We're back in the Manna house...just finished eating some spaghetti and are now having a sing along as Andrew (one of the PD's) plays guitar. Life has been full and hot and laid-back and just generally wonderful so far! and it's only our second full day here!
This weekend we traveled to Granada, which is a really cool city along the coast of Largo de Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua). We piled into a micro-van (something about driving in Nica just makes me so sleepy...even though there are so many colors and fascinating things to see and good conversations to be had, I fall asleep just about every ride we go on! It's awful. I blame it on the heat and the strangely soothing bumpy roads), listened to some spanish covers of Remix and various other pop songs, and pulled into the bright city.
I couldn't get over the color palate! It was all these rich yellows and deep reds and bright blues and neon greens. We wandered around, made friends with some street vendors (one of which let us taste-test this traditional Nica beverage he was selling...it was warm and made from rice and milk and corn and was actually pretty good!), took in the sights.
And then I encountered my first awkward moment with not speaking the language! hooray :) For literally two hours, my friend Joanna and I were walking around, and every time I would turn a corner, this same little girl would be in front of me, asking me to buy a bird whistle from her (and if you know me at all, you know I'm not a fan of anything having to do with flying creatures). I've got to give this little chica credit...she was persistent. At about the fifth time we passed her, I looked at her and again went to repeat as lovingly as possible what I'd been saying the whole time - "no gracias". Instead, I slipped and looked this sweet little girl in the eye and said "no me gusta!"and walked away. Then I looked at my friend Joanna a second later and said "oh my gosh, I think I just told that little girl that I didn't like her!" and we cracked up laughing. I guess that's what happens when I don't know spanish, and random phrases I happen to remember just slip out. I felt SO awful. Needless to say, I am now the proud owner of a hand-crafted bird whistle, because the next time I saw her, I rushed to buy one out of shame and guilt.
After that, we got pizza at a fun place and then went out dancing (which was a BLAST...some of these Nicaraguans can really move their hips!). We stayed the night in a hostel, which was the first time I'd ever been to one, and I thought it was really nice!
Oh and at the hostel, I had my first fall of the Nica trip (again, if you know me at all, you know that I'm sort of a klutz). I was coming out of the bathroom and the floor outside the door has just been mopped. My flip-flop slipped on it and I fell flat on my butt. It was alright...not too many people were around to witness, and it didn't hurt (that bad).
After a yummy b-fast at Kathy's Waffle House (I ate the best banana pancakes I have ever had in my life) and some more shopping, we went to Laguna de Apoyo and tanned/swam/jumped off docks/read (oh, I'm reading a fabulous book by the author of Life of Pi called Beatrice & Virgil...I'll maybe blog some more thoughts on it later)/ate lunch/hung out for the whole day. It was SO beautiful and relaxing and wonderful, and just a good time to get to know people in the group. It's funny to think that we've only been together for about two days!
Tomorrow, I'll probably wake up early and go to church. Then we'll take a walk and go into some of the communities we'll be working in. I'm super excited to start getting into programs and start immersing myself more in the county, get to know the people, learn about their culture and their lives. I'm also still a little nervous, however...I keep thinking that the whole language barrier thing separates me so much. I kind of hate feeling like such a self-conscious gringo all the time. But today, in the van, I was thinking about how that isn't really true. We were driving through Masaya on our way home and I saw an older man playing baseball with a little boy. My first thought was that this was a funny image - a father&son playing catch - to see in Nica, because it's such an American past time in my mind. And then it made me think something totally unexpected - we're not so different: me and Nicaraguans, me and anyone else. We're all people, we all want to spend time with those we care about, we all want a dad to play with us just because. We're all just looking to be loved and valued by someone, and I guess that's a pretty big thing to have in common.
with love and bright colors and sugary sweet helado,
emily
p.s. just a little FYI...the world cup is soon. if you didn't know that, just move down here to Nicaragua and you will be reminded of it every 28 seconds. I have heard this song seriously 1099 million times in the past two days. It's not bad, it's just getting a little excessive.
p.s.s. here are some pictures below. 1) the view from the roof of our casa, 2) the view from our little hike in our neighborhood..that's a volcano in the background, 3) our group at the overlook. I have yet to take a good picture here, and at this moment, the wind blew all my hair in my face, 4) the old cathedral in Managua, 5) view from an overlook in Managua & the only "sky scraper" in the city, 6) a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous cathedral in Granada, 7) our group at Kathy's Waffle House. notice how I'm not even ready when the picture was taken...told you I haven't had a good one yet, 8) the hostel, 9) the Laguna, 10) a yummy dessert at the laguna of mixed fruit ice cream over a canalized/fried tortilla
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