I’m itching..seemingly everywhere..tons of
bug bites…I counted 22 on my left arm yesterday.
I’m sitting on my bed in the girl’s
dormitory in the Cicrin Orphanage, in the island of Ometepe in the middle of
lake Nicaragua, in, you guessed it, Nicaragua. It’s a cool spot…I hope to see some really cool sunsets…over the lake
I’ve never lived with so many bugs…wasps,
beetles, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, etc. oh and cant forget the fruit flies…and
all the fallen, rotten mangos around here.
Doing the high carb diet! Eating lots of beans and rice. They tend to eat red beans here as opposed to
black beans in Guatemala… I like the red more…Beans and rice with a tortilla
and some kind of sour milk stuff for breakfast. Did we have pancakes yesterday morning or the day before? I think we had beans and rice for breakfast
and lunch yesterday…lunch was interesting…I think my dad would have appreciated
the fish. So fresh fish chopped and
boiled in a soup..I got the head and some meat along the spine. The fish of course supplemented with beans
and rice and a tortilla. They tend to
eat more tortillas in Guatemala than here. Dinner had some spaghetti noodles
and in a sweet sauce, with 3 fried
meatballs. Some good sweet bread…not last night, but we have also had some cole
slaw. So this is what I’m eating.
I like hammocks…in both Guatemala and
here…there’s a few hammocks to relax in…
We’re doing construction here at the
Orphanage…making cement for a walkway to the girl’s dormitory. Also helped clean yesterday.
They’ve got the cutest little girls here!
So little and just run up to you with hands stretched up…pick me up! And so I do…and then they tell me where to
go…as if I am their horse…sometimes I submit, sometimes I refuse. They love playing with your stuff..I never
knew how interesting my water bottle and headlamp were.
There are also teens here…last night I went
to a bible study with some of them…it was nice to have some time to hang out
with them…probably my favorite time hanging out with Nicaraguans so far.
There’s a breeze on the island of Ometepe…which is nice…keeps the
weather cooler.
Nicaraguans are taller than Guatemalans.
Power goes out multiple times a day. And
water too.
Stayed in a hippie paradise on the island a
few days before coming here. Lots of bugs. Had compost toilets that you weren’t
supposed to pee in. Otherwise it was ok. Washed my clothes but they didn’t dry in a day..so smelling kinda musty. Had geckos fall on me while in bed one
morning.
Have hand washed my clothes so far on the
race. I’ll be an expert by the end of this trip.
In El Salvador the currency they use is US
dollars. Isn’t that weird? Spent one full day in El Salvador in route
to Nicaragua…good day.
Don’t know when I’ll have internet access
again…got to go into town to get it.
Starting to read…I had a feeling this might
happen. 2 teammates strongly recommended
Ragamuffin Gospel…so far..10 pages into it…I like it.
I’m not sure what is in the wall behind
me. Some kind of bug nest..maybe wasp…I often hear things
through the wall…it makes me paranoid when I wake up to it in the middle of the
night.
There’s a good climbing tree..and a
basketball/soccer court here. I should
play.
The best shower I’ve had on the race was in
El Salvador…hot water and high water pressure!
Wearing something different every day is
overrated…and just about impossible if you want to have any clean clothes. Showering every day is also overrated, unless
you’re doing construction…or just sweating like a man. A good night’s sleep however, is not
overrated.
I like drinking soda here more than I do in
the States…its just change of something to drink..not water and well I know
what it is…cold, sweet and refreshing.
There are 2 volcanoes on the island of
Ometepe…hope to do something…like climb up to one..
The bracelet with a quetzale (national bird
of Guatemala) that I got during the first week will probably stay on my left
wrist for quite some time…initially I thought I’d wear it for a month…now its
been about 6 weeks..and I see no end in sight.
I still have my hello kitty watch my sister
gave me. And it still works. It seems
that my brother has lost the bet…
I’ve also worn an orange pipe cleaner on
and off above my left elbow…it’s a reminder that God loves me, He is with me,
and that I am not alone. Right now it’s
a small spiral somewhere in my purse.
Other than the afore mentioned items, I
frequently have a few hair ties on the wrists.
You learn a lot about others living in
community. Nothing like washing underwear together. Who goes to bed early, who likes to stay up
late, how people unwind, what people like to eat, or don’t like to eat, how
people spend (or don’t spend) money, and the list goes on and on. It’s also a unique experience to learn about
yourself. I find it much harder to hide
my emotions and true feelings…too many people around to go unnoticed. Why do I feel so strongly about X?
A
lot of girls on the squad have the same pack that I have… I don’t really like
that…I’d like to think that my stuff is unique… which reminds me I need to
clean my pack…got bug spray sticking to the inside of the pack. Anyone know the best way to clean a pack?
Methusalisa needs a bath.
I think its so important to live in the
moment here. Its easy to be excited and
focused on the next step…and really having less than 3 weeks at this location
makes it hard to pour into the people here. Plus so many are excited about the few hours we’ll have in Boston at the
end of the month.
I have pink nails…from girls night…we’ll
see how long they’ll last.
So I’ve decided I like this form of writing
blogs…
