Recap

Let’s have a little recap of the past couple of months that I’ve missed blogging about.

August: I turned 26! I celebrated the day by having a gaggle of the neighborhood kids come over to my house and throw flowers and leaves at me while yelling happy birthday. You may be thinking huh? But trust me, I was happy it was flowers and leaves, they have a tradition here of throwing flour and eggs at the birthday person.  I’ve seen it happen a few times to high school students, doesn’t look that fun at least not for the victim. We had a little party and I made s’mores for them. They loved them and keep asking me when we can make some more, but unfortunately graham crackers are non-existent here. So thank you Stone family for the package, and muchas gracias from my neighborhood friends.

I attended my close of service conference and got really stressed out about my service ending and real life beginning again. It was a bombardment of the truth. What I need to do before leaving and what I need to do when I get home, most importantly get a job.

I missed the big gala event that the business volunteers throw every year, due to a terrible stomach issue. I’ve recovered, I think. In October, before I’m cleared to go home I have to have 3 days filled with medical appointments and tests. We’ll have to see what exactly is living inside my intestinal tract.

September: Just normal classes and life in Muy Muy. Just when I’m forgetting about my quickly approaching departure date, someone brings up the fact that I’m leaving soon. And it’s normally followed by them saying that I probably will never return to visit them, which I try to reassure them that I’ll come back to visit but I can’t set a date right now. It all goes back to that issue of getting a job and earning money.

Apparently September is the season for pig slaughtering because I’ve witnessed two within a week of each other. I’ve never eaten so much pork in my life. It’s delicious but another issue I’ll have resolved in my medical appointments. My blood pressure and cholesterol are probably extremely high due to the heightened consumption of salt and oil/fat. As my medical appointments approach I become more and more of a hypochondriac. I’ve started making a list of the all the tests I want run and concerns I want answered.

Basically, the only thing that I’ve missed blogging about is my stressing out. And it just keeps getting worse with each day that I cross off my calendar. 

Tramatic

Surgery / Traumatizing experience √

I’m hoping I won’t have to check that box again during my remaining 4 months here. Two weeks after the surgery I finally got my stitches removed. My surgeon told me to come back for him to take them out, but the PC doctor told me I could just do it at the health center in my site. At the time I was relieved to hear that I didn’t have to take a 3 hour bus ride just for a 10 minute appointment of removing stitches that was before I actually removed my stitches.

I went to the health center and interrupted the on-duty nurse from watching the news, so that started the visit off to a lovely start. She asked me what I needed and I explained that I needed my stitches removed; she asked how long I’ve had them and I replied about two weeks and she looked at me like I was crazy. Luckily, I had a letter from my surgeon that clearly explained that July 11 was the day to remove the stitches, so I wasn’t the crazy one. Technically the surgeon wrote I should have an appointment with him, which the nurse pointed out to me, but I told her if she was capable of removing them that would be just fine. Begrudgingly she obliged and began looking for a pair of scissors and tweezers.

She dug right in and began tugging and snipping, as I sat gripping the bed and biting my lip in order to prevent myself from screaming. I had four stitches and she was able to remove two. She didn’t try very hard to remove the other two stitches and simply dismissed me by saying that they’ll come out on there own. And that was it, she returned to the other room to resume watching the news.

It wasn’t exactly the bedside manner that I received from the doctors in Managua, and from my few visits that I’ve had to the health center previously it didn’t really surprise me all that much. But I was not about to just let the stitches come out on there own, with my luck I would have another infection, etc. So I walked home and took out my own tweezers to get rid of those last two stitches. It took a little bit of time and patience but I was able to get a hold of the stitch. It looped through my foot so I had quite a bit to remove. I gently pulled it through, but then it stuck…I stopped took a deep breath and tugged it free. (I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about this) I screamed and let out a sailor’s rant of swear words. It was free. It’s amazing how a little piece of thread about 2 centimeters long could hurt so much.

I was a bit hesitant to remove the final stitch, but did it without any hitches, screams or swearing. That’s it. Now I’ll have a scar on the bottom of my foot to remind me of the whole experience.

Surgery in Nicaragua

So this issue with my foot has been a long and drawn out process. I cut my foot open in April and since then it's been infected, x-rayed, ultra sounded and finally operated on. Yesterday was my first surgery in my life and I did it alone in Nicaragua....if you can even picture that.
I went to the hospital and checked in. A little nervous, but still had a bit of confidence, which quickly disappeared. The receptionist called a man to "assist" me to the surgery room. While waiting he asked if I had a family member with me. "No" I replied and was looked at with pure bewilderment. He was probably thinking here's a crazy gringa going into surgery alone. He told me I couldn't take anything with me to the surgery, so I had to leave my phone and wallet with him. This is a reputable hospital, most upper class Nicaraguans, Peace Corps volunteers and Embassy employees are attended here, so I was hoping that I wouldn't be robbed while in surgery. My assistant and wheelchair arrived and again was looked at like I was crazy when he found out that I wasn't accompanied by anyone. This is where my little confidence disappeared and I could feel my tear ducts kicking in.
I was pushed in a wheelchair to surgery. Really?!? I had been walking around on this foot for two months, but for some reason couldn't walk a few meter and take an elevator independently. I was covering my face and avoiding any type of eye contact.
I reached the surgical room and again confronted with bewilderment that I was alone. This is where I lost it. They had me change into my gown and I started crying. When I came out, the nurse looked at me with little sympathy and asked what happened. I couldn't really stop crying, but replied that I was nervous. I self-consciously walk in my breezy gown to get prepped for surgery. I had surgery on my foot, so I'm thinking wearing a bra and underwear under my gown is acceptable. Wrong! The nurse who put in my IV and electrodes made me take off my bra and underwear. Just lovely. I started crying again and tried explaining that I was nervous and this was my first surgery ever, and the fact that I was alone and pretty much humiliated by everything leading up to this. The nice anesthesiologist reassured me that everything would be okay and to think happy thoughts, she drew something on my foot and that's the last thing I remember.
I groggily wake up in recovery with the surgeon and my Peace Corps doctor telling me that everything went fine and that I should rest for the next couple of hours. I dozed in and out of sleep until the drugs wore off. A nurse noticed I was semi-alert, so asked me a few questions: name? age? sexually active?..Wait! What? I have a difficult time jumping into full on Spanish mode most mornings without my coffee, so while still sedated on drugs, I need some time to process. I ask the nurse to repeat herself a couple of times, still with no luck. She then turns to another nurse and says, "She doesn't speak Spanish very well." I was about to flip out on her, saying that I understood that so I can't be too stupid, but I thought since I'm still in their care I'd better not. I finally understood the question when the other nurse asked about a husband or boyfriend. Then the first nurse asked if I had kids? abortions? age I first had sex? age of first period? I answered, but am still confused exactly why those questions are pertinent to my foot operation and especially after the procedure.
Finally I was discharged. This time the wheelchair was appreciated, but still a bit embarrassing. My Peace Corps doctor gave me a ride back to my hotel. And there I sat enjoying a Top Chef marathon in English and chatting with some other volunteers.
My foot is all bandaged up. I get to shower with a plastic bag wrapped around it for the next couple of days and take in all that Managua has to offer while walking on my foot minimally, like cable TV, wireless, fast food, air conditioning. I just hope that on Monday I will receive good news and will have no problems with my foot and no other needs for surgery here in Nicaragua. One was enough.

