.! Now I'm in Santo Tomas, Olympia's sister city. I haven't seen too much so far but everyone seems really friendly.

Lucky You!

I found the pictures, hope you don´t have a weak stomach.

Giant Big Freak Toes

As some of you may know, I´ve always been a little self conscience about my big toes, referring to them as my "giant big freak toes" well my vanity taught me a lesson...
Last week all the girls were going to the salon for pedicures. I´ve never had a pedicure before (why display my freakish piggys?) but I decided "what the heck, when in Nicaragua... right?" And they were very pretty; for a day...
By the next afternoon I began to notice some swelling and redness. I went to the pharmacy where they promptly recommended some antibiotics. Since I was on my way to Ometepe I figured I´d take the pills, keep them clean and think nothing of it. However, the pills severely irritated my stomach, so much that I was afraid I wouldn´t be able to clime the volcano (not logical thinking, I know). By the time I got back to Granada I could hardly walk! Fortunately, one of my friends here is a doctor. She made a house call, numbed my toes and started slicing away! I can´t say it was the most pleasant experience but I´m recovering and feeling much better now. I documented the entire thing but sadly my pictures got erased some how; I know you're just devastated! Never again shall I complain about the size of my big toes; my botched pedicure cured me of that!

The Island of Ometepe

Last week Jenn and I ventured to the Island of Ometepe. After a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants bus ride, a sick-to-you-stomach ferry trip, and two Dramamine later we arrived on the island. At which point we were promptly smothered by guides, hotel representatives and guys who can "find you anything you want" (except moto rental at a decent price). We decided to head for a less claustrophobic region and took another bouncy, jaw rattling bus ride to the village of Altagracia. It was a sleepy little town with rooms for $2 a night and cheap food. The biggest event was the boxing fight between the American Floyd something-or-other and the Mexican La Joya. Basically there were a lot of drunk men shouting, it was quite the cultural experience. After La Joya lost, we decided to get out of there pretty quick.
The next day we met up with our guide Silvio who took us to see petrogliphs, the beach, and an awesome swimming hole where there was a rope swing! That night we stayed at a place on the beach that was beautiful although some what isolated (we ended up playing a lot of cards). The next morning we woke up early (believe it or not) and met up with Silvio again; this time for a hike up the smaller volcano Las Maderas. The hike itself wound through forests that had been slashed and burned to make way for rice and bean crops. The view of Concepcion (the main volcano) was stunning with its crown of clouds. At the top Silvio shared a mango with us (of course we hadn´t thought to bring food); after finishing the mango he grabbed a stick and began digging a hole. He then placed the pit in the hole, covered it with dirt and sprinkled it with water saying, "In the future people can enjoy this view with more shade."
On the way back to Granada I was so impressed with myself because I didn´t get sea or car sick once! Maybe I´m cured...

I´m a potter

Last week we went to San Juan de Oriente where 90% of the inhabitants make a living off pottery. We got to go to one of the homes where they make this exquisit art. Each piece takes about two months to make and are have detailed echings of the different flora and fauna from Nicaragua. The process begins with clay from the area (predicted to dissapear in the near future due to global warming) then it is thrown on the wheel and sculped into various shapes. I got to try my hand at this and as it turns out I´m not half bad; although nothing like the oldest brother who can whip out about 60 in two hours. After it is dried, polished, carved and colored, it goes into the oven. The oven takes a particular kind of wood and can only be run by an expert (in this case the matriarc or the family). It was like straight out of a Mister Roger´s episode! Of course I bought a few pieces for dirt cheap and was very touched when the family gave me a jug for teaching their son English. Maybe I´ll become a potter for my next career?

I won! I won!

I was accepted into the North American Grant Program in Spain!!! I'm going back to Spain!!! And I got my first choice, I'll be in Andalucia!!!! Basically, I'll be a TA in K-12 classrooms teaching English and living off practically nothing, but I'll be in Spain! I need to figure out the dates exactally, but I'm hoping to stay in Nicaragua as long as possible and then head for Spain. Big thanks to everybody who helped me in this process!