Blogs from Moropoto, Northern Highlands, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean

It's the middle of November 2012, which means I arrived in Moropoto about 4 years ago as a Peace Corps Agriculture & Food Security volunteer. Lenin and I left Nicaragua about the 3rd week of January 2011. I won't bore you with details, but here are the highlights..... Realized I came home a few weeks pregnant; Lenin got his green card on St. Patricks Day; we worked over the summer; Isabel Vilma Torrez-Baade was born on October 17th, 2011; Lenin passed his full driving test just about that time. Now Isabel is a year old but acts so much older! I am 30 (!). Lenin continues working at the resort. He just requested all of his days that he could and we are headed back to Nicaragua for the holidays. We'll be here for Thanksgiving and ... read more

Lenin and I leave Nicaragua in two weeks. I don´t even know how to deal with this timeline. I´ve been counting down for years and suddenly it´s here and I don´t know what to do. All I can say is that my internet time will be practically nonexistant in these last two weeks and the first few days that we arrive. So don´t be surprised if you email me and I never get back to you. I think I´ll be able to process this more when we arrive.... read more

6 December 2010 Monday 2:45 pm I need to evaluate. I have been evaluating for my whole time here in Nicaragua. Thinking. Thinking too much, really. But now that all of my comrades have gone home and just Lenin and I are left, I have been thinking a lot. Trying to imagine what it will be like when we get there. Much of our future life is up in the air. There are a few things I do know. I know that we will live on Spencer Creek Rd for the first couple of years at least. I know that I want my student loans paid off by Christmas next year. I know I want to replant the garden and make the casita ours and I am soooo excited for a washer and dryer. I know ... read more

25 November 2010 Thanksgiving Thursday 10am Today is Thanksgiving. It is also the 25th, which means that in one month it will be Christmas day and in two months we will be in the airport waiting for our flight home. I am listening to my “feliz navidad” playlist, which predictably only has Christmas music in Spanish. We won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving here until Saturday, but since today is the mero mero it warrants a blog. I will be forever thankful for Peace Corps Nicaragua, especially to the secretary Mimi and to Marva and Ximena in the medical office. Because of Peace Corps I have learned to speak Spanish, I’ve gotten to know this beautiful Central American country and, of course, Lenin appeared and I inherited a new family. Peace Corps wasn’t easy and Nicaragua is certainly ... read more

Here are some photos from the end of October´s going away party, the beach, and babies. Lenin has his immigrant visa interview on Friday 19 November. That is also my last day as a volunteer. One story ends and another begins. ... read more