You still reading....

Wow! It’s been a really long time since my last entry. It’s just that after my trip with Melissa, my life has been pretty mundane. I’ve been back and forth to Managua to fix the problem with my foot. And finally after two months I’m happy to report that I’m having a minor surgery to remove the foreign object that has been lodged in my foot and the root of the infection and lump that’s been on my foot.

            That’s pretty much been the most exciting news in my life. Otherwise, I’m just trying to finish up these last five months with as much energy and excitement as I started this journey with. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to motivate myself to get up and go to class especially when it’s still dark and chilly with rain most mornings, the rainy season is in full force now and surprisingly I almost forgot how much I hate the rainy season – more on that later; but once I get to class I’m always glad that I did get up because the students are always happy to see me. Then after class I’m faced with the challenge of house chores.

            There are a lot of things that I miss from the States, but right now I would give just about anything for a clothes dryer. Just imagine, it rains almost everyday, some days more than others but it’s pretty much damp everyday. How do you get clothes to dry in these conditions? I wash clothes just to have them sit around for 2 or 3 days attempting to dry. I put them outside and then the rain comes and I bring them inside, drape them over chairs, doors, I’ve even resorted to putting my damp/clean socks on my boiling pot of beans or when I boil water for coffee/tea to dry them. It always reminds me of Uncle Buck when he does laundry in the kitchen because he can’t open the washing machine. Anyways, you all know what clothes smell like if you leave them in the washing machine over night; so you can imagine what some of my clothes smell like after a day or two of dampness. Luckily I have plenty of perfume to hopefully mask the musty smell I can’t seem to escape.

            I really wish I had more to report, but I don’t. 

Being a tourist for a week

Sorry all, no guest blogger this time. I made the decision to not even ask her because she’s super busy with work and judging by the feedback I got from Steve (the last guest blogger) apparently writing guest blogs is more stressful than it seems. So here’s my interpretation of the trip. Quick side note: I acted more like a tourist on this trip versus the poor Peace Corps volunteer that I am. We didn’t stay in hostels, we didn’t take buses everywhere we went and we didn’t eat in cheap comedors. I was spending money like a drunken sailor and have to thank my family for giving me money so that I was able to do that. THANK YOU! On to the trip…..

We didn’t really have an itinerary to follow or reservations, but had our trusty guide book to Nicaragua and let fate/luck lead the way. Due to a late arrival, we stayed in Managua for a night and made a “plan.” The plan was go to Ometepe and San Juan del Sur. The next morning we were off. We took a bus from Managua to Rivas. It was a normal Nica bus. Three people to a seat, hot and stuffy, the aisles crammed full of people without seats, and people trying to sell whatever they could, soda, juice, bracelets, pens, candy. I was just happy to get a seat, that’s really my only worry when I ride buses; but, I don’t think Melissa enjoyed the ambiance that much. That was the only bus we took the whole trip.

We arrived in Rivas, took a taxi and then ferry to the island of Ometepe. So far so good, we arrive in the port of Moyagalpa and look for a place to eat. We spot a pizza place while avoiding all the taxi drivers yelling “Taxi! Taxi! Taxi!” I don’t know the name of the place but I definitely recommend it to anyone going to Ometepe. I know I might not be the most reliable person to recommend food joints, considering that I’ve been eating rice and beans for practically two years and my standards have lowered in terms of good food – hell, I got excited about a bag of Cheetos that my mom brought. But, Melissa even agreed that it was good pizza, and you can trust her. While chowing down, we look through the guide book for things to do on Ometepe and a place where we can stay. Our “plan” stay at Villa de Paraiso (Paradise Hotel), climb Volcano Maderas, possibly visit a waterfall, and natural spring. We take a taxi to the hotel and settle in. We make reservations for a volcano hike the next morning and then wander on the beach, eat, and relax before the hike in the morning.

The hotel’s guide book for attractions describes the volcano hike as a 6-8 hour hike. I’m thinking that should be fine, we’ll probably take a couple breaks at lookout points, eat lunch, etc. No problem. We meet our guide at the hotel at 7:30 in the morning. He gives each of us our provisions, a bag lunch (two cheese and bologna sandwiches and a pack of club crackers), a 1.5 liter bottle of water and a Tupperware of pineapple chunks. We drive to the park entrance and start the hike. Our guide hands each of us a stick. Melissa and I immediately look at each other and start laughing, “Is this really necessary?” Side note: I’ve climbed two volcanoes previously and those volcanoes were visibly inclined hikes; this time we started hiking through fields and it was relatively flat. Hence, the laughing off the walking sticks.

We walk and walk and walk. Along the way the guide points out various animals and insects (howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, wild turkey, termites, leaf cutter ants, etc). We get up to a lookout point and this is where the incline starts. The hike is getting more and more difficult, more inclined and I’m getting sweatier and sweatier. It’s getting to a point where I don’t think we’ll ever reach the top. Finally the guide tells us it is 2 hours until the top. At this point we are walking in mud, because it’s a tropical rainforest at the top and it rains every day. This is where the walking stick comes in handy. Finally, the guide starts counting down…10 minutes to the top…..5 minutes….2…1….and we’re there. WHAT??!?! THIS IS THE TOP?!? It was literally a small clearing and if we pushed some branches out of the way we could get a pretty decent look out/picture. Our triumph of reaching the top quickly turned to disappointment. The guide says, “C’mon we’re going to go down the crater.” We climb down to the crater, which is not easy and I keep thinking how are we going to climb back up this? The crater is a lagoon and a grassy area. It was a nice spot to rest, eat lunch and drink the rest of our water supply, OOPS! We drank all the water and we’re technically only half way done because now we have to climb back down. Luckily, our guide gave us another bottle of water, which saved us.

I really would have preferred for a helicopter to come pick us up, or really any other possible way that didn’t require me to walk/climb anymore. We begrudgingly started hiking again. It wasn’t too bad, at first. But after a couple of hours, my knees, feet and hips hurt so bad I couldn’t think of anything else but reaching the bottom. I didn’t want to stop and rest anymore, just wanted to finish. We got to the bottom and climbed back into the truck to take us to the hotel at 5:30….it was a 10 hour hike and felt every minute like a 10 hour hike. We were covered in mud, dehydrated and hungry. We showered, ate dinner, drank lots of water and went to bed.

