Blogs from Northern Highlands, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Thanks to Google Maps we were able to find the village of El Chompipe quite easily. Google Maps gave us a satellite view of the houses and school we helped build. If not for the map we’d have been lost as nothing on the way was how we remembered it. The road that was once horrendous to drive on is now beautifully paved for more than half of the way (with the rest under construction) and tiny townships have sprung up along the road. Driving along anticipating El Chompipe around the next corner was nerve-wracking. Would the houses and school still be standing? Would families still be there? Would they remember us? Would our Spanish be up to scratch? I’d forgotten how beautiful the surroundings of El Chompipe were. It is nestled among high, green hills ... read more

Dec 8, 2010 Wednesday evening Hi everyone, I left this morning from Brooksville at 4:30 am and it was 22 degrees F, passed through Miami airport which is quite chilly and arrived in Managua a little after 1 pm Central Time. In Managua, Nicaragua it was a breezy 80F which is great since it is usually in the 90's. I caught a cab to the bus station and arrived there just in time to get an Expresso Bus to Esteli. One does not drink coffee products on such a bus, it is just a bus that doesn't stop at every corner to pick up people once it leaves the station. That was a little unfortunate for me since I look forward to getting cuijada cheese on a freshly homemade corn tortilla. Ladies who make this get ... 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