You asked... where are we!?

Some have been confused as to where we are in relation to Managua or the clinic. Managua (a city with no center, no downtown and no tall buildings) is about 6 miles away. 6 long, bumpy on a dirt road through barrios and between cattle herds, miles down the road. We can get there by bus (the 115) which costs c$4 (about a quarter) and takes about 30 minutes to get to a main bus stop (called Las Piedracitas) where you can pick up another bus (buses in the city only cost c$2.50) or a taxi (which going anywhere in the city will usually be under c$90). We are technically located in Ciudad Sandino, a kind of suburb of Manauga. Ciudad Sandino is to the north west of Managua. Many taxis won’t go there and it has high crime and lots of poverty. The government operates on about $2 per person every year. In Ciudad Sandino there are many barrios (neighborhoods) some better than others. We really don’t have a barrio just because we are our own little fortress. We are across the street from a relatively new barrio called Villa Soberana.

Villa Soberana is to the south of Ciudad Sandino. It is interesting because it was built with money from other countries (I believe this barrio was funded by the European Union) and is very nice. The barrio was built as a not-for-profit neighborhood for civil servants. The residents of Villa Soberana are police, teachers, sanitation workers, etc. The houses were heavily subsisdized so these people can acutally afford their own home. The streets are clean, the houses well maintained and it is really nice to walk through the streets. We are just south of this barrio. If you keep heading west down the street that runs if front of JHC away from Managua, and away from Villa Soberana you come to Santo Eduviges. This is a for-profit barrio. The houses and streets are not as clean and there is higher rates of unemployment.

Further down the street, past the zona franca (free trade zone – large construction of a HUGE warehouse/sweatshop that is just seconds from JHC) you come to Nueva Vida. Nueva Vida is POOR. The streets are dusty dirt with deep ridges carved into parts from water and wind erosion. Some houses have the “modern” concrete construction. Some are just scrap metal tied together and assigned the task of being a wall or a roof. The dogs are starving and sleeping in the streets. You have to honk a few times to get their attention. The clinic is located here. Just down the main road a bit, past the field of flor de jamaica that Rogelio loves to talk about, but hates the taste of because “it tastes like herbs”. Past the Baptist school and church and just past the community open air empty community area. Take a left on the alley just past the turqouise building. Travel on down the road past the Catholic center on the right and the elementary school on the left. Don’t make eye contact with the drug dealers on the corner, but make a right on the first road. The first house is Conchita’s and on down the road a little bit is the clinic. It has a gate that is always locked that we have a key to.

The clinic is open 8a-5p Monday – Friday. Here people can be seen by doctors, and soon they can have dental work and herbal medicine. The health clinic isn’t free. I know I always talk about the free health clinic, but it isn’t free. When JHC was talking with the community about the clinic, the community said DO NOT MAKE IT FREE, So here is the deal. When you come to the clinic, you pay c$30 to see a doctor. If the doctor says you need medicine you go to the pharmacy (located next to exam room #2) and you get your free medicine. If the doctor needs to see you for a follow up visit, this is covered by your initial payment. For as long as you are seeing the doctor for the same ailment, the fees are covered. If you cannot afford the c$30 (about US$2) then you can work a half day at the clinic, washing the windows, sweeping the floors, hopefully soon weeding the garden, and you get a coupon for a doctors visit. Anyone in your family can work for the coupon and you can work even if you don’t need a coupon right then. This way, the people feel as though they are helping maintain the facility and the clinic. It really works out.

You asked... Nicas y Chelas

A lot of people have been wondering about how the Nicas view us chelas volunteering here in Nicaragua. Considering how we feel Americans are viewed and how America has really bullied Nicaragua in the past (can we say Contra War, embargos and threats?) one would think the Nicas would not like to see Sarah or I. But really, it has been quite different. I would guess that due to its tumult political past (Samoza, Ortega, Aleman…) the Nicas can differentiate between the people of a country and the government of a country. We are not faulted for the Contra War, we are not blamed for Bush’s threats on the citizens of Nica if they should elect Ortega again, we are not called stupid, lazy Americans. In fact, the people here are very excited to see us, they practice their English on us (“Heeeey Chela, I Loooooove you.” “Gringa! Nice face!”) In terms of the JHC-CDCA and the Nicaraguans, as far as I can see, the relationship is very positive. The clinic employs all Nicaraguans, two doctors, one lab technician, a nurse/doctors assistant, and pharmacy workers. The construction crew are all Nicas, the sewing cooperative are all Nicas, the security staff is a Nica cooperative… the list goes on and on. If it can be done by a Nica, it will be done by a Nica.

