Quick Trip

In a moment of spontaneity, Manfred and I decided to head to Mayasa, a small town about thirty minutes from Managua. We only had a little bit of time to be there, but we had fun! Here is what we saw:

 I loved the use of color in all of the houses. This blue building is actually the Mayor`s office. You do not see many official US buildings painted like this.

This is pretty common here too. The wall is all the same and there is not anything to distinguish between these two houses except the colors that are there. I wonder how they decided where to put the line?

 This old church was awesome, and with dusk falling the pictures turned out pretty cool too.

 I would definitely liked a little more time in Mayasa, but we had to hurry to catch the bus. I hear there are a couple of really great markets that sell loads of touristy stuff. One of them is even in a old, little castle! With the city so close. I will for sure be going back to see that.

Elections, Elections, Elections!

My facebook wall has been filled with posts, both happy and angry, about the recent Obama reelection. Some claim we are headed to no where good while others are posting memes supporting Obama celebrating his victory. Well, my personal opinion is that the United States is hogging all the quality TV time. November 2nd was the Nicaragua Mayor Elections, and, I bet, the majority of the people reading this do not know that!! Where are the camera crews when there is political action here? Haha, maybe the election was not as important, but it is still worth mentioning.

Apparently, the Sandinistas won by a landslide with more than three fourths of the votes in all of Nicaragua. This huge victory was celebrated all night by people lauching loud fireworks in every neighborhood (not the type of cool, pretty fireworks either; the ones that just pop really loudly without any color or shape). Many people seemed to be incredibly excited by the results.

Upon asking someone when we would know the results of the elections, she replied, Oh since yesterday!  I was a little shocked and the party has been accused of fraud, but like I have said before: when in Nicaragua, just go with it!

The brown mark on Manfred's thumb, represents that he voted. Every voter is required to rub their right thumb in the ink after casting their vote. It prohibits you from voting again.

 

El Malecón

El malecón or the pier is basically downtown Managua. It is a nice, clean place with several historic buildings and sites.

The main attraction to el malecón I would say is definitely the old cathedral. It was in use until 1972 when an earthquake hit Managua and sent many buildings tumbling to dust. The cathedral still stands but has many cracks, is missing a roof, and is expected to crumble at any second.

From far away, you cannot really tell that anything is worng, but here are some up-close shots at the damage. 

 The structure right under the clocks is really cool on both of the towers because the four walls have completely seperated from each other, yet they are still up right.

 Look at the top of the two domes. The closer one has a cross, but the other one appears to have fallen. It has fallen backwards, but it is still just barely hanging on to the top of the dome with a little concrete. It looks so fragile, that everyone is just waiting for a little tremor to send it crashing down.

The grounds have been a little neglected as well!

Just across the street from the cathedral is a little fair. President, Daniel Ortega, ordered it for all the citizens in Nicaragua. It is completely free and will be here until Christmas.

There were thousands of people here and the lines were super long, but it had a really happy spirit and was fun to walk through. I had no intentions of riding any of the attractions as I believed there may be looser safety codes here (if any at all). However, some of the rides looked really fun and so Manfred and I sat and watched. It was great entertainment and we did not have to wait in line!

 Finally we went to the Malecón which looks out at Lake Managua. This lake was once a sewage dump and almost became a dead lake, but now the country is working on cleaning it up and reviving its beauty.

 At last, dusk came upon us and all of downtown lit up! It was so beautiful. The tree shown below in the largest tree in the city and is right in the middle of the fair. Other smaller trees are in all the round-abouts throughout Managua through thanks to the first lady.

First Halloween!

So Halloween season crept up on me and although I have never been too much of a Halloween fan, the nostalgia was overpowering. In Nicaragua, Halloween passes every year bearly noticed. I was informed that only in "high class" neighborhoods do children trick or treat. Apparently my neighborhood was not going to met the mark. My Nica mom had also said besides that Halloween is normally only celebrated in the clubs where the women go as either a bunny or kitty cat. Hmmmm interesting..... Anyways as the day arrived the void in my heart got larger and larger until I was sure I would have to do something to celebrate.

After asking around a bit I was lucky enough to encounter someone who knew where I could find a pumpkin. My Halloween plans took off. Of course I had to involve Manfred, my boyfriend, because this would be his FIRST Halloween ever.