Originally we were thinking we were going to do something the next day, before we left; but neither of us had the energy. We relaxed on the beach for a little while before checking out and heading back to Moyagalpa to take the ferry and make our way to San Juan del Sur. We ate at the pizza place again before saying “adios” to Ometepe and “hello” to San Juan del Sur.

We take a taxi from the ferry to San Juan del Sur (another avoidance of the bus). We don’t have any idea where we’re going to say. We found some places we would like to stay in the guide book, but the book is a bit outdated and phone numbers change or people don’t like answering phones. So we go to some hotels, hoping that there’s space for us. Two strikes, so far and our hopes are dwindling. We arrive at Empalme de las Playas with fingers crossed. We’re approached by the owner, Karen, and she’s telling us we can’t stay for just one night and was about to turn us away, but in stepped our guardian angel, Roy, her husband and he wasn’t about to let us leave. THANK GOD! We sign in, settled in and then ventured to the beach.

It only takes a moment of chatting with Karen and Roy to immediately think that if my mom and Steve were to retire in Nicaragua (like they’ve mentioned, hopefully jokingly) this is couple is their long lost married couple twins. They’ve been in Nicaragua for 8 years and have this hotel with four cabanas, that’s only about 10 minutes from two beaches. They lend out their 4 wheeler to the guests to go down to the beach or take their little SUV for more people. It’s a hotel where beach meets tailgating. The refrigerator is always fully stocked with Tonas and Roy is ready to challenge anyone willing to play kornhole, dice, darts, cards, you name it they’ve got it.

We spent three days there and fully enjoyed the sun and the sand each day, until our last. We decided to take surf lessons. The lessons were fun and exhausting; it’s no wonder how all the surfers have nice bods. After the hour lesson we had the boards for the rest of the day. After a short lunch break, we attempted to surf again. It was fun until I stomped on something sharp in the water. I immediately think jellyfish….and as I hobble of the water I begin to see the blood on my foot. It appeared that I punctured my foot on some foreign object. (I’m still getting treated by the Peace Corps doctors for the infection I acquired and can’t get rid of. My fingers are crossed that I come home with both feet.)

Unfortunately, that ended my time surfing. But, then we were off to our booze/sunset cruise. They boasted dolphin sightings, but we weren’t lucky enough for that. We just cruised around the beaches, while drinking. It’s a three hour cruise and my glass was never empty. I stuck with beer, but they were pouring rum with a splash of coke. Are you surprised if I tell you there was an incident of “sea sickness”? Not on my part, nor Melissa; it was another fellow who claimed sea sickness, but I put my money on the Flor de Cana (rum).

There wraps our vacation. The next day we headed back to Managua, in a taxi; we spent the night before Melissa’s early flight the next morning. And I headed back to Muy Muy.

I had a great time escaping my volunteer life and seeing more of Nicaragua. I hope Melissa had a fun time. I know Nicaragua doesn’t normally ring in at the top of the list for vacation spots for most people; it does have some pretty amazing things to see and I always appreciate the visit. Hint hint: If you’re thinking about coming to Nicaragua, you can have a free tour guide and translator. I’m taking reservations until November.

Another guest blogger, hopefully

My friend, Melissa, is coming this week to visit and I'm hoping she'll write some blogs for me. Hopefully she'll write them and I may have to give her some deadlines, since my last guest blogger.....ahem, Steve, was quite leisurely with his blog posts; hence the month delay after their visit.
Hope you enjoy the guest blog posts! I apologize for the disorganized posts. I was just copying them from my email and they weren't ordered correctly.

Very Very (muy muy) busy

> I can usually tell how much fun I had the night before by how much fun I'm not having in the morning and Sunday was no exception. As Saturdays fog lifted from my head ,our plans for the day became more clear. We were going to Hebers baseball game in the morning. After that Tonio was going to butcher a pig so he invited us up to his ranch for lunch followed by horseback riding. And later we were to drive up to Matiguas for the rodeo.
> We picked up Lindsey and Heber in the morning and went just down the street to a little restaurant for breakfast. It didnt really look like a restaurant just a house with a few more tables than usual and a woman cooking at her stove.
>
> After eating we drove out to Hebers game. Baseball here can be compare to our home talent leagues. Each town gets a team together and they schedule games against other towns. Tonio is the financial backer or owner of the team from Muy Muy. Unfortunately this was playoff time and Muy Muy had already been eliminated. Heber also played on the Muy Muy team but was recruited to play for another team through the playoff. Heber is one of the local super jocks. Besides playing shortstop he is also a very good bull rider.
> We could see the other player respected his athletic abilities.
> His teammates were suprised to see an infield ground get by him. The other team however was very quick to throw back in their face that one of their best players had made an error.
> The baseball diamond wasn't much more than a field behind someone's house in the country. Six foot Branches with some chicken wire attached made up the backstop.
> On each team there was about 15 players ranging in age from early 20s to late 30s. In the parking lot there were 10 motorcycles,4 horses and 1 Toyota truck. We joked that maybe the other team all rode there in the back of that truck.
> The quality of play was very good. As good as our home talent or minor leagues in Wisconsin. I enjoyed watching but shade was at a minimum. There were no benches to sit on so we ended up on a dirt mound on the right field side with a branch hanging over for a little cover. We also found out today was going to be a double header. We stayed for most of the first game but since Tonio was already slaughtering a pig for us, we thought we better not be to late for lunch. Heber attempted to leave with us. But his uncle, who also played on the team , convinced him he was to valuable to the team and had to stay.
> We went back into muy Muy Where we met Tonios helper Jackson and followed him up to the ranch. He turn off the road just outside of town onto a dirt path up a hill through a pasture. The path was full of rocks and big ruts. We could feel our rented SUV bottom out on some of the boulders. It must have been close to two miles through the fields to Tonios ranch house. The house was very rustic almost barn or stable like. Dirt floor kitchen, worn ,weathered wood and paint. Like everywhere in Nicaragua there was debris. Plastic stuck hanging on the fences and weeds. Pieces laying in the grass yard around the house. Maybe an old shirt or shoe or bottle. We walk up the four steps to the huge front porch. Sorry three steps. The top step had broke and was laying on the third step. "Careful that last step's a doozy. "The view from the porch was awesome. It overlooked the entire town and we could see mountains all around for miles. The weather was perfect. It may have been 90 F but we were shaded on the porch a the breeze was just right. We enjoyed a few beers before lunch was ready and wrestled our way through some language impeded conversation. It was very nice and as I sat there relaxing I understood why no one had bothered to fix the step yet. Lunch consisted of grilled pork with a salad on the side. I don't know what they season their meat with but it was delicious.
> There had been four horses tied to the porch since we arrived. Tonio said ,once our lunch settled ,we would go for a horse ride around some of his property. As we saddled up,Rachel's horse got alittle out of control. Nothing to worry about, Tonio jumped up on the back of her horse with her and led the way. He seemed to have alittle crush on Rachel and I had a feeling this was all part of his plan. We rode down the hill to a fenced in stable area. Inside has was a foal Tonio said was only three days old. Once we opened the gate it was obvious Lindsey was riding the mother. They were happy to be reunited and the foul began nursing immediately. We started back up a different side of the hill with baby following. This time we rode through the pasture where the bulls for the rodeo were grazing. Theses animals were big and beautiful. And so was the landscape around us. Green hillsides surround by mountainous scenery. When we got back to the house it was time to start planning our trip to the rodeo. Heber had texted Lindsey that he had finished his double header and was going home to change. We drove down the rutty path back to Muy Muy to pick up Heber. Tonio , Jackson and another hired hand met us at Cafe Angel and we followed them to Matiguas. Most of the time people in Nicaragua are perfectly happy doing nothing.  When they do , there is no hurry.  That is until they get in an automobile.  The roads to the rodeo in Matiguas were rough and there was no keeping up with Tonio.  I dont really know how they can go so fast because there were times when we bounced so hard our heads hit the roof of the car. Arriving at the rodeo was like arriving at a county fair . We parked in a grass lot. There were tents and food stands and grand stands around the arena. There were a lot of people standing around, mingling ,eating and drinking along the gravel road to the arena entrance . We purchased our tickets and walked under the stands onto the walk path around the bull pen fence. 