Right now our interactions with Nicas are liimited to the people who work at JHC. And even then our scared eyes and nervous voices only lend us a short converstaion of “Buenos dias… como esta uds?” We are still living on site at the dorm and our dinners are still with the community. A lot of english is spoken around us. Soon we will go into a family homestay and we will be forced to listen, speak and think in spanish. Our dinners will be with our family and we will be eating gallopinto all the time. At the clinic I am surrounded with spanish speakers. Although yuesterday was the FIRST time I was all alone with spanish speakers only. It was a strange sense of abandonment/foreigness when I realized there was no one for me to turn to and say What? or How do you say…? Once we get integrated a bit more into Nica life, we will expand our converstation skills and get better taxi fares.

Bru-haha

I think I totally moved into the clinic today. I took over all my macerations (I have a oregano and vodka, oregano and vinegar and basil and vinegar processing right now), all my tools (one knife, one cutting board, a funnel, a strainer, a bottle of vinegar, two shot glasses, and a glass bowl), ALL of my books (too many to list!), and my notes. Tomorrow I will be taking over my experiment of chilie infused oil (to make a salve to help out arthritic pain) and my recently gifted electric kettle. Over at the clinic I have arranged all of these items along with a piedra de moler (mortar and pestle) and assorted tables along one wall away from the gynecological exam table. I am in the room that was originally slated as the birthing room, but since the community wanted dentistry and optology over women's health, I am there. Tomorrow I am told that Rogelio will be bringing over a makeshift counter space, which very well might be an eight foot long door on top of two sawhorses. I am very excited. I will be meeting with one of the doctors tomorrow to talk about what plants are ready for harvest and use as is. I am nervous about this. Soon, I will actually be seeing patients and dispensing medicine! Anyone who gets herbal medicine will also get a follow up visit with me so I can chart efficacy and respnose to taste. I am incredibly excited about this. If I were still in school, this would make for a perfect thesis project. Perhaps I will collect my data and publish, haha. I am also working with an old friend (from Earthwatch!) who just recently did a project in Bolivia. He was working to put solar ovens in the homes of Bolivians in order to eliminate the harmful smoke of cooking fires. I contacted him because I realllllllly need a dehydration system for the herbs, and a solar dehydrater would be ideal! He sent me a lot of info on the matter and hopefully we can soon work out some plans for a sweet solar dehydrater. I will keep you updated on that. Now, time for card playing?

Es la viernes.

Woo, its Friday, and that feeling of "thank god yes! it is the weekend" doesn't wear off even in Nicaragua. Sarita (as all the Nicas here call her) and I (they call me Alysia) might be going out in the great town of Managua with Emily this weekend. Although, I don't know how feasible that is because I seemed to have misplaced about 50 cords. D'oh!
In other news, I harvested achiote yesterday at Becca and Pauls house. First of all, Becca and Paul are awesome people/ She is from Idaho and he is from Ireland. They met and moved to Nicaragua/ Their daughter Eibhlin has an American and Irish passport and just turned 1. Paul studied furniture production in college and built an amazing house on the mountain about 20 minutes away. It is made of straw bale construction, with recycled *found* hard wood and eucalyptus It is bea-yooooo-tiful. Seriously. It was a little piece of paradise. After harvesting with Renaldo, I sat in the backyard and broke the achiote seeds out of their pods for an hour. Achiote is a bright red seed used for food coloring. I will be using it for a fungus cream. Needless to say, at the end of an hour I had bright red hands.
Today I will continue to process the achiote and celebrate Friday! Enjoy yours as well!

Recipes

Today was the first day of making herbal remedies in a small kitchen. My supplies were really limited, but I got a few things processed. Yesterday I harvested a small batch of orégano, zacate de limón (lemongrass) y sábila (aloe). I got some jengibre (ginger) and ajo (garlic) from the kitchen and very small amount of vodka. With all of this, I made:
-té de zacate de limón y orégano for tos (cough) y catarro (cold)
-jarabe (syrup) de zacate de limón y orégano for los niños
- té de jengibre y limón agrio for dolor de estomago (stomach ache)
- aceite (oil) de sábila y ajo for hongos de la piel (fungus of the skin)

It was a lot of fun and everyone was very excited I was actually making things with the herbs. I also wrote up a little poster in español for the doctors at the clinic to start using clippings straight from the garden. I am very excited, to say the least.