The idea of carving a pumpkin was foreign to Manfred. In fact he had never seen a pumpkin in real life since they do not grow in Nicaragua. So I had to explain the idea. He still did not really get it so I just told him to draw a face of shapes on the pumpkin. Now I thought that was a simple task; I even mentioned a couple of shapes and ideas. However, for someone who went to art school, it is OF COURSE much more complicated than doodling with a marker. He spent several minutes debating which pumpkin side was the cleanest, how big each shape should be, and what shapes would look the best.

Manfred comtemplating. Haha

 After much thinking we settled on some shapes for the face and began to draw.

 And let the carving begin!

After the heart shaped top was cut out, we began to pull out the seeds and pumpkin hair. I was overwhelmed with the familar scent of the pumpkin season and all the memories that were brought with it.

After slicing and idcing the pumpkin, it was finally finished. It looked great but even better once we put the candle inside.

 Manfred was highly impressed especially with the lighted pumpkin. It was super cute to see him all excited and proud of his work. It looks like five years in art school paid off! Although I am not sure pumpkin carving was ever taught. haha.

Although, there were no trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood, I refused to let the night pass without candy. As a result, we spent the last bit of the night going to some of the other exchange students´ houses to deliver a Halloween treat. Definitely not my typical, traditional Halloween, but it was great fun. 

Week Recap

 This past Friday and Saturday I spent in PARADISE; I am sure of it! Here`s how it happened:

So a couple of weeks ago all the exchange students were told that there would be another feild trip with the university. Survivor weekend they called it. I was super excited, thinking I would have to start fires, eat berries, and compete in complicated challenges. As the trip drew closer, we got more details and I was sad to see that we would be staying the night in a hotel. What kind of survivor sleeps at a hotel in the night? One of the other exchange students talked with the director of the trip and told me that it was not going to be a very intense experience, just digging a hole maybe basic stuff. I was a little crushed but willing to go. 

Friday morning arrives and I finish packing the things I might need as a survivor: head lamp, bug repelent, and tennis shoes. I throw in my swim suit as an after thought that there might be a pool at the hotel. We all meet at the university and off we head!

When we arrived at our "hotel", I was rather confused. Was it a hotel? NO! It was an all inclusive resort. I saw a picture and map in the lobby of the extensive property and immediately knew I should have done some research before arriving. The Barcelo Montelimar is paradise. 

 

The huge property has everything: mini golf, a zoo, a beach, several pools, a gym, jacuzzi, a trollie, a club, restaurants. And its all unlimited (after the entrance fee, of course). Everything was clean and beautiful. Oh it was great! Suddenly the Survivor games that I had thought of before were of little importance, and I just wanted to relax. 

We did end up playing some the games, however. There was a fun scavenger hunt, a water game, and a knot tying contest, but then the rest of the weekend was for us to enjoy. I spent a lot of my time at the pool (pictured above). The thing is massive and in the middle on an island are a bunch of snacks and every drink all included. I tried a whole bunch of juices but my favorite was definitely Pantera Rosa.   

My Survivor tribe!

 When we got bored with the snack bar we headed to the restaurant. It is a buffet and offer everything: American, Italian, Nicaragua, sea food. Whatever you want, it is there and it was all very delicious. After eating there I was not so sure I wanted to put my swim suit back on haha. 

The greatest blessing had to be the rooms. They are set up like duoplex house so each duoplex has its own little front porch with a hammock. They were really super cute and came with.........(wait for it)....... air conditioning and hot water!!! Upon further reflection, I decided that the majority of the tourist here expected these two items and would have been angry had they not been included. However, for someone who has been living in Nicaragua for the last three months, they were unexpected blessings. I took three very long showers and slept all wrapped up in blankets and pillows. AMAZING!

 Overall the weekend was great. I felt super refreshed to be heading back to Managua after my small taste of luxury.

Another Beach!

When a girl friend of mine invited me to go to the beach with her, I was super excited! We headed out on Saturday about midday for the adventure. The beach we visited was private, owned by a small community that lives around it. The majority of the community, however, is made of little beach houses, not by permanent residences. As a result, we had the beach to ourselves.

The drive to the community was a little sketch. The rain from hours earlier had washed large gorges into the dirt road and big puddles had accumilated. Luckily, however we made it to the beach in safety.

Although the clouds and distant rain make it look like a terrible day for the beach, it was quite the opposite. The water was warm and the clouds helped block the strong sun. It also made for some great pictures.