Above the stands was a  stage like platform with a mariachi band playing very loud and lively the entire time we were there. The atmosphere inside was a little rowdier . It felt like a cross between a cock fight and a gladiator event. The  wood that the  bleacher were made of was well worn. The tier heights were random. Some were 18 inches ,some were 2 feet, some were 3 boards wide, some were 4 or 5. We found an open spot and climbed up to our seats. Inside the ring there were cowboys on horses ready to lasso any loose bull.

   Then the shoot opened.  Out came the bull twisting and kicking and bucking and riding him was a completely drunk rider. Im talking about wet noodle ,rubber neck ,crash dummy, gumby drunk. All the riders were wearing helmets with face guards so that was good but some of them couldn't even stand up after they fell off. It was interesting watching the cowboys rope the  bulls back into there pens.

Some of the bulls would only buck a couple seconds and quit. It was one of the cowboys job to entice the bull to start kicking again. He might wave a red flag in the bulls face or run circles around him. The hole time with the drunk rider  wavering on top ready to fall off. It was a blast to watch and a total party. Kids were walking around vending food and picking up empty beer can and there was a lot of drinking and laughing going on. Tonio assured me that the rodeo in Muy Muy was much better than here. After all the Muy Muy rodeo had Tonios bulls and Heber riding them. We watched for a couple hours and mingled with a few curious locals. Rachel spend some time taking pictures of some of the kids and other fans in the stands and Lindsey took some videos with Tonios new camera.

   We stopped in one of the beer  tents on our way out to the car but it was very loud and crowded.  Café Angel seemed like a much better idea , so we headed back to Muy Muy  and finished the night there. We danced and teased and drank and tried to teach Jackson English . We all laughed our heads of, funny beyond the language barrier.

   When it was time to leave ,we said our goodbyes and thanked our new amigos for the wonderful day. We would be leaving for the airport in the morning and I told Tonio he had made my last day in Nicaragua my best.

Welcome to Muy Muy

Saturday morning we were up early again to take the long drive back to Lindsey's home town Muy Muy. She actually seemed anxious to get back. On the way we passed through Esteli.
You can find anything in Esteli. There are many hotels, restaurant and diverse
shops. Blocks and blocks of shops. Our goal was to find the area with with the leather crafters. Becky and Rachel did not want to leave Nicaragua without a pair of hand made boots. After a few misguided searches and a stop for lunch we had finally arrived. Hand made leather boot shops were scattered along both sides of the street for about two block. They will measure your feet and make a custom fit pair or you can see if there are any already made boots that will fit. Since it takes almost a week to have boots custom made ,we all needed to find boot that were already made. We all found what we were looking for and four pair later we were back on the road.
We drove through the roundabout going into Muy Muy in late afternoon. In the middle of the roundabout was a large statue of a man on a horse. I believe it was Augusto Sandino ,a hero from the 1930s revolution against the U. S. . Along the road were some small stores,cafe/bars and restaurants. We turned off the main road and zigzagged our way to our hotel on the narrow brick paved streets of town. Carlos, the hotel owners son,met us at the steel gate/door and showed us to our room. He had been to school in the U. S. and spoke very good English.
There was a large area in the center of the hotel with an opened roof. Off to one side was a bar and kitchen. Our room was down a short hallway on the perimeter.  We dropped our bags in the room but we still had two large very heavy  suit cases to deal with. These were full of care packages from everyone back home. Toys and back packs for the kids  ,candy and some of Lindsey's favorite snacks,(the Cheetos didn't make it passed the first two days.)and baseball glove ,hat and balls for Lindseys friend Heber. Heber  met us at the hotel to help get these cases to their destination.
It was a short walk to Lindsey's place. The houses along the way were close together,close to the street and small. Lindsey's house was just a 20'x20' cement block building with porches on the front and back. Half the house was divided into two bedrooms. The other half was living space with a hot plate and a table and a few chairs. Small to us but very nice by Nica standards. Out back was the shower/outhouse and an excellent view of the countryside.   On the back porch was a well worn hammock. Obviously a favorite place to spend leisure time and a good choice at that. Becky had bought a hammock while we were in Esteli earlier that day. It was meant to go home with us but we offered to replace Lindsey's ragged one with it. She assured us the one she had was fine and would last until her term was up in Nov. (Note to Lindsey : youre probably already regretting that decision.)
Walking into Lindsey's house is similar to walking into Rachel's. you are instantly met by dogs. At Lindsey's it's Rupert. At Rachel's it's Redford.the thing is they could pass for twins. If they didn't live over 3000 miles away you would swear they were at least brother and sister.
Rupert was excited to have Lindsey home and the rawhide bones that came with her were a big hit. I done expect they'll last much longer than the Cheetos did. We hadn't been there long before company arrived. Hebers 10 year old sister , his 4 year old nephew and his 18 month old niece came by to welcome Lindsey home and find out who the new people were. Hebers dad also stopped in to say hola and round up the kids.
    Before leaving Wisconsin , Lindsey had called and told us about Tonio,a friend of her  and Heber , who was looking for a video camera. It is possible to purchase the latest equipment in nicaragua ,but the choices are few and the price is high. Tonio had found what he wanted on line and we were able to buy it at Best Buy and bring it to him. He was eager to meet us and see his new camera so we arranged to meet him and his hired hand Jackson at Cafe Angel on the edge of town.
While the bars in town are more like billard halls and kind of a men's only saloon, the Cafe was family friendly. Pavilion style. No walls. You could get something to eat , drink beer and even dance if the music felt right. We did all of that. At 20 cordobas a beer(that's .80 cents) it was hard not to.We became fast friends with Tonio. He owns a ranch on the hill over looking MuyMuy where he raise bulls for the rodeo in Muy Muy. We all had a bite to eat and talked and laughed for hours. Even though Lindsey was asked to do some interpreting, we were able to communicate fairly well. And when something is funny it just funny. There is no language barrier.
    As luck would have it our hotel had planned to have a party on that night. Becky though it was for her but I'm pretty sure they were doing it with or without us. We all left the cafe and headed back to the hotel to check it out. There were strobe lights, a disco ball, a DJ , beer ,dancing ,a cover charge and very loud music. It would have been impossible to go to bed and try to get any sleep. There was only one thing to do. Dance and drink till the party was over. And we did. It turned into a late night but fun was had by all. What I failed to realize at the time was all the plans we were making for the next day. Our last day in Muy Muy was also to become our busiest day yet