But I am also very tired as Sarah, Emily (longtermer here) and I went into Managua tonight to have dinner with Sarah\s friend James, who is here with the Jesuits. We had a lot of fun talking with him and his roommates/ James went to SLU and is from Washington, MO and one of his roommates went to DePaul in Chicago. And another roommate went to Creighton. So many funny connections!

Tomorrow, I make more herbs!
Hasta!

Somos chelas.

Things have been going fine. Sarah and I are getting out to explore our surroundings a bit more. Yesterday we walked into Ciudad Sandino (about a 15 min walk)to the mercadito. There we bought really good cacao drink and i bought sandals. They have the style of these sandals, but are made of standard bottoms and canvas like straps. But mine were only $2.
I am really trying to work on my budget, and as unrealistic it is, I have been doing well to stick to it. As of right now, I am allowing myself to spend $10/week. Yikes! That is c$180, and considering I only spend any money on the weekends, I think I can do it. Managua is NOT a big draw for me, as we went in today and we were bored as hell.
A little story about our time in Managua:
We wanted to try out the public bus system. There are no official bus stops, there is no way to really signal you want to get off (you stand and walk to the exit door and damn near jump when you are ready). The most confusing part of our day was the fact that Managua, well all of Nica, does not name their streets. THERE ARE NO STREET NAMES! Before we left the house we got a complete rundown on the different bus systems and parts of town. It was very confusing.
"Oh you want to go to the church? Okay, well after Las Piedracitas just watch for the slight turn in the road and then you are at Batahola. The church is somewhere in there, you can walk into the barrio and ask around." Is Las Piedracitas marked "Las Piedracita"? NO! Gah. There was one place we were told we should stay away from, the Mercardo Oriental. Every 7 minutes someone is robbed and during the Contra War it was said you could get anti-aircraft guns and the like there. One of the JHCers said that if we wanted to walk around Mercado Oriental that we should go with the construction boss Rogelio (he is a big guy) and take off all our jewelry and wear ratty clothes. It is an interesting place, but being chelas, we would be targeted. So we keep that in mind, get on the bus, shortchange the ayudante (bus helper that collects the money) and ride to the end of the line. evidently, our bus went right into the center of Mercado Oriental. Gah! We were fine, realized our mistake and hightailed it out of there. For some reason we gave ourselves a looong time in Managua as mass didn't start until 6p and we got into town at 12"30. We walked around ALOT. Went to the lake front and then walked to a mall. At the mall we had lunch and looked into purchasing cell phones. And by looked I mean we stood near the cell phone place and peered into the shop trying to see prices/ I still want to see if I can just get a SIM card for Nica. Evidently, in Nica all incoming calls are free. So it could work out nicely.

Gracias!

I wanted to post a little note to say thanks for all the comments! It is important to me to relay all my experiences and thoughts throughout this stay, so hearing from all the different people checking in on me is really great. Definitely makes me feel loved so far from home! So thanks and more thanks for leaving notes for me!

I wanted to write a little on the daily sites and sounds around La Ciudad. Especially coming from a third floor apoartment on a busy intersection in Chicago, Nica life is so way different.

Sites: The parts of Nica I have been to thus far (primarily Managua area and little into Leon) has been flat with huge volcanoes jutting out on the horizon. The vegetation is either completely chapparal with some long grass, or no vegetation at all. Monkey pod trees are dominant. But the most abundant thing is polvo (dust). Hay mucho polvo! Everyday we get covered in dust, we live very dirty lives. In La Ciudad there are lots of dogs, a few cats, some guinea birds, and two spider monkeys. In Ciudad Sandino there are A LOT of street dogs.

Sounds: As of right now I am hearing some Bob Marley, guinea bird squeaking (sounds like a creaking bed), and the streets of Ciudad Sandino is littered with small carts with huge loud speakers. These carts broadcasts advertisements alll day long. At night we hear the local slaughterhouse take care of business. There have been enough nights of this, that Sarah and I have decided that from here on out we will give carne a pass when it is offered.

