Obviously life isn't all care bears and rainbows and the last couple of weeks I've had some difficulties. I don't think I'm suffering hormonal problems, but the past couple of weeks my tear ducts have been on overdrive. I think that I'm more than ready to see all you folks at home and am a bit homesick, and without classes for the last couple of weeks I had nothing to keep me busy. I cried for various reasons, for example one day I watched My Girl and I was a complete mess - Why did Thomas J have to step on that bee hive? Other times I've been looking at my photo wall and wondering how different everyone is going to be when I come back and the waterworks begin. Also, my problem is the cyclical/wave process of adjustment. Just as I think, "I've got this! I'm ready for anything that Nicaragua can throw at me." and then the next day I'm like, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Not happening, what am I doing here?!"
I've got a perfect example of just this.... One day last week, there was a giant, ugly beetle trying to crawl into my house without thinking I killed it and tossed it into my backyard. I was pretty proud of myself, well it was pretty short lived because the next day as I was showering I spotted a huge spider (like the size of my hand with legs and all), I was terrified. Being mid-shower there's little I could do, so I whipped off my flip flop and swatted it a few times; not quite sure if it was completely dead I gingerly pushed it towards my shower drain. Mind you my shower drain is a large hole with a diameter of about 3 inches, just as the spider reached the edge of the abyss, a giant frog jumped out and ate the spider. I let out a blood curdling scream and quickly ended my shower. I should be grateful for the frog and grateful that it was a frog coming out of the drain and not my least favorite critter on Earth, the rat; but I still don't appreciate the fact that I've got a giant frog living in my shower drain. I went from being completely fine with the insects that co-exist with me to being terrified of a frog living in my bathroom and wishing that I had an indoor, frog-free bathroom.
So before you feel really sorry for me and think that I'm having a terrible experience. You need to know that it's only some days where I could easily hop on a plane and go home, but there are other days that I love. Like working with my students and teaching them the little that I know about gardening. Or the other day I gave a class on responsible parenting, yes it's part of the science curriculum, a sub-topic of the reproductive system. Well, it came at a perfect time because the week before on of my 5th grade, 12 year old students left with her 20 year old boyfriend; if you're gasping in shock and shaking your head, I had the same reaction; and unfortunately it's more common here than I would like to think about. My lesson consisted of them brainstorming characteristics and responsibilities of responsible moms and dads. After generating a good list and discussing the differences between the responsibilities of moms and dads and having a conversation that not all families have an equal balance between males and females but for the future fathers they could change that in the future. Luckily, we all agreed (including me) that parenthood is a big responsibility that none of us is ready for, just yet.
Even though I have good days and bad days, I'm having a good time overall and today couldn't get any better since I'm sitting in a coffee shop, listening to 89.3 The Current MPR live stream and enjoying WiFi, coffee and an escape from my cowboy territory that I normally live in.
Hope you're all doing well and have the countdown going with me...62 days!!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Las Fiestas
The last 2 weeks of April is when Muy Muy celebrates their fiesta patronales and honors San Benito. For those of you at home I´m comparing it to the local hometown festivals (CG Fireman´s Festival) and St. Patrick´s Day but for the span of 2 weeks!! If you´re thinking OMG! you´re absolutely right! The celebrations consist of multiple rodeos, lots of bombas (fireworks, but not pretty fireworks just loud booms), hipica (horse parade), processions where the saint is carried throughout the streets and a gaggle of people follow, music and lots and lots of drinking.
It is an interesting cultural experience, but once is enough for me. Over the course of the celebrations, my phone was lost, my pictures on my camera were erased and no I didn´t have them backed up on my computer, I was stared at and touched more than usual since people from other towns came and aren´t accostumed to seeing a blondie, and I was constantly told to change clothes because my clothes were not ¨pretty¨ enough to go to the rodeo or party. I ended up buying a pair of jeans that are bedazzled beyond my liking and I bought a plaid shirt to ¨fit¨in to the cowboy culture I´m living in. The overall consensus was my outfit was finally approved and now I´ll probably be expected to wear that to every event from here on out.
It was fun and I´m glad that I was here to experience it, but I´m also glad it´s over and hopefully life can continue on it´s normal schedule. It´s such a big event that classes were cancelled for the whole week, so I had plenty of time on my hands, too much time. I spent most of my time reading and laying in my hammock and have a couple experiments going with my garden and seeds. I´m hoping they will be successful. And I´ve started to create my lists of things to do while I´m home - get ready people because it´s going to be a long list and I´ve only got 2 weeks to check everything off.
72 days!
I´m sorry I don´t have more to say but words wouldn´t do it justice. If you want to experience it for yourself, you´re more than welcome to visit me next year at this time. And I have a few videos that I´ll be posting to Facebook of the rodeo, so you can get a taste.
