Surfing

Today I got to go to the beach with a few colleagues from work. This was my second trip to the beach thus far in my trip. Last Sunday, I went to Gran Pacifica Hotel, or "North Beach." It was super quiet, but had a great beach break. It's actually a huge, luxury development that is still is the growth stage, as evidenced by this aerial photograph. Today, however, we went to Los Cardones, an eco-lodge about an hour outside Managua and only a few miles north of Gran Pacifica, despite the stark contrasts in style. Despite not having Although I don't currently have a surfboard here in Nicaragua, the lodge had boards to rent. So I quickly snatched up a board and paddled out right in front of the lodge. It was quite daunting at first, as I was the only one surfing out front. Apparently the other surfers staying at the lodge had walked a few miles south to a fast point break. Despite the aquatic isolation, murky water, and overhead waves, I remained steady in the lineup. The tide was dead high and the wind was off-shore, as it commonly is in Nicaragua. This made for some really solid waves. The tide made the paddle pretty easy, as the period between sets was fairly long and the waves a bit softer than usual. My initial perception of a mushy wave was quickly thrown out the door after I took off late on my first wave and got quite humbled. Once I got the rhythm of the waves down I had some great rides. Eventually I got freaked out and got a wave in when the foam started turning red. At the time, I had no idea what was causing this and was still totally alone in the lineup. It was totally a bizarre experience, so I decided that it was definetely time for lunch at that point. I later learned that the rust-red color was caused by wood and leaf sediment from the river mouth, that was only a few hundred yards away- hopefully it won't cause any genetic mutations. At lunch, I had a delicious plate of grilled chicken and rice and we had a great discussion, in Spanish, about the current state of affairs of Nicaraguan politics. It was a really unique experience, surfing great waves in the middle of Central America alone and then following that by having a highly cerebral conversation in another language. After lunch, I decided to have another go. I paddled out bit further away from the red foam, but again solo. I had some more great rides though. The waves were really pumping, with sets pushing two feet overhead. The only real problem of the day was that the fin on my board was too small and I encountered some serious turbulence on the bigger waves. The great session came to a close when it was getting close to our scheduled departure time. Sitting in the lineup alone, I saw a sudden thrashing about twenty yards away. It was definetely meal time for something and I didn't care to find out. Again freaked out, I caught a wave in and called it a day. All in all, it was a great day at the beach with some really fun surfing. Hopefully I can go back with Jill on Thursday. She'll be here for July 4th weekend, and we're going to try and make it to the beach then. I'm pumped!
Until next time,
Lucas

Different Mindset

Funny Story. The other night I went to my boss's house for her son's first birthday. It was a pretty relaxed gathering, with macaroni and cheese and hot dogs being the food served. They happened to be served on disposable plastic plates. After everyone finished eating, we all took our plates to the kitchen where the maids were waiting. Assuming they were going to be throw away, we left. This was a simple assumption, as it would be really unusual to do otherwise. However, as you might be guessing by now, the maids decided to wash the plastic plates and put them on the drying rack. Although we all thought this was pretty humorous, it goes to show the just completely different mindset that Nicas have. Makes sense considering they're the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In general, funny experience, but humbling nonetheless.

Exposure

So today I ventured out into Managua today with Carlos, the security guard at our house. I befriended him early in the week; he has been very outgoing and a great practice partner for my Spanish. I'd been complaining to him about the lack of affordable cell phones in La