Smells: This really depends. Usually we don't smell much of anything, but when someone is cooking it wafts through the air. In the mercadito of Ciudad Sandino, you will smell the flavorful fruit, food and carne. Although last night there was a HORRIBLE smell wafting through the air, and I suspect this is also from the neighbor slaughterhouse. Blech.

Tastes: Everyone said we would miss spices and flavors in Nica. I have found the food to be quite excellent here! Gallopinto (red beans and rice) is excellent, and the flavor can really change with the cook and how old the beans are. Tojados (fried plaintain chips) are excellent. The fried cheese is also excellent (of course). Fruit is primarily bananas, sandia (watermelon), papaya, cantaloupe, and of course, pina.

If I have missed out on anything (that Sarah hasn't also covered) let me know! Todau we are off to Managua to possibly get a cell phone and go to that church again.
Hasta!

Intentional living...?

So Sarah and I are getting our first taste of intentional living. We have discussed the pros and cons of the JHC community a lot, and have even asked a few of the permanate members how they found JHC and decided to join. We are still deciding how we feel about intentional community living, as two young people who really need their own space and prvacy. In the main house, there are five adults and three children permanately sharing the same space. The house is rather large, one level sprawling out in many different directions - pretty much a maze of rooms and bathrooms. We all cook dinner every night together, and so far the dinners have been excellent both in food and conversation.
We are still discussing the various components of intentional living and will continue to do so throughout our experience here. So far we have decided that it could be a good experience, pooling resources together for in a large family setting of support and love, but only if we could have our own personal living and breathing room.

The Revolution will not be televised

Don't be fooled, this is my second post of the night. I wanted to break up these topics so that they were more manageable. In my first post I talk about work, in this post it is all about play.

Tonight Sarah and I successfully made it off the grounds of JHC. Everyone tends to call the area where the dorm, offices, sewing coop, biodiesel fuel plant, cement block center, directors house and pool are all located the "compound." I do not like this term because I feel as though it brings to mind Waco and black nikes. Sarah and I have agreed to call it "La Ciudad", granted this should not be confused with our real location of Ciudad Sandino. ANYWAY, we made it alive tonight.

After work, our coworker, Becca, another coworker, Emily, Becca's husband, Paul, and their baby Eibhlin (pronounced Ai-bleen, I think...) went into Managua for dinner and a movie. We stopped at a traditional Nica restaurant where we have pinto gallo (rice and beans), tojadoes (fried sliced plaintains), ensalada (cabbage) y pollo (chicken). We also treated ourselves to cacao (kinda like a chocolate chai iced drink...). Then we headed downtown to a theater that was playing "The Revolution Will Not be Televised" a documentary about the coup attempt on Venezuela in 2002. It was completely in spanish and ridiculously hard to follow. But there was stunning imagery and I got the general idea... Sarah and I were so excited to get out of La Ciudad, that we didn't even care how much money we were spending. But then we got to thinking about it, it really seemed to add up:
Dinner: c$35
Movie : c$25
---------------
c$60, after an entire week of spending less than $15, it seemed so excessive! Then we figured the US value of our night:
Dinner was 35 cordobas = $1.95
Movie was 25 cordobas = $1.40
Yeah, our entire night cost us $3.35. Me encanta Nicaragua. :)

Hasta!

Primer dia del trabajo

I have a lot to talk about, but I am not going to lie, I probably don't have the energy or patience to write it all tonight. This slow computer and confusing keyboard is going to get the best of me. But I will try.

Yesterday was our official first day of work. I met with Pat, the lady in charge of the herbal garden and green pharmacy at the clinic. She was very enthusiastic about the project and confident in my skills as both an herbalist and a spanish speaker. I am very confident in my ability to b.s. my way into convincing people of my superb abilities.. My project is awesome. They really are looking for someone to take over and take charge. I have a lot of freedom to decide what gets cultivated and how it gets processed. As of right now, there are a few things growing in the garden, and I have aplan for them. It goes like this:
Albahaca (basil) - this will be made into a tincture
Oregano - cough syrup
zacate de limon (Lemongrass) - cough syrup y jabon (soap)
achiote - salve for first degree and second degree burns
sabila (aloe) - wash for burns and skin ailments
llanten (plaintain) - jabon y poultice for wounds
Here is a picture of the achiote tree. It is incredibly beautiful and I am excited to cosechar estos arboles pronto!The last two days I have just been reading through ALL the books they have given me on Plantas Medicinales Nicaraguense. There is a lot of information. Estoy estudiando espanol tambien porque I will be traveling to Esteli (an area in the north montanas) to learn for about 2 weeks at a school. There is a large movement here known as salud campesino which teaches the rural people how to grow and manage small medicinal herb gardens to promote health throughout the country side. I would be learning at one of two main schools, Cecalli o Isnaya. Primero, I need to get better with my spanish.

