Christmas:
Although December is one of the nicest months here weather wise I can still get away with wearing all the same clothes as in other months, I just sweat less in them. But don't worry shorts and tank-tops don't damper my Christmas spirit.
+Last Friday night I went to a Christmas kick-off BBQ. I thought, it being Christmas themed, I should dress festively. I guess no one else got that memo. Here is a picture of me with my friends Lori and Tomas.
+After the BBQ Lori and I met with some friends to go see Cascanueces (a.k.a. The Nutcracker) put on by the Nicaraguan Cultural Organization. Over all it was very good, just a few dances were completely off.
+After the Nutcracker (yeah it was a busy night) we decided to walk to the old cathedral where the city's Christmas tree is. We knew that something was going on downtown but figured it would have been over by that time. Yeah it wasn't. All of the sudden we were is a mass of people listening to a speech by our lovely president Ortega. Really we were probably 100 yards away from him just out in the open with fireworks going off. Perfect location for an assassination (if I was into that kind of stuff).
+On Saturday I went with a youth group's service team to a local orphanage for a Christmas party. We mostly hung out with the older kids (4-8), sang songs, read books, colored pictures, and decoated Christmas cookies. I held this one kid until he fell asleep. What can I say, I have a calming effect on kids. When he woke up I proceeded to feed him frosting, I think most of his teeth had been recently pulled so the cookies were a little tough. I also tried to interact with the babies, but I really didn't know how so mostly I petted them while they sat in their cribs. Much like a petting zoo.
+Not only does December mark Christmas for Nicaragua but also Purisima. Purisima is when Mary's conception is celebrated, which makes a sense since we know that her birthday is in September. It all falls into the "too much information" category if you ask me. So all the first week at 6pm, 9pm, and midnight there are firecrackers going off. Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th are the official days so they are even more exciting. On Friday night people (not just little kids) go door to door and sing to Mary for gifts. I guess the gifts aren't just candy either but can be pretty nice depending on your neighborhood. Some NCA teachers had bought fireworks and on Saturday night we went to a basketball court and watched boys light things on fire. The girls got sparklers.
+On Friday night I went to Lori's house to hang out. They had a lot of extra Christmas lights so Lori thought decorating each other with them was a good idea. I electrocuted myself. But the pain was minimal and now you get this great picture.
+After the Nutcracker (yeah it was a busy night) we decided to walk to the old cathedral where the city's Christmas tree is. We knew that something was going on downtown but figured it would have been over by that time. Yeah it wasn't. All of the sudden we were is a mass of people listening to a speech by our lovely president Ortega. Really we were probably 100 yards away from him just out in the open with fireworks going off. Perfect location for an assassination (if I was into that kind of stuff).
+On Saturday I went with a youth group's service team to a local orphanage for a Christmas party. We mostly hung out with the older kids (4-8), sang songs, read books, colored pictures, and decoated Christmas cookies. I held this one kid until he fell asleep. What can I say, I have a calming effect on kids. When he woke up I proceeded to feed him frosting, I think most of his teeth had been recently pulled so the cookies were a little tough. I also tried to interact with the babies, but I really didn't know how so mostly I petted them while they sat in their cribs. Much like a petting zoo.
+Not only does December mark Christmas for Nicaragua but also Purisima. Purisima is when Mary's conception is celebrated, which makes a sense since we know that her birthday is in September. It all falls into the "too much information" category if you ask me. So all the first week at 6pm, 9pm, and midnight there are firecrackers going off. Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th are the official days so they are even more exciting. On Friday night people (not just little kids) go door to door and sing to Mary for gifts. I guess the gifts aren't just candy either but can be pretty nice depending on your neighborhood. Some NCA teachers had bought fireworks and on Saturday night we went to a basketball court and watched boys light things on fire. The girls got sparklers.
+On Friday night I went to Lori's house to hang out. They had a lot of extra Christmas lights so Lori thought decorating each other with them was a good idea. I electrocuted myself. But the pain was minimal and now you get this great picture.
+On Sunday people came over to our apartment, and those surrounding, for a cookie making party. It's a tradition to make plates of treats and then take them with us caroling to missionaries that live near by. I really like Christmas carols. Maybe because you can't listen to them all year long they're extra special. Anyways it was lots of fun, sorry you live too far away to reap the benefits.
+I think tomorrow night I am going to a Christmas concert and that might be the last Advent activity until I get back to the States.
Corn Islands:
Don't worry it hasn't been all Christmas and no fun. From last Sunday to Wednesday I went with my friends Lori and Liz to the Corn Islands off of Nicaragua's East coast. My boss, Matthew, generously donated money towards it as a little end of the year gift for Liz and me. I think getting paid in special gifts is even more exciting than getting paid in money.
+The Corn Islands consist of Big Corn and Little Corn and are in the RAAS region of Nicaragua. RAAS is basically the South Eastern quarter of Nicaragua, and is independently governed. The people are Caribbean and speak Native English which is totally cool to hear but really difficult to understand. I want my children to speak it.
+Early last Sunday morning we took a flight on a 12 passenger plane from Managua to Big Corn. Here is a picture of us looking bright and cheery on the plane.
+ As soon as we got to Big Corn we took a taxi to the docks so we could get on a boat to Little Corn. The boat ride was like riding Splash Mountain for 40 minuets and only paying $6 -- I like Splash Mountain. I also like the fact that it was December and we had the skies blue and the warm sun bright.
