Happy Independence Day! Today it is just the holiday in Nicaragua because it's a celebration of when they kicked some crazy guy out of Granada after he took over and declared himself president. Tomorrow is the anniversary of Central America getting their independence from Spain, so it's the holiday here as well as in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Pretty crazy ... there has been a lot of loud partying going on outside the past couple of nights, and this morning it was quiet around town because people weren't going to work, but there were some people busily sweeping all the garbage out of the streets and some kids excitedly running around in band uniforms. There was a MASSIVE parade, actually, it is still going on - TONS of marching bands and dancers for a town that is one third the size of Appleton! I went and watched for a while and felt very sorry for all the marchers in their elaborate uniforms as it is quite the toasty day. The group that rehearses on our street every morning was last in the section that we watched, it was exciting to see them in their costumes and recognize some of the kids. There was a lot of confusion, distraction, moms walking into the middle of the parade to give their kids coke or gatorade, teachers pulling kids back into formation, confident four-year-olds leading groups of adult dancers or musicians... it was pretty awesome.
Yesterday Leo, Rachelle, and I took a sweaty bus ride to La Boquita, a beach about an hour away. It was beautiful and lots of fun, although I am unfortunately quite sunburned. We swam a lot and the water is VERY warm, it was strange to the two of us PNW dwellers (Rachelle is from Vancouver) who think of the Pacific ocean as freezing and full of algae. It was like a bathtub! Then we ate freshly caught fish, which was delicious and unfortunately had the head still attached (I practiced some selective vision), swam more, and read a lot before taking the bus back. Somehow that day left me COMPLETELY exhausted today ... our morning run was actually a leisurely 6 a.m. walk as we never even started jogging.
Last night I went to a restaurant that is going to be my new haven... my dinner consisted of spinach squash ravioli and pitalla (local fruit) cheesecake and while it was a little over $10 and therefore EXPENSIVE in the Nicaragua range, I will definitely be returning to sample at least the rest of the vegetarian and dessert menus. Heavenly. We also went there on a previous night and ended up talking to some college students who spoke fluent English, which is nothing short of surreal these days.... it's an exciting place, though very small and basically an indoor garden. I also ended up watching the Packers game on TV there while I was eating my dinner and was able to explain that that statdium was really near where I live... the main comment I got was "hace mucho frio alli" (it's very cold there). Well, compared to here, many places are cold and most days I find myself dreaming of winter in the north country!
In other news, we are pretty sure that the cat, Robin, is pregnant with kittens... additional evidence lies in the strange orange cat prowling around the roof every day. That could add some additional entertainment to a house that already has an 8 month old baby! Who, by the way, is in the precise stage in which babies like to throw all their possessions onto the floor during meals and proceed to screech until someone picks them up. She's a cutie though.
And then there is the armadillo that lives in our ceiling - yes armadillo, it's been spotted - and is nocturnal and runs in circles all night above our room. Oh wildlife...
Well, the rest of today and tomorrow will consist of being really lazy before my normal routine starts on Wednesday. We have a couple more weeks of Spanish - I guess two more, to be exact, and volunteering at Los Pipitos, which begins Wednesday. On thursday I will go to visit the orphanage and then start there sometime in October!
Love to all,
Suzanne