Vocabulario (tema: salud!)
semilla - seed
hoja - leaf
encima - on top
hervirtir - to boil
dolor - pain (dolor de cabeza = headache, dolar de estomago = stomachache...)
gripe - flu
catarro - cold
tos - cough

Hasta!

Muros y Pareds

Yesterday was a work day here at the center. Sarah and I were both excited because we were working on the upstairs dorms where our new rooms will be. They are working hard to finish two rooms so Sarah and I can have our own space before the next delegation gets into town. When the upstairs is completed, it will have a bathroom, small kitchen area, and stargazing patio. I am so very excited. The Nica staff around here are starting to remember our names and it is fun learning spanish terms with them. Thank god they are so patient with our spanish. I can't wait until I can understand all their bromas (jokes) which I am sure pokes a little fun at the chelas (white people). The Bucknell college kids leave today, so I don't really know what is in store for Sarah and I. Hopefully laundry and cleaning the place up. Hopefully the guys will work on el piso arriba (floor above) so we can move in up there soon! Other than that, things in Nica are nice. A steady 80 degree temperature with little humidity (it is the dry season). I don't think I have seen a mosquito yet! Knock on wood.
Hasta luego
OH and if you ARE reading this, comments are nice and encouraging!

Managua

Photo tour of our day in Managua. All these pictures are stolen from the internet, but I personally experienced the sites.

New Cathedral
FSLN Laborer statue in Managua
Mural on the wall of the church we attended tonight. Gorgeous.
National Monument to Sandino

Nueva Vida

The past two days have been really action packed. Today we visited Masaya, a town to the east of us, and a volcano. I didn't have the energy or time to update yesterday so I will go ahead and cover that tonight. Of course, you can always reference Sarah's blog any time to get more information and another perspective.

So yesterday was a work day and our first trip to Nueva Vida. Nueva Vida is the neighborhood where the clinic is located. The "city" I am living in is called Ciudad Sandino, and is about 75,000 strong. The only reason I put city in quotations is due to the fact that we seem to live on the outskirts. I have yet to draw a mental map of my surroundings, but if I ever get around to do it, I will hope to try and post a picture of where I think I am. Let's back up a bit. Our morning started with a talk with the vice-mayor of Ciudad Sandino, Namo. (Nicas call their politicans by first name. All the posters and press around here beg you to vote for "Daniel" or "Eduardo") Namo was incredibly nice and very open about the status of Ciudad Sandino and Nueva Vida. Anyway, Ciudad Sandino is an incredibly poor town, with a tax base of nearly $0. Nueva Vida is the poorest barrio of this town, so we can understand just how poor these people are. Nueva Vida is also the place that was created after Hurricane Mitch from the tents of the displaced Nicas. The interesting part is that even though Nueva Vida is economically poor, the housing is regarded as some of the best. This is because Nueva Vida was primarily constructed through international aid. T|his is not to say the neighborhood is nice or looks nice, it definitely has its fair share of tin huts and the streets are all dirt. But Ciudad Sandino and Nueva Vida have sidewalks. This is because in an area with so many pedestrians, the officials decided to use international funding for sidewalks rather than paved roads. It makes sense here.

Pulling through Nueva Vida (our old bus was broken down so they pulled us the back of a tractor to Nueva Vida) was a strange feeling. The people were so excited to see us (the hokey chela parade) waving and running next to our trailer. When we got to the clinic, children came from every direction laughing and jumping.
"Que pasa!?"
"Como te llamas?"
"Cuando terminado?"
"Puede jugando conmigo?"
We were at the clinic to paint the section that had just been built. It was hot and the paint was very noxious. Business was going on as usual at the clinic so we were working around the patients and doctors. It was very interesting to say the least. I got to see the herb garden as well.As far as I can tell, I have 5 raised beds each about 20-30 feet long to work with. They had some random things growing right now, aloe vera, oregano and some wildflowers. Painting took all day long. |The children never went away, often showing up right next to you with a paintbrush and a smile. "Me ayudate. Quiero jugando." At the end of the day Sarah and I were cleaning up trays and brushes and a very pretty girl named Brianda came and helped. Without very many words, we were done cleaning in no time. The sense of community of Nueva Vida is incredible and I really cannot wait until I can be there on a regular basis.