The end of a vacation

Monday morning we got up and packed for our trip home.
It was hard to believe that I would be back in the cold in less than 12 hours. The good thing was it was already March 4. How much longer could winter last. Lindsey and Heber walked down to our hotel to say goodbye. When we got in the car to leave I realized we had just hugged our safety net goodbye. No more translator. No more help with directions. No one to read road signs. The last one didn't matter because there are no road signs. Being submersed in the Nica culture for a week taught us a hablar just enough espaniol to get nosotros en problemas. We left early enough so if there were problems we could still make our flight. This time everything went perfect. We didn't get stopped by police, there weren't any horses or cattle in the road and there were very few rough patches of road. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to return the rental car, get a bite to eat , check in and do a little duty free shopping. Check in seemed to be taking longer than normal and the  woman behind the counter seem to be getting alittle anxious. We were suppose to fly out of managua to Houston. Lay over for 2 hours and then fly to Ohare. Unfortunately our flight from Houston to Ohare had been canceled. She managed to book us on another flight but there was one problem. The lay over was only 50 minutes. 50 minutes to pick up our luggage, get through customs and take the tram to another terminal. I could see the wheels turning in Becky's head.
Then, when we found out there was a blizzard heading for Chicago tonight , we knew if we missed this flight we might be waiting for a long time. The trip to Houston went well and we arrived on time. The airline magazine on the plane had a map of the Houston airport and we were able to map out our exit strategy. So when we hit the ground we rushed down to baggage claim.....and waited for the carousel to start. We grabbed our luggage and rushed over to customs....and waited in line. Long line. The wheels in Becs head were on the verge of panic mode. It seemed like everyone in front of us left some change in there pockets or forgot to remove their belt or shoes or had a hip replacement or a metal plate in their head. I don't know what was going on but it seemed like it took forever and when we got through... The race was on. We ran to the tram  and when we got off we ran to our gate.
We got there with 20 min. to spare but no one else was there. There was one guy sitting near the gate. He said he heard the flight was canceled and he thought everyone went to customer service.
Well, it was a nice try. Customer service was close by so we went there and told them we had boarding passes for the flight that had been canceled. "Canceled?  That flight wasn't canceled. They just changed it from gate 22 to gate 44. If you hurry you can still make it. " 22 gates is along way to run through an airport. Luckily one of the airport employees with a cart saw us running and picked us up and drove us down the hall way to gate 44. We made it. But the plane was suppose to leave in 7 minutes. Shouldn't everyone be boarded by now. Every chair in the area was full. Then we look at the sign  behind the boarding desk.
 FLIGHT DELAYED 1 HOUR
What a relief. We didn't miss it. But all that running for nothing.
I slept most of the way from  Houston to Ohare. We beat the snow storm and had a nice drive home too. It did however snow so much that night , I couldn't go to work the next day. Everything always seems to work out very well in the end.
A snow day.......What a great way to end a vacation.

That´s a rap

  Having the day off after a long vacation is always nice. Spending half the day removing snow .... Not so much. It did , however give us time to think about  a few things from our trip.
Everyone driving in Nicaragua is in a hurry. I guess , so they can get where they're going faster and do nothing longer.
 Since they saved all this time driving fast. They should  spend the extra nothing time picking up trash.
 I think nicaragua should do an anti pollution campaign. Like "Give a hoot don't pollute. " Or the Indian with the tear in his eye from the 70s. Remember
how bad our roadsides looked before that.
Everywhere in Nicaragua there is barbed wire fences.  No real fence poles. Just straight sticks in the ground with barbed wire attached. Even the small yards in town have them. I'm just not sure what they're trying to keep in or out because their animals are always in the road.
The mornings we spent on the road we would see people fetching their water for the day. Or down at the river wash clothes or bathing their children. If you told them they could have water to there house with 2 or 3 weeks of hard labor , digging or drilling every day. I think they would say ,"That's ok. We we'll just go down to the river. "
 Lindsey said when they put the roundabout in Muy Muy with the big statue in the middle, they ran out of money to finish fixing the road so they left it torn up  with huge ruts.
English lessons  and beer don't mix.
Although Jackson could say
Facebook and I doe no. Usually followed by. Da Da Da.
"I doe no DaDaDa. DaDaDa. " That was his imitation of us.
I have alway been sympathetic about Lindsey circumstances in Nicaragua.
Life there is not always easy and some situations have been tough. But it's March 27 and there is still snow on the ground up here. No more sympathy.
Envy.
Nicaragua is a beautiful country. We were luck enough to have someone along that could speak the language. I do recommend vacationing there. I also recommend Spanish lessons before you go. A small sacrifice will make your time at this  diamond in the rough more enjoyable.
If you do get a chance to go to nicaragua. Don't forget to set  watch back...... To 1930.
 Thanks Lindsey. We all had a great time. Looks like you'll be giving some Spanish lessons when you get home.