It is an interesting cultural experience, but once is enough for me. Over the course of the celebrations, my phone was lost, my pictures on my camera were erased and no I didn´t have them backed up on my computer, I was stared at and touched more than usual since people from other towns came and aren´t accostumed to seeing a blondie, and I was constantly told to change clothes because my clothes were not ¨pretty¨ enough to go to the rodeo or party. I ended up buying a pair of jeans that are bedazzled beyond my liking and I bought a plaid shirt to ¨fit¨in to the cowboy culture I´m living in. The overall consensus was my outfit was finally approved and now I´ll probably be expected to wear that to every event from here on out.
It was fun and I´m glad that I was here to experience it, but I´m also glad it´s over and hopefully life can continue on it´s normal schedule. It´s such a big event that classes were cancelled for the whole week, so I had plenty of time on my hands, too much time. I spent most of my time reading and laying in my hammock and have a couple experiments going with my garden and seeds. I´m hoping they will be successful. And I´ve started to create my lists of things to do while I´m home - get ready people because it´s going to be a long list and I´ve only got 2 weeks to check everything off.
72 days!
I´m sorry I don´t have more to say but words wouldn´t do it justice. If you want to experience it for yourself, you´re more than welcome to visit me next year at this time. And I have a few videos that I´ll be posting to Facebook of the rodeo, so you can get a taste.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Planes, trains and automobiles....wait - taxis, buses and pangas
It´s my voice once again. Justin has returned home to the US and I hope you enjoyed reading his perspectives on Nicaragua and his experiences. Now some of you who thought I was exaggerating will know I´m telling the truth.
After dropping Justin off at the airport, I went on my own vacation to the Atlantic Coast to celebrate Semana Santa. Semana Santa is holy week leading up to Easter and in the US it´s acknowledged by church services and family celebrations for Easter, here is a week long party. Entonces, when in (Nicaragua) do as the (Nicas) do. The journey out the the coast is not quite easy. It includes a 7 hour bus ride to Rama, followed by a 2 hour panga, boat, ride to Bluefields and another hour panga ride to Pearl Lagoon. Somehow while Justin was here the travel gods were on his side, unfortunately I lost all of that luck for this trip. It included long periods of waiting, extreme fatigue and dehydration. But it ended up being well worth it.
The coast is like a completely different world when compared to the rest of Nicaragua. It´s got the relaxed vibe of a Carribbean island and it´s a paradise. I will be posting pictures soon. Most of the time was spent relaxing on the beach and soaking in the sun; unfortunately I soaked in a bit too much sun and am returning a little more red than I would like. While there we visited the Laguna keys and it´s literally private island paradises. The views look like some of the screen savers and backgrounds that Windows supplies users with. I´m really not doing the coast justice with this post, but it´s just something you need to see and experience for yourself. I absolutely love the coast and want to go back again, but I may have to fly next time. I enjoyed every minute of the trip up until the night before we had to leave because I was dreading the journey home.
Coming home was the longest day of my life. I was exhausted from a lack of sleep during the week and dehydrated for the entire week. A 7 hour bus ride is not fun, especially if you have to use the bathroom and can´t so I started off the week with a lack of water and no matter how much water I drank while there it wasn´t enough since I sweat most of it out. We successfully made it to Bluefields, but had to wait for a few hours until the panga filled up. Then we made it to Rama to find out that no buses were running. Good Friday is a big party day here and no one seems to work. Rama was like a ghost town, minus the 20 or so passengers looking for a way to Managua. After waiting, again, for hours the bus finally agreed to drive us to Managua, but for twice the price. I could barely keep my eyes open for more than 5 minutes at a time and when finally arriving to Managua, I somehow lost my desire to sleep. I stayed up much longer than I should have and today will finally be making my way back home. Once home I will hopefully sleep for a complete day to rejuvenate myself before classes start up again.
Hopefully I won´t find any critters, like the scorpion Justin and I encountered, waiting for me when I get home.
After dropping Justin off at the airport, I went on my own vacation to the Atlantic Coast to celebrate Semana Santa. Semana Santa is holy week leading up to Easter and in the US it´s acknowledged by church services and family celebrations for Easter, here is a week long party. Entonces, when in (Nicaragua) do as the (Nicas) do. The journey out the the coast is not quite easy. It includes a 7 hour bus ride to Rama, followed by a 2 hour panga, boat, ride to Bluefields and another hour panga ride to Pearl Lagoon. Somehow while Justin was here the travel gods were on his side, unfortunately I lost all of that luck for this trip. It included long periods of waiting, extreme fatigue and dehydration. But it ended up being well worth it.
