I am now back in New Mexico. I came back a little earlier than planned (for several reasons) - Aug 4 rather than Aug 12. I am currently enduring the culture shock of being back in the United States. To summarize: I had a fabulous time in Nicaragua. Sorry there weren't more postings while I was there - but I was pretty busy and the internet isn't incredibly fast there - so uploading pictures could be a trial of patience. I learned so much in Nica. I talked to everyone I could about politics - the revolution, the contra war, the [View Full Entry]

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I am now alone in Nica. Sort of. My classmates left early yesterday morning. One of my professors- Ken- (and the founder/owner/director of Casa Xalteva) is still here. In fact, I walked around with him this morning. We met with one of his friends who is doing some grassroots organizing. She is organizing marches demanding public services.... They are demanding better water and electric managment or whatever - since the water and power both go off fairly often. Her name is Maria and she also owns a little hospedaje with her husband. My spanish teacher Oscar was sick today so I [View Full Entry]

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I have begun to learn some of the eccentricities (sp¿) of Nica spanish. Chele and Chela is the same as Gringo and Gringa. Instead of saying De Nada for your welcome, people say A La Orden or Suya. Also, these crazy Nica´s drop s´s. I am understanding more and more even if my ability to speak still sucks. ANYWAY Just got back from Esteli. We were in Ocotal and Condega yesterday, which was pretty amazing. We talked to a TON of people about various issues: the revolution, the contra war, the upcoming election, the sandanistas in general, womens rights and issues [View Full Entry]

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The internet is crap in Esteli. I have already wasted 18 minutes on a shitty connection. So this will be brief. Esteli is in the northern part of Nica. There were a lot of sandanistas here compared to Granada. Granada is more conservative (in our terminology - liberal in theirs, its complicated). Esteli is poorer and definately not as hip. But it is very interesting. The streets are lined with black and red sandanista flags. We stopped in the FSLN (Sandanista Frente) headquarters yesterday and got some of the black and red flags. they were gratis - free. today is the [View Full Entry]

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I forgot that the stuff I am taking for malaria makes you more sensitive to the sun - and I am already pretty sensitive. So I am burnt :) We spent most of yesterday at Laguna del Apoyo which was amazing. There will be pictures to follow. We saw more monkeys, but a different kind. And they were loud and scary. The water was pretty clear and salty. In contrast to the last few days, today will be all about schoolwork. Bummer. Ya know, I thought I would feel more wordy. But um... It just seems like a chore now. So [View Full Entry]

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I am here! I don´t have any pictures to post right now cause i left my camera in la casa! pero, todo es bien. Everything is great so far. Granada seems much safer than places I traveled in Honduras. It is a cute colonial town. Not too big either, only 180,000 people here. My day in a nutshell: did a walking tour of the town down to Lago Nicaragua, got in a truck and drove to a boat dock area and got on a little boat and rode out to las isletas. Apparently there are over 400 islands in Lake Nicaragua. [View Full Entry]

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My compañera and I can´t get into our ´house´because we apparently are too dumb to figure out how to unlock the door. Just got back from Mombacho! The cloud forest was so cool! We did a walking tour, some other members of the group did a canopy tour - which I would also love to do, but it was $30. It was all cloudy and foggy and a bit chilly-er. The volcano is only at 4000 feet or so. The tour guide said that it gets cold up on the volcano sometimes - all the way down to 60 degrees farenheit. [View Full Entry]

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Wow. I am back in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I arrived back in the states one week ago today. And I got back to Albuquerque last Sunday. I'm still kind of in shock to be back. People had mentioned this to me... That there might be some culture shock upon returning--I didn't really think about it or believe that it would occur. But it is. So, I realized that I never fully explained what I was doing in Copan, Honduras. I guess it is a little late now, but I will try to explain. I am a student at UNM pursuing a [View Full Entry]

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Things I love about Copan: 1. The people are amazingly friendly and helpful. I cant believe how just absolutely sweet people have been to me. My host family especially. The mom cooks with soy milk for me and always is offering me cakes or sweets or pinol and asking me how I feel. There is a young woman who lives next door who has adopted me as her friend and always talks with me, no matter how horrible my spanish is. The dad at my family helped me make my hotel reservation in San Pedro Sula this morning. People go out [View Full Entry]

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Hey Everyone. Sooo, I have ten more days in Honduras. I can´t believe how fast it has gone by. I just have a few minutes for a quick update. Things are good. Spanish classes at Guacamaya have been good.. Met some girls who might be going to Tela (the beach!) on Sunday. They have asked me if i want to accompany them... And I cant decide. Because I have already paid for staying at my house until Wednesday. But the beach would be fabulous. So, we will see. I will update everyone if I do make that decision. Gone out a [View Full Entry]

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