Life in Cuenca continues on and the adventure is very beautiful! Language school continues with my oh so patient teacher, Viviana. This week, some of our topics of discussion, all in Spanish of course, included her childbirth experience, differences in health care between our countries, what would happen if a big meteor hit the Earth, crop circles, the Berlin Wall and illegal immigration. As for my work at school, the kids still love me. This week, I taught them how to make origami cranes (I called them swans in Spanish because I don’t know the word for crane) and origami [View Full Entry]

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You may have picked up from the ending comment of my last journal entry, I’m a bit overwhelmed. However, I’ve managed to survive the first week and am now into my second week. The Spanish lessons I’ve signed up for through the end of April are very difficult. My teacher, Viviana, is very sweet, patient, and speaks to me only in Spanish with occasionally throwing in a word or two of English to explain a word I don’t know. We talk a lot, too. In Spanish, of course. We’ve covered world politics, religion, domestic violence, and child abuse among other [View Full Entry]

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It finally hit me on Friday when I dropped off my dog Josie with my friend, Ferrell. When I went to leave, I stooped down to hug my dog goodbye and started crying! I realized I wouldn’t see her for 2 1-2 months! Poor Ferrell, he wasn’t sure what to do with a sobbing girl. He hugged me and assured me he would take good care of my dog. I collected myself and said goodbye and went to pack. Yes, I was leaving for 2 1-2 months in less than 3 hours and I still needed to pack! It was [View Full Entry]

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I'm an IT Project Manager by profession, which means, I'm supposed to be an 'expert' at planning and details. They tell me at work I'm pretty good at it. Well, those of you who have traveled with me for any length of time know I really have no inherent talent for planning or attention to detail. In fact, I'm not even sure how I ended up in this career field as I certainly can't seem to apply these planning principles to my personal life! I also have commitment issues. With just about everything. Including travel plans. I have a hard [View Full Entry]

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It's been a week since my return and now that I've had time to process this adventure, I thought I would share some final thoughts with you. I know my last entry ended a little sad with me crying on the plane. I sat next to a nica developer and actually started lecturing him about not ruining his beautiful country. He told me to stop crying because I was making him want to cry! Nicaragua is extremely poor, but, I found it's people, land and country filled with warmth and beauty. With the exception of Managua, I always felt safe and [View Full Entry]

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Well, I found lobster! Lot's of it! Cheap! Didn't starve in San Juan del Sur! San Juan del Sur is a nice little beach town. However, it is a bit touristy relative to the other places I've been. I finally got to do a little bit of souviner shopping, although I really wasn't in the shopping mood. Had a bit of a tough time figuring out the bus schedule. I wanted to leave for Managua on Sunday afternoon, but the senorita at the desk said there were no buses to Managua on Sunday afternoons. I'd need to take a cab. Would [View Full Entry]

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ok, so, i think when i left you, i was on my way to ometepe? i received my first proposal on the taxi drive to the ferry dock in ometepe. as a white woman traveling alone, the latino men circle like sharks. this is where not knowning spanish has actually come in handy. the conversation usually goes something like this: hombre: are you traveling alone? yo: yes hombre: are you married? yo: no hombre: do you have any children? yo: no hombre: do you have a boyfriend? yo: no hombre: how old are you? yo: sorry, i don't know numbers in [View Full Entry]

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buenas dias, mi amigas! you won´t believe the adventure i´ve been having ... where to start? let´s see, monday morning my plan was to catch the executive service bus from san jose to managua and transfer to rivas along the way. i made it to the station and as soon as i walked in, some guy was waving customs slips at me saying something in spanish that, of course, i could not understand. ´this is going to be a long trip´, i thought. then, i heard a voice ´luanne! luanne!´ i looked around and there was eric, a kayaker friend of [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick update ... made it to Rivas, Nicaragua where I am now at staying at a palace, with real, hot water! I was supposed to be in Ometepe by now, but, well, as those of you who have traveled with me, sometimes things just don´t go as planned! I outdid myself this time .... will write more later but just wanted to let you know I´ve been able to keep myself fed and sheltered! I´m very tired ..... LuAnne [View Full Entry]

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hey ... sorry for the lack of punctuation. im using a weird foreign keyboard and dont want to take the time to figure it out. after an almost cancelled flight due to an ice storm in dallas, i made it to warm and rainy san jose late thursday night. so far, its been a fun and eventful trip! yay, at least the ! key works! laura and james ceremony was one of the most beautiful and touching ones ive been to. at night, by candelight, surrounded by the jungle and their close friends and serenaded by the rapidly rising pacuare river. [View Full Entry]

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