The coast is like a completely different world when compared to the rest of Nicaragua. It´s got the relaxed vibe of a Carribbean island and it´s a paradise. I will be posting pictures soon. Most of the time was spent relaxing on the beach and soaking in the sun; unfortunately I soaked in a bit too much sun and am returning a little more red than I would like. While there we visited the Laguna keys and it´s literally private island paradises. The views look like some of the screen savers and backgrounds that Windows supplies users with. I´m really not doing the coast justice with this post, but it´s just something you need to see and experience for yourself. I absolutely love the coast and want to go back again, but I may have to fly next time. I enjoyed every minute of the trip up until the night before we had to leave because I was dreading the journey home.
Coming home was the longest day of my life. I was exhausted from a lack of sleep during the week and dehydrated for the entire week. A 7 hour bus ride is not fun, especially if you have to use the bathroom and can´t so I started off the week with a lack of water and no matter how much water I drank while there it wasn´t enough since I sweat most of it out. We successfully made it to Bluefields, but had to wait for a few hours until the panga filled up. Then we made it to Rama to find out that no buses were running. Good Friday is a big party day here and no one seems to work. Rama was like a ghost town, minus the 20 or so passengers looking for a way to Managua. After waiting, again, for hours the bus finally agreed to drive us to Managua, but for twice the price. I could barely keep my eyes open for more than 5 minutes at a time and when finally arriving to Managua, I somehow lost my desire to sleep. I stayed up much longer than I should have and today will finally be making my way back home. Once home I will hopefully sleep for a complete day to rejuvenate myself before classes start up again.
Hopefully I won´t find any critters, like the scorpion Justin and I encountered, waiting for me when I get home.
Friday, March 30, 2012
I didn't know horses could speak Spanish.
After a very long - hot climb up the side of the mountain (600 meters high), we stopped and our tour guide gave us a little bit of information at various spots. One stop took us to what used to be the center of the volcano before it blew up the whole side of the mountain in the 70's. We were able to go over to see the fumers where sulfur and steam were coming out -- we could also stomp our foot on the ground and it was hollow! From the very top you could see the chain of volcanos that spanned across the horizon. Sledding down the volcano was so much fun!! It was scary at first, but after a while we got used to the feel of it. Lindsey went down first and only went about 15km/hr and I was going about 30km/hr. Near the bottom, I got the high speed wobbles and wiped out, sliding down the rocky sandy volcano. I got a little bit of road rash on my arm and a nice cut on my leg, so hopefully I don't bring back some Nicaraguan plague when I come home tomorrow!! We looked like dalmatians when we came back, we were covered in black dust -- very similar to Grandpa Kamp after he started the vacuum on fire in the garage!
We took another bus back to Managua from Leon and a different bus from Managua to Muy Muy. The bus had us packed in there like cattle. There was hardly any space to move. It was supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour bus ride, but it turned into a 4 1/2 hour ride. We came across a road block on the main highway and Nicaraguans are so impatient, drivers just started driving down in the ditches to get around it. Our bus driver was the same way. We just started off roading in a yellow school bus -- down dirt roads, through tall grasses and trees, before finally popping back out on the main road to finish the trek. Several times, it felt like we were going to tip over. After driving on the main road for a while, we had to stop yet again, this time because we broke a belt on the bus - it took another 45 min for them to get the bus up and running. There was also a man on the bus that was very fond of Lindsey -- he thanked both of us for visiting the country - but really probably could have cared less about me!
In Muy Muy, all the neighbor kids flock to Lindsey's house - every single day. They seem to have forgotten that Lindsey even lives there because they come outside calling for Justin, not Lindsey anymore!! We play soccer, tag, and hide and seek in the street. They are also amazed with my many talents of noises that I can make (whistling in my hands, popping my mouth). I met some of Lindsey's local friends that are her age - they serenaded us with some songs and dancing. We did some "gardening" in Lindsey's backyard -- it is basically a gravel pit. We made an attempt at making a compost pile -- but I'm sure that it was a very sad, pathetic attempt!! I went to some of Lindsey's classes and watched her babble in spanish and then teach an english class -- FINALLY something I could understand! haha! We went horseback riding down to a river - it was really pretty, unfortunately, I got really sunburnt.
Today, we are in Matagalpa - to buy some coffee, cigars, and rum for me to take back home. Lindsey has skype all set up on her computer now, so now we can all skype with her when she has internet access!!
Sadly, I am leaving tomorrow morning to take another crowded bus back to Managua so I can catch my flight back home. I wish I could stay longer - perhaps I'll be able to come for another visit before Lindsey leaves.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
It's still so DAMN hot!!
