So here it is. Finally. After 6 weeks of being in Nicaragua this is our first update. Sorry for the delay but we have finally been able to catch our breath and put together the first, of what we hope to be many, updates.
When we arrived in Managua we were rescued, and I do mean that in every sense of the word, by a friend of a friend named Richard (Ricardo...in the photo w/us), who has now become so much more than that brief introduction. Don Ricardo is a professor of Latin American History at Greenville College in St. Louis, and is here on the Fulbright Scholarship studying Nicaraguan history from the late 19th c. I tell you this as Ricardo is the hero of our first story. He has stood by Cass and I when we must have looked like complete children. He has done everything from cooking for us and offering up his house as a place to relax when we needed some away time from school, to being our tour guide when we have not known what the hell we were doing in Managua.
Granted, Cass and I have been humbled completely from not knowing the language. Yet, we have been picking up Spanish little by little and I am extremely proud that we are progressing. We are being attentive to the stories of the Nicaraguans and desire to hear about their lives, their hopes, and their history. Nicaraguans are very willing to offer more than a few words on their government and political past, as well as where they think they should be headed in the future.
After having stayed a couple of nights in Managua, we had decided earlier that we would travel for the first ten days and get a quick feel for some of the major cities of Nicaragua. But as we started to travel from town to town we realized that we were completely lost without knowing the language. I don’t mean lost in the sense that we could not get by. Surely Lonely Planet can get anybody with half a brain by, but we wanted to thrive, and get to know the ins and outs of this rich culture and the wonderful people that belong to it.
After our brief tour, we settled upon the fishing village of San Juan Del Sur (in this photo we took), in the South-Western coner if Nicaragua. Here, Cass and I have been taking Spanish classes and have been living with the Granja family for the five weeks. The family is amazing, plain and simple. They have a strong nucleus led by the Abuelos, Don Miguel y Dona Lucia. Don Miguel is still trying to figure out what to do with his time now that he has retired. Cass thinks that Don Miguel considers me a surrogate son, as he calls me Josy. Dona Lucia, well she is a legend in our minds. Cass often spends time looking over her sholder trying to learn anything she can. We can’t think of a better cook or a harder working, gentler, loving woman. She is on her feet and working from Sunrise to midnight. They also have six children, who have children of their own. But everyone is at the house at some point during the day, if they do not already live there. In total there is 16 people and 1 on the way that Dona Lucia feeds each meal, and these are amazing meals.
Right: Dona Lucia and her grandson Carlos, Left: Josh and Cecilia (Lucia's nina, and Carlos's mama).We were in San Juan Del Sur during he craziest time of the year, Semana Santa (Easter). The town quadruples in size and there are massive parties for 5 straight days. It seems like the Nicaraguan version of MTV spring break. The family asked me to be involved in their Semana Santa celebrations. I even got to carry the Christ across town with 4 other people through town. They said that it was going to be easy, but oh no. It was like we were taking baby steps for 1 mile, and it was heavy. But still, it was almost surreal.
Cass and I also have been to wonderful places in the metropolis parts of Nicaragua. We went to visit an extraordinary orphanage, we have seen just a few of the many volcanoes, 5 or 6 remote beaches, and stunning artisan markets which are as full of culture as they are with practical goods for Nicaraguans. Cass and I also celebrated our birthdays here and got the traditional baby powder on the head. It’s a privilege I think…
All in all, we are having an amazing experience that we hope to share with you all when we return in 4 months…damn we still got a ways to go. Feel free to drop us a comment, as it makes us a little less homesick. Blessings all.
Also, we are setting up a flicker account where you can go to view pictures of our journey. (Here)