A run in with the Golden Girls and a bandito

Today we decided to go to Ometepe.
 It's an island in the middle of lake Nicaragua made by two volcanos. This
island offers hiking, waterfalls,a nature preserves, volcano climbing ,coffee
farm tours, a natural spring swimming hole and beaches and restaurants to name
a few. With its many hostels, its a favorite destination for the young and
green to go and spend a few days hiking around the island.
 It was a long drive through the mountains on winding roads. I think it was
probably very scenic and had some great views but I was kind of nervous about
taking my eyes off the road for long enough to enjoy it.    We got an early
start so we could catch the 9:00 ferry across lake Nicaragua.
 The traffic at the ferry was tight. Car were parked in line just inches from
each other. Taxis were trying  to squeeze there way in to pick up passengers
getting off  the next ferry. One of the attendant came up to the car and our
interpreter informed him that we planned to park, ride the ferry across and
have a guide show us around the island. He showed us where to park and
introduced us to Hector.
 Hector was a slick, nervy ,little nicaraguan. He spoke pretty good English
and used it often. I think it made him feel cool or worldly. He'd tell stories
like how he was shotgunning beers on a booze cruise and say " I'm pretty
crazy,right. " Or the time he and a friend jet skied across lake nicaragua,
which has very big waves and the worlds only fresh water sharks. "That's pretty
crazy too right. "
  Because of our lack of time we were leaning toward doing one thing like a
hike around the volcano to a 160ft. Waterfall. Hector said we could squeeze in
3 or 4 locations so we could see more of the island. Since we had never been
there , we took his advice.
 After boarding the ferry for our ride to the other side we realized Hector
had another group touring the island with him today.
 They were four elderly Belgium women we referred to as the Golden Girls. As
luck would have it they wanted to see the same places  as Hector suggested to
us. A coffee farm, a natural spring swimming pool and the nature preserve. He
also told us the 4:30 and 5:30 ferrys were canceled and we would have to take
the 3:30 to get back today. Trying to squeeze everything in and stop for lunch
, at a restaurant of his choice, before 3:30 was a rat race.
 When we got off the ferry in Ometepe,the golden girl went in a van with
Hector and we were told to get in another van with a young local named Luis.
Luis instantly had his eye on Lindsey and once he found out she spoke his
language he ask her to sit up front him.
 The rest of the day is kind of a blurr.
 Drive- coffee farm- drive- eat - drive- spring pool- drive-nature preserve-
drive- ferry - drive home.
   Although coffee is out of season this time of year, no bean not even a cup
of coffee  at the coffee farm ,the day was not a total waste. We did see some
monkeys and I swam in a natural spring that is suppose to make you look five
year younger. You can let me know how that worked next time you see me.
   The long drive back through the dark ,winding mountain roads put us back in
Pochomil late again. We decided to stop at our favorite bar/restaurant for a
bite to eat and head home to pack our bags. Tomorrow we leave the beach house
and head for Muy Muy. Another long drive but we get to hang out there for two
days before flying home. We get to experience "Lindsey's  Life In Nicaragua"
first hand. I can't wait.

A Taste of Nicaragua

After 3 long days of travel and bad roads we decided to take a much shorter
trip. Five minutes up the road to Masachapa, a small fishing village on the
pacific coast. Once there ,  we walk along the beach and watched the local
fisherman at work. The only thing resembling any modern convenience were the
motors on there boats and they were old. The beach here is a very busy place in
the morning.
By 10:00 the fishermen have already filled their nets and are  unloading there
catch into tubs and hauling them onto shore to be cleaned ,weighed and sold.
Some are bent over a small stream doing the final clean and rinse of todays
catch.
When the boats are empty they are pulled back onto shore. First the motor is
removed and placed on a cart crudely design just for carrying them to dry land.
The boat is pushed out of the water onto logs and rolled ashore. As one log
rolls out the back it's is placed  under the front and the push continues. It
takes about five men to push a boat and leap frog the three logs  200ft. onto
shore. Not an easy task but by noon their work day is done.
We decided to leave the beach and takes a walk through
town. The school day in Masachapa starts at 1:00 so there were a lot of
children on street at this time. Three tall,blonde,white women and  a short
bald white guy seemed to draw a lot of attention for some reason. A few kids,on
their way to school, followed along side on there bikes for two or three blocks
maybe out of curiousity or until they had enough courage to ask  "un doe lar?"
There are plenty of fish in the sea and nobody here appeared to be lacking for
something to eat.
Mid afternoon gets hot in Nicaragua so we decide to cool off with a local
treat. Doesnt everybody want to try some alotto. Alotto is kind of like
chocolate milk frozen in a sandwich bag. To eat alotto you must bite the corner
off the bag and and drink the juice as it melts. The flavor was cacao,
more like Ovaltine with a little cinnamon.
Alotto did very little to quench our thirst. We headed down to the beach in
pochomil and parked ourselves at a table under a grass roof. The
bar/restaurants on the beach are basically no more than wood poles holding up a
grass roof, no walls. Sitting in the shade and taking in the sights,sounds and
breeze of the ocean was a pleasant break. This particular bar is owned by the
same family that runs the restaurant just off the beach in town.The same place
we stopped for directions when we first rolled into town. It became a regular
stop for us during our stay in pochomil.
We ordered a sample plate and some shrimp and fish ceviche for lunch. Beside
rice and beans most of the food down here consists of little more than grilled
meats with a little lettuce tomatoes may  a few sliced beets on the side.
Ceviche is made from finely diced onion , cucumber ,cilantro and tomato mixed
with lime juice and your choice of fish. Delicious and very refreshing. Then
there's fried plantains. It's their version of potato chips. Some are thinly
sliced and actually do resemble chips. Others are sliced in a little thicker
disc and and are a nice side to any meal.  We spent the rest of the day there
swimming in the ocean and enjoying a few beers.
  When we return to the house Sergio said he could get lobster tails for
dinner. Becky and I offered to drive him into Masachapa to pick up the
lobsters,some wine, and a few odds and ends Martha wanted to whip up a side
dish. We drove right into the heart of the village to a locals house to pick up
the main entree. The streets were brick paved and very narrow. Hard to drive
down and even harder to make the corners. There were quite a few people out
walking or just visiting. We got a more personal look at their way of life.
   One more stop ,at what I guess was a liquor store , to pick up wine. Sergio
threw in a bottle of rum and ice and we returned to home. As Martha began to
prepare our meal , the four of us took a
Predinner stroll on the beach. Out of nowhere came Sergio walk down the beach
holding  a tray with four tall glasses. They were iced pineapple , rum
smoothies and they were delicious. A dinner of grilled lobster after that was
the end to a perfect day. We're going back on the rode tomorrow to do some
sight see on the island of Ometepe.

Do you know the way to Leon?

