D’Ya Miss Me?
Wow, where do I begin? I guess I should first apologize for
the lack of blogs since arriving here in Ometepe Island. You know when you’ve
got so much to share, you just don’t know how? Almost every day, I’ve got tons
of things I want to share with people back home, but at the same time I have
trouble. And not having internet access within 5 mins from your bed doesn’t
help either. But here we go, hang on to your hats, folks, I may go just a tad
too fast.
I’ve been sleeping in my tent INSIDE my room b/c as
beautiful as this hot hot hot tropical island is, there is nowhere else in the
world that I’ve been to that has this many bugs. Gnats, ants of a dozen kinds,
mosquitoes, flies, spiders, termites, just to name a few, along with newts/salamanders
EVERYwhere. And I’m not exaggerating. At least one of these peeping toms
watches me every time I shower. And I think they like it. For about a week, I
had a mysterious rash on both my forearms and the inner parts of my
calves. Very bumpy and scratchy, but
thanks to some pills and cream, I’m good. I just don’t know what caused it. I’ve
gotten so many bug bites-and of course I scratch so much they bleed and scab
repeatedly-I feel like bug bites with my leg, than leg with bug bites. (kinda
like, would you like some coffee with your sugar?)
Speaking of sugar, one of the kids here is Sucre. We also
call him Azucar, which is sugar in Spanish (btw, Spanish and French have tons
of similarities). One day, we were playing Nicaraguan baseball and the girls
were cheering for him big time. I’ve never seen a kid seem so happy to have ppl
cheering for him. He played so much better, and happier, and it was really
amazing to see what a little bit of enthusiasm did for that kid. If you’re
wondering what “Nica baseball” is, it’s having trees as bases, not enough rules
to confuse/upset an umpiring enthusiast, but enough to make the game fully
enjoyable, baseballs with the leather cover torn off, chasing hits into garbage
pits, no balls and strike counts, no age or gender or skill limit, and kids
having a blast playing the 2nd greatest game in the world. If you
haven’t guessed it, soccer is #1. 😛 And when it comes to soccer, every
Nicaraguan boy OR girl, save for those under the age of 3, will school me any
time of day. I mostly play goalkeeper that way I don’t look as bad. Haha
Although this is my first orphanage, it is pretty darn
amazing. To plagiarize Matt Rock, who appropriately rocks as a brother to me
and the girls, There is such a joy here;
honestly, this place just has a vibe to it that screams peace and redemption,
and we felt that the moment we stepped foot on its grounds. Later, we came to
find out that this property used to be a type of training/housing for child
soldiers during the Nicaraguan civil war/revolution (but no, I don’t know which
side used it). And to think, now it is being used to love orphans and teach
them about their Father in heaven…and THAT, my friends, is redemption!
The kids are amazing, even if they are obsessed w/ matching
all of the WR girls with the guys, even Brad and Erika who are already married
to each other. It’s a joy working in whatever tedious, seems-redundant, dirty,
difficult jobs for these kids, such as weeding a field, mowing grass fields
with machetes, helping out in the kitchen, or gutting/cleaning tilapia for the
first time. Blisters anyone? I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for them,
whom, it seems, have all call me by different names. As it stands, my name is
Chino Guillermo Bruce Lee. I had Jacky Chan for a while, too, but I asked them
politely to refrain from calling me two different martial artists. Oh, I’m also
“in love” with Jessica “Alba” Johnson. Sorry ladies back home who are waiting
patiently for my return.
After the 2nd day here, God showed me that I
can’t speak Spanish. Duh! I prayed that I’d still be able to communicate with
the kids somewhat. I put in a lot of effort of learning words and/or sentences,
and lo and behold, I can understand and speak simple sentences! Not to boast,
but it’s amazing how much I’ve picked up in such a short period of time. If the
kids speak slowly enough and as if I were a 3 yr old, I can understand almost
everything they say, and I can give what I think is a proper response. It’s
pretty cool. I would actually like to learn Spanish after the race. It’s too
bad that in 2 weeks, we’ll be in Asia.
I am not posting any pictures here or on facebook b/c I’m
working on a slide show/video and I don’t want to give away the photos yet. 🙂
Also, if you haven’t yet, check out the blogs of my teammates-I’ve got some
pretty good writers on my team. While you’re at it, send some money to Brad and Erika. And just for the heck of it, send me some money too. Thanks! 😉