Hopefully Sarah and I will soon be able to figure out how to post some pictures of our surroundings. The delegation leaves on Tuesday and we start our orientation and work assignments on Wednesday. The next delegation will not be around until the end of February. In the meantime, we have a lot of spanish to learn and a lot of Nicas to meet.

Roll call of JHC-CDCA staff that I have met:
Kathleen
Mike
Sarah (not wimmer, here Sarah wimmer is refered to as Swimmer)
Kathy
Pat
Emily
Rogelio
Joseau (Cabeza)
Pedro
Bella the spider monkey

Vocabulary time (in time I will start to write some of my sentences in Spanish so you can learn along/ You know, Dora the Explorer style):
brocha - brush (like paint brush)
pintar - to paint
polvo - dusty
hierba - grass
apoyar - to support
cosechar - harvest

okay, that is it for tonight! hasta manana!
-alyse

Day 2: El Porvenir

Another day in Nicaragua and it was rather long. It is great to wake up naturally in our dormitory, with the sound of birds and far off roosters outside. The light pours in through the mosquito nets and there is a remarkable sense of calm as nearly 30 people sleep in the same small room.

Today we traveled for about 3 hours to the top of a moutain to get to El Porvenir, which translates to "The Future."The trip there and back was rough and long. Half of our bus ride was through an old dried up arroyo/river bed and I was shocked the bus made it! El Porvenir is a coffee cooperative in the Los Maribios cordillera (mountain range). We learned about organic coffee farming and saw traditional shucking and harvesting from the coop. Rene, the vice president of the coop, told us how there were 286 inhabitants (in 45 families) living and working on the coop land. They provide education up to the 11th grade which I thought was awesome as the average Nica has a 4th grade education. We hiked to vista maravillosa where we could see Honduras and the smoldering Volcan La Casita.

My internet time is up for now, but here are a few vocab words:
oveja - sheep
abono - fertilizer
pala - shovel
piocha - pick axe.

Oh, and Aunt Rita, our tools yesterday were only shovels, pick axes and a tractor. Oh and 30 people.... :)

Hasta!

We are here!

Sarah and I have landed in Nica! So far it has been interesting. There is currently a group of students here from Bucknell University so we are just blending into their group. Today our task was to tear down 5 telephone poles. It took the entire day to accomplish. We are now gathering around the small television to watch the inauguration of Daniel Ortega. There is a lot of political talk and information being exchanged, and so far it is a very optimistic viewpoint. Tomorrow we are hitting the road and going to a coffee plantation to pick coffee and see how the cooperative works. I am way excited. That is all for now.
Hasta, Alyse

On My Way!

I am in Los Angeles! My adventure has pretty much began. I have two bags with me. My extra big pack, weighing in at 22 pounds, and my day pack at a hefty 6 pounds. It is so strange to have all my stuff that I will be using for the next 7 months. I actually really like that feeling.

Okay, here is the address in Nicaragua:

Jubilee House Community
Km 11 Carretera Nueva Leon
1.6 km abajo
Ciudad Sandino
Managua, Nicaragua

Write me letters, inclue a return address and I will reply. Guaranteed.

One week to go!

The past few weeks have been ridiculous. I haven't been in any one place for more than a week. On December 23, Drew and I packed up the Civic and headed back to Mexico, Missouri. We got in late and woke up the next day to Christmas Eve! I got everything on my Christmas list which included a watch with temperature, barometric pressure and compass functions, mosquito nets, a headlamp, crocs and film and batteries. On the 27th our family headed to Denver, CO to see my dad's side of the family. Of course, we hit the second blizzard and were snowbound for most of the trip. I have never seen that much snow EVER! It was up past my knees. I was glad, however, to have seen the snow because it affirmed my hate of cold weather and need for humidity. Nicaragua is looking pretty good! We got back from Denver yesterday, January1, and today I have a few things to get done. I need to purchase a new cell phone (mine just decided to stop using the display), buy insurance, and reorganize my bags. On Thursday I am headed to LA! Next Tuesday I will be in Nicaragua. Ah!