We haven't been in nicaragua very long but it's already a given fact that maps
and road conditions cannot be taken for granted. Our plan on this day was to
head north to Leon do some sight seeing, climb 2200 ft. up an active volcano
and ride a half inch piece of plywood to the bottom.
Choosing a route to anywhere in nicaragua is always a crap shoot. On one hand
we may have already taken one way. On the other hand another way looks shorter
but may be unpredictable. Since we have easy access to an interpreter, we
decided to ask a road side local before committing to either. Her suggestion
was the shorter way, which also has less traffic. Sounds like a win-win
situation. We soon found out why there is less traffic. What started out to be
a nice highway and a brilliant choice turns out to be a dirty ,rutty, rocky
road with horses or cattle standing in the middle.
Bouncing around in the car like the marble in a spray paint can gets old real
fast. The road was so untraveled we started to question if we were even going
in the right direction. With no one around  to ask ,Becky did the next best
thing. The only local in sight was a horse standing in the middle of the road.
This time there was no need for an interpreter. She pulled up and asked " hey
do you know how to get to Leon ". The reassuring look on the horse's face was
enough. We kept on. What should have been a hour trip turned in to three.
The unexpected length of the trip gave us less time for sight seeing and just
enough time for a quesadilla and cervesa. We stopped at one of the hostels to
book our trip to the top of Cerro Negro. Twenty one brave souls. Ninteen of
them under thirty. That left Becky and I to fill the forty-fifty something age
gap. We all ,including our guides, climbed onto the back of a big truck and
took the hour trip to the Cerro Negro Nature Reserve. Seeing the size of these
volcanos made me wonder if they were even possible to climb. Sledding over the
edge seemed insane.
A short stop at the Reserve office to pay our entry fee and we were off to the
volcano's bases. After climbing from the back of the truck we all grabbed a bag
with a full length orange jumpsuit,a pair of safety goggles and one foot wide
by four feet long half inch piece of plywood with a short rope and with a
handle attached.
The climb to the top was intense. The whole volcano is one giant pile of black
rocks and gravel.  The steep incline
and loose footing made travel exhausting and extremely hot. The words "death
march" may have slipped out once or twice. Plenty of breaks to catch our breath
and rehydrate and we were at the peak. The awe inspiring view and sense of
accomplishment made the gruling trip to the top much easier to forget.
Looking down the hill and seeing the
sled path disappear over the edge was very intimidating but there was no way I
was walking back down. As we put on our jumpsuits and goggles
Our guide explained there were two ways to approach this ride. You can get
yourself straight, lift your feet , lean back and go for fast time. My choice
was the Flintstone  method. Steering while braking with my feet.
After watching a few of the younger crowd take their turns, I plopped down on
my board ,grabbed my rope , leaned back and took off. The initial use of feet
is a necessity just to straighten out. As I began to pick up speed the decision
to keep my feet out for steering skis seemed like a good idea. The trip to the
bottom was short but awesome. A hour up for a two minute thrill ride seems like
a fair trade now. The radar gun said 31kmph. Not the fasted time by far but
still in the top five.  Besides a few people loosing control and rolling a
little.LINDSEY. Some minor scraps were all the casualties our group had.
We all received a couple of cold beers for our truck ride back to the hostel.
Upon arrival there were mojitos for everyone. As the rest of the group prepared
for drinking games we decided to make our exit.
There was no way we were taking the same road home that got us there.
We decided on a longer drive and a much better road. We felt bad about our 9:30
return but  Martha and Sergio were happy to accommodate. Grilled shrimp kabobs
, a bottle of wine and off to bed.
I think tomorrow sounds like a good day to stay around here on the beach.All of
us could use a little time to recharge for the next adventure.

Just pass him

Have you ever looked at your passport picture and said that doesn't even look
like me. After 16 hours of traveling its does. It's a long trip to get here.
But I have to admit things went pretty well. There was a minor incident at
Ohare. Apparently someone left a small pocket knife in his shorts in his carry
on bag. I guess it got past me and the washing.
A half hour of running my underwear and short though the x-ray machine and we
were back on our way.
The rest of our air travel went well. Besides a few power outages in Panama
City, which delayed us about an hour, three ups and downs and we were in
managua. The worst thing about taking off is knowing your going to end up in
another airport. I was glad to be on the ground,in the car and on  the road.
Until we got in the car and on the road.
Managua look like one giant accident. Rundown scrappy buildings, vacant lots
and trash everywhere. Cars swirving in and out of lanes, motorcycles with no
headlights dodging cars and people crossing or standing in the middle of three
lane roads. It was enough to give me road rage and Becky was driving. Bad maps
and no road labels or street signs left us driving around aimlessly. Good thing
we had our interpreter , Lindsey ,with us. A quick stop at a gas station and we
were pointed in the direction of our hotel.
The next morning we found a grocery store, loaded the car with supplies and
headed for our beach front destination. The road leaving managua was nicely
paved. The landscape was beautiful, mostly hilly ,almost mountainous terrain
with houses , more like shantys , scattered among the hills and road sides. The
steep grades made it difficult for the bigger trucks to get up to speed.
Apparently we had follow one of these trucks long enough for Lindsey to say
"Just pass him mom". We hadn't even completed pass and there was a police in
the road waving for us to pull over. Upon arriving at our car, he and Lindsey
began discussing the fine art of paying a no passing zone violation en
espaniol. I couldnt understand much but I did pick out 800 and back to managua.
To which Lindsey responded " Es Necessario?" A little dickering and sad puppy
eyes and we were back on the road for 400 cordobas. This amounts to about
$16.00 U. S. dollars. That's only a little more than Illinios got out of me in
tolls on our way to Ohare airport. No harm done. Now if the directions we have
to the beach rental are accurate it's smooth sailing. Not so fast now.
We made all the right turns ,crossed the right bridges and veered in the right
vees. One more turn and its the first house on the right.
We had a couple beers and took a potty break at an open air grass hut bar in a
small brick paved town circle. It was very quaint, very real and a very much
needed break from sitting in the car. After our interpreter ,Lindsey ,got the
proper  directions from the locals we were back on the road. Fifteen minutes
later we were met at the gate by the caretaker and cook. Paradise at last.
Forget the airports,the driving ,the bad directions and maps. This made
everything all worth it. A beach front villa with a pool, a cook and a care
taker. It didn't take us long to change our clothes and hit the beach. No long
johns...shorts.
No snow... Sand.  No wind chill... A nice ocean breeze.
We wander down the shoreline to a little outdoor bar on the beach. Took another
beer break and headed back for a little time in the pool. The caretaker ,
Sergio, offered to run down to the market for fresh fish. Dinner was Red
snapper wrapped in banana leaves and steamed on the grill. Everything was
perfect. If I had to leave tomorrow I couldn't complain. But tomorrow it's off
to Leon for volcano boarding on Cerro Negro. What could go wrong. Right?