The day was great. We spent a couple of hours soaking in the water and playing in the waves. Then we headed home. As opposed to Arizona, its fun to think that I can travel to the beach and back in half a day.

Octubre or Welcome to Rainy Season

I was somehow under the impression that I was coming to Nicaragua during the dry season. I think I can blame Wikipedia for the miscommunication. However, soon after arriving here I was told that raining season was just beginning and that October is always the wettest month. Coming from the dry desert of Arizona, I was a little shaken at the news. I wondered what to expect as visions of violent, tropical storms flooded my mind. However, as one third of October has already passed, I am not sure there is much to fear.

In fact, rainy season has not made life here much different for me, and I love it. The rain sometimes comes all at once, pounding against the roof-top, instantly drenching any laundry hanging out to dry, and then it all disappears minutes later. Sometimes dark clouds hang over head all day, just threatening to burst open, but for some reason never do. And then occassionally there are the days, like yesterday, where the rain falls just heavy enough to keep you from leaving the protection of home and it lingers on and on for hours.

However it comes, the rain is great for one main purpose: it cools this place down!! The temperature drops and for a couple hours I do not have to walk around sticky with sweat. So, October and rainy season, THANK YOU and Bienvenidos a Nicaragua! 

Weekend Recap

This weekend was pretty laid back. I spent Saturday and Sunday watching General Conference, which did not leave time for much anything else, but was definitely inspiring.

At first I was bummed out that I would miss watching it at my house. Normally, my family buys and makes a whole bunch of food (cheese dip, salsa, chips, fruit salad, sticky popcorn, and loads of candy) and we all crowd into the tv room, staking out our territory around the room with numerous blankets and pillows. This makes watching the eight hours of Conference go by fast and in comfort.

The idea of having to travel to the church building, get all dressed up, and sit in a pew for eight hours seemed less than inviting. However, without access to a computer, it was my only option. SO come Saturday morning I arose bright and early to prepare myself.

I was a little leering when at 9:30 the church building was still locked and only about three people and a group of missionaries had showed up. Luckily, a missionary finally showed up with the keys and after hoping the church's fence, he let us in.

Attending conference at the church building was a great experience. Instead of slowly falling asleep by the end of each session, I remained alert and listening. It definitely invited a stronger spirit, so I would encourage all to try it out if you have not before. It was GREAT!!

P.S If you missed out on Conference or want to know more about Mormonism or LDS conference you can go to gc.lds.org!

Part Two

The fun weekend continued on Sunday when I took off for Leon. For this trip I went with the other exchange students and students from UAM. Again Leon is only about an hour away from Managua, so we got there in no time. The city resembles that of Granada, colorful buildings and security. BUT, we were not there to look at the city. We were there to sandboard! 

We pulled up to Bigfoot, the official sandboarding company to grab our gear and get started on this crazy adventure.

 

The truck we got to ride in through the jungle for an hour!

 From the truck, we got the first glimspe of how crazy we were for agreeing to do this.  This is Volcano Cerro Negro. It is still active, but when it is not erupting, Nicas use it for entertainment.

Let me take a second to describe sandboarding. We were going to climb up the volcano carrying our board (basically a piece of plywood with a rope attached to it). Then once at the top we sit on the boards and slide down the side of the volcano. It sounded fun, but as we got closer, I had my doubts!

Here I am all ready to go with my board and everything!

 

We began our climb up the mountain quickly becoming exhausted. At first, the footing was certain and easy. However, as we got higher the ground changed into loose rock and sand that tired everyone. 

We did make it to the top in a little over an hour. The views were amazing!

 

 After messing around on the top of the volcano, it was time to face our fates. Haha we put on these lovely orange clown suits and lined up to head down!

The anxiety built in me as I sat waiting for the signal to go. However, after a quick prayer for safety, I felt much better and was even getting impatient that the person in front of me was taking sooo long. Finally, I was able to launch of!!!

Here is what it looks like:

 At the bottom, a man records your time. I clocked in at 44 kph (about 27 mph)!(The record time at Bigfoot is 90kph)  It was exhillarating. I was covered in sand and rock and had a mouthful of dust by the time I reached the end, but it was all worth it.

It was a great experience and definitely something I will have to tell the grandchildren when I am old and crimpled.

"You think I am old and boring now? When I was your age, I slide down an active volcano on my behind!"