+People say that Little Corn is the better of the two islands because on Big Corn there is nothing to do. This statement is pretty funny because on Little Corn there is really nothing to do. We stayed in Casa Iguana a set of cabanas that I highly recommend. Because there were three of us we upgraded to the cabanas with the "outdoor, but private showers." Who needs indoor showers when you have a deck with hammocks on it overlooking the Caribbean.
+People say that Little Corn is the better of the two islands because on Big Corn there is nothing to do. This statement is pretty funny because on Little Corn there is really nothing to do. We stayed in Casa Iguana a set of cabanas that I highly recommend. Because there were three of us we upgraded to the cabanas with the "outdoor, but private showers." Who needs indoor showers when you have a deck with hammocks on it overlooking the Caribbean.
+So Sunday we spent laying on the beach, playing with local kids in the ocean, reading (I brought The DaVinci Code which I got made fun of for, because I guess everyone besides me has already read it), and napping. Pretty much the ideal day if you ask me.
+After a leisurely Monday morning (to make up for the busy Sunday) we went snorkeling. First we just swam out to the reef with one of the guys that works at the hotel and then in the afternoon we went out in a boat with divers. It was beautiful and I don't know what else to say about it except when we went out from the boat somehow we lost the reef. So for a while we just swam around looking at the sand until we went back to the boat and asked the driver to help us find it again. Yup, and did this happen once? No, twice.
+A cool thing about the little island is that you can walk around barefoot. This comes in handy when you only bring one pair of shoes and the dog steals one of them. After a day without it I asked the maintenance men if they had seen a sandal and they suspiciously knew just where to look.
+On the island you can also have Jimmy (who lives just past the pink house) walk around with you to find fresh loaves of coconut bread sold in different houses depending on the time of day. Note on that: don't expect the ladies that sell bread out of their homes to have 88 Cordobas of change on them.
+Tuesday we went back to the big island. It was another fun boat ride, this time in the rain. Don't ask who the guy is, he's classy that's all I have to say.
+After a leisurely Monday morning (to make up for the busy Sunday) we went snorkeling. First we just swam out to the reef with one of the guys that works at the hotel and then in the afternoon we went out in a boat with divers. It was beautiful and I don't know what else to say about it except when we went out from the boat somehow we lost the reef. So for a while we just swam around looking at the sand until we went back to the boat and asked the driver to help us find it again. Yup, and did this happen once? No, twice.
+A cool thing about the little island is that you can walk around barefoot. This comes in handy when you only bring one pair of shoes and the dog steals one of them. After a day without it I asked the maintenance men if they had seen a sandal and they suspiciously knew just where to look.
+On the island you can also have Jimmy (who lives just past the pink house) walk around with you to find fresh loaves of coconut bread sold in different houses depending on the time of day. Note on that: don't expect the ladies that sell bread out of their homes to have 88 Cordobas of change on them.
+Tuesday we went back to the big island. It was another fun boat ride, this time in the rain. Don't ask who the guy is, he's classy that's all I have to say.
+Our first day on Big Corn the rain continued but our hotel had indoor hot showers with water pressure, air conditioning, room service, and cable. All it really lacked was electricity but even that was only for an hour. So yes, what did we do: Took hot showers, turned on the air conditioning, watched Fa La La La Lifetime Christmas movies and had the restaurant bring us up lobster and pizza.
+By Wednesday morning the weather completely cleared up so, after breakfast on the beach, we were able to lay around swimming and reading for a few hours. As soon as we went inside to pack up it started raining again, obviously because the island was grieving the loss of us. At 2:30 we went back to the airport, where you have to be weighed before getting on the plane, and ate cup-o-noodles.
+Our plane back was much bigger. Bigger means louder and that drinks get served. It wasn't big enough to hire fancy stewardesses to serve those drinks so I ended up with coke all over me, twice.
Conclusion:
+It has been a very full few weeks but pretty amazing over all.
+I am really ready to come back to the States on Saturday and hope to see a lot of you soon.
+Plans are being made for me to return to Nicaragua in February 2008. I am really excited to talk to you about what I'll be doing (because it's completely different) and hopefully soon I'll be able to pull my thoughts and plans all together to share in an official way, maybe later this week. Until then, I welcome questions. Thank you so much for your prayers about this decision making process, God once again proved to be exceedingly faithful.
+By Wednesday morning the weather completely cleared up so, after breakfast on the beach, we were able to lay around swimming and reading for a few hours. As soon as we went inside to pack up it started raining again, obviously because the island was grieving the loss of us. At 2:30 we went back to the airport, where you have to be weighed before getting on the plane, and ate cup-o-noodles.
+Our plane back was much bigger. Bigger means louder and that drinks get served. It wasn't big enough to hire fancy stewardesses to serve those drinks so I ended up with coke all over me, twice.
Conclusion:
+It has been a very full few weeks but pretty amazing over all.
+I am really ready to come back to the States on Saturday and hope to see a lot of you soon.
+Plans are being made for me to return to Nicaragua in February 2008. I am really excited to talk to you about what I'll be doing (because it's completely different) and hopefully soon I'll be able to pull my thoughts and plans all together to share in an official way, maybe later this week. Until then, I welcome questions. Thank you so much for your prayers about this decision making process, God once again proved to be exceedingly faithful.
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