After catching up with sleep in the Best Western in Managua (I was comatose), Lindz and I took a very long taxi ride to drop off the suitcase filled with food at the Peace Corp Office, the smell of exhaust was overwhelming. Then we took another ride to the bus depot to catch a bus for Leon. Lindsey had briefed me on the size and the amount of people prior to getting on the bus...we missed the first one because the lack of speed and dexterity Lindsey and I had fighting our way to the bus. We grabbed the second one though. We arrived in Leon which in Lindsey's sense of direction is Southwest....but in reality, it is Northwest. We got to our hostel -- BigFoot, on the way, we ran across several Festiva's (I really miss mine) and a possible DeLorean -- it looked just like the one Doc Brown had in the 80's!! Then we went off to Poneloya beach on the Pacific Ocean on a yellow school bus that was packed full! When I say full, I mean everyone was touching -- the front and back doors were open, and people were on the top of the bus! After a long ride on the hot bus, we arrived at the beach. It was beautiful! It was extremely windy while we were there so the waves were crashing in. I went out for a swim, surprisingly the water wasn't cold at all! It was quite nice. The undertow was so strong, I couldn't believe it. I met a lot of Lindsey's fellow volunteers while we were there, they are all very nice. We attempted to hitchhike back to Leon, but to no avail, we took the yellow school bus again.
Today, Lindsey and I are off the Cerro Negro for Volcano Boarding. It is basically sledding down a hill at a 40 degree slope, the only difference is no snow, only sand a rocks. You can go to YouTube and see a video about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ij0HUw350 Hopefully Lindsey and I don't end up with road rash all over the place!
Friday, March 23, 2012
"IT'S SO DAMN HOT!! MILK WAS A BAD CHOICE!"
*Note to readers while Justin is here visiting he will be guest blogging for me, so here's his views and opinions......
"IT'S SO DAMN HOT!! MILK WAS A BAD CHOICE!" to quote Anchorman. I arrived in Nicaragua tonight at 7pm after an extremely long day of traveling, I left Whitewater at midnight and had a 7 hour layover in New Orleans. After I met up with The Lindsey at the airport I had a very nice man carry my luggage out to the car -- apparently it made me look like I was an unaccompanied minor. HAHA! I walked outside wearing jeans and a track jacket and I felt as if I was melting. It was hotter then Hades out there! As soon as we got to the hotel I quickly changed into shorts and tshirt! Much more comfortable! Lindsey and I are eating Cheetos and Pizza Hut pizza right now. She says, "I'm livin' large since I have a visitor!" It is also my last day of American food. I will probably dwindle away to nothing! Tomorrow we are off to Leon for sun bathing (burning in my case) and swimming.
Lindsey and I are already having fun as I attempt to speak spanish -- it is really quite good in my defense, but she thinks otherwise. I guess you don't need to pronounce every single letter you see with a Wisconsin accent?!
Let the games begin!!
The Lindsey says, "thanks for all the contributers for the goodies and snacks!"
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Green Eggs and Ham: Nica Style
I do not like rice and bean
I do not like them, Dean
You're mean
I do not like them at every meal
I did not sign up for that deal
I do not like them cold
They lack a flavor bold
I do not like them in a haste
I do not like what they do to my waist
I do not like rice and bean
I do not like them Dean
Why are you so mean?
I will cook soon
and might change my tune
but right now
they make me feel like a cow
I wrote this little diddity a while ago and just found it now. I'm quite proud of my work and now that I'm living on my own....I would actually enjoy some gallo pinto right about now. I've been eating lots of PB & J sandwiches, oatmeal and fruit. I'm eating worse than a college student and if you look inside of my refrigerator you'll find: raisins, sugar, water and mayonnaise. Pathetic I know. So I'm going to break my descansa (break) from gallo pinto and attempt to cook some on Sunday, the only day that I actually have time. I'm sure it will not be as good as if a Nicaraguan made it and it won't prove that I can cook, but hopefully it will be edible. Also, I'll probably make enough for the week and just eat that for the week. HAHA.
Only 20 more days until Justin comes to visit and I'll have a supply of goodies from the US! I can't wait for all the stuff he's going to bring to me.
I do not like them, Dean
You're mean
I do not like them at every meal
I did not sign up for that deal
I do not like them cold
They lack a flavor bold
I do not like them in a haste
I do not like what they do to my waist
I do not like rice and bean
I do not like them Dean
Why are you so mean?
I will cook soon
and might change my tune
but right now
they make me feel like a cow
I wrote this little diddity a while ago and just found it now. I'm quite proud of my work and now that I'm living on my own....I would actually enjoy some gallo pinto right about now. I've been eating lots of PB & J sandwiches, oatmeal and fruit. I'm eating worse than a college student and if you look inside of my refrigerator you'll find: raisins, sugar, water and mayonnaise. Pathetic I know. So I'm going to break my descansa (break) from gallo pinto and attempt to cook some on Sunday, the only day that I actually have time. I'm sure it will not be as good as if a Nicaraguan made it and it won't prove that I can cook, but hopefully it will be edible. Also, I'll probably make enough for the week and just eat that for the week. HAHA.
Only 20 more days until Justin comes to visit and I'll have a supply of goodies from the US! I can't wait for all the stuff he's going to bring to me.
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