An Upcoming Adventure

After a lot of research and many conversations with Lindsey. Becky and I
have decided to pay her a visit in Nicaragua.  She been away from home so long
we decide to take some of home to her,mostly in form of candy, clothing and
some good old fashioned English conversation.
 Our plan is to meet her at the airport in Managua and drive to pacific coast
and spend a few days at a beach house before doing some sight seeing and
working our way back toward Muy Muy. Sounds like fun right. So much that we
persuaded  my daughter Rachel to go along.
   While seeing Lindsey and being able to share some of her Nicaraguan
experience is the main reason for our trip,I have to admit the idea of getting
out of these long johns and into a pair of shorts sounded to good to pass up.
After 51 years of Wisconsin winters, It's hard to go from Oct. till April
without a  respite in a warmer climate. However,for becky and I ,its not always
easy to get from one place to another without a few complications.
    Yogi Berra said," You gotta be careful if you don't know where your goin',
otherwise you might not get there." That seems to be the general theme when our
vacations involve flying.  We've been delayed, rerouted, overbooked and over
nighted. But everything always seems to work out in the end. We once came home
to a blizzard in Chicago. There were no buses running and 100 people were in
line trying to rent cars. We started talking to a couple who was renting a car
to drive home to Lacrosse.  We offered to share the cost of their rental if
they could drop us off in janesville on their way by. A much better idea than
spending the night in a cot colony in the airport. We made it home and we made
new friends.
    We almost missed one flight because ,just for fun, we stopped to get our
shoes shined. They were litually closing the door as I sped down the ramp in my
newly shined boots. Of course that was our own fault. And the time we flew to
Las Vegas and came back married,was our own fault too.
But , like I said ,everything seems to work out very well in the end.
  This trip should be a piece of cake. I'll be escorted around by 3 world
travelers. Between Becky ,Lindsey and Rachel , they have been to Kenya ,
England , France, Ireland , Costa Rica,
Mexico,Jamiaca, Australia , Thailand and of course Nicaragua. With Lindsey as
our interpreter , I feel pretty good about gettin' where we're goin'. But
then,I not really sure where I'm goin'.
 Should be interesting. We'll keep you posted.

Things to look forward to...

School starts on Monday, and I´m more than ready to get working.
I´ll be getting more visitors this month, always exciting.
I just learned how to build improved ovens, so that´s my next project on hand.
Because I´ll be getting visitors I´ll have a guest blogger while they are here, hopefully it will make this a little more exciting because lately I´ve been pretty lame. I apologize, it´s becoming a worn and tired sitcom that hooks you in the beginning, but quickly loses it´s spark. I promise I´ll make some changes and hopefully the guest blogger will rejuvenate my blogging-writing abilities.
I really don´t have anything exciting to share, I´ve been pretty low key lately. I don´t even have a funny joke to share. Please don´t lose hope on me, in a couple of weeks return and read about my adventures from a different voice. I promise you won´t regret it!

I´m still here

I’m sorry for the long delay in entries, but I can explain…I was extremely busy preparing for the (falsely) predicted end of the world. I was stocking up on rice and beans and instant coffee…wait….no that’s just the normal diet here.

The holiday season is always a busy time, well for you guys in the US, so I was just thinking of you. I didn’t want to burden you with the task of reading about my life here in Nicaragua.

I really don’t have an excuse, but I can provide you all with an update for the last two months. First of all, I hope you all had a happy holiday season and Happy 2013! Let the countdown to my return begin.

Let’s see, Thanksgiving was non-eventful for me, but it was a time filled with drooling and dreams of all the delicious food that I missed. Good news: I will be back in time for Thanksgiving and will be sure to make up for the two lost years.

The beginning of December was very busy. The school year ended and the 6^th grade graduations took place. I was so proud of all my students that graduated and am very excited to know that the majority of them will continue their studies this next year. The graduation ceremonies were quite the to-do. I felt kind of like a celebrity. After the ceremony, everyone wanted their picture with me and invited me to their house to eat. I can’t really complain about free food and photo-ops.

At one of my schools I was just part of the audience and photographer. I could handle that, so the next day I was expecting the same duties; not at all! This time around I was a VIP and sitting on a panel with other VIPs and handing out diplomas. If that wasn’t enough to end the ceremony the head VIP (delegate of the office of education for my community) said a few words of congratulations to the graduates and included how I traveled more than thousands of kilometers to come here to Nicaragua to help all the students and appreciation for my work. It was very nice of him and everyone appreciates notice of their good work, but in the moment I was mortified. And all of you know how I show pretty much every emotion on my face and how I tend to turn red when I’m embarrassed, well I can only imagine the shade of red I was wearing while everyone was applauding and snapping photos. I appreciated feeling like a celebrity for the 2 hours both days, but in reality I could never handle the limelight.

La Purisima was the next stop on the calendar. I believe I mentioned this last year at this time, but a bit of a refresher. It’s a celebration of the Virgin Mary and conception. I find the easiest way to describe it as trick-or-treating but for the Virgin Mary. The kids all go around to various houses singing songs about Mary and they receive oranges, sugar cane, candy and Chi-Cha (a drink I try to avoid. It’s the color of Pepto-Bismol and made of corn, clove and other spices, not my favorite). Last year, I participated and maybe was just so overwhelmed I didn’t really notice; but this year I’m hip to the game and was more observant. I went to the one in my neighborhood and was kind of scared. Adults were pushing and shoving to get a Tupper-ware bowl with an orange and some candies inside it. Let’s be honest I could have easily taken one if I wanted (it’s like Shaq in a see of normal sized people), but I politely stepped aside. I didn’t really care that much about the treats. But, my neighbors stuck up for me and fought their way to obtain an extra one just for me. YAY! I still won without the fight.

The holiday season is time for a ton of towns to have rodeos. I’m not a huge fan of the rodeo and feel like once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all; but I continue to get invited and go. Again, I’m hip to the game and am able to make some keen observations instead of just being in awe and/or horror of events. I sat and watched the on-goings of the rodeo: abundance of beer and beer advertisements, drunkenness that just progresses with each hour, loud music, the obvious men riding/attempting to ride bulls. I look at it and say no thank you to the whole environment, but then imagine what Nicaraguans would think if I took them to a college football game. Really the only difference is there are not bulls. Why I do I say no, thank you to going to rodeos, but yes, please to going to say a Wisconsin Badger game?! I’ll continue to ponder this.

Christmas came and went without really anything to share. The New Year came and went without really anything to share either. Both occasions, I celebrated with the same group of friends and two pigs were slaughtered for the events. Santa didn’t find me here and I didn’t even stay up until midnight to welcome 2013. Again, next year I’ll celebrate in style.

I’m waiting to see what 2013 has in store for me; hopefully some more funny stories to share, lessons to be learned, memories to be made and best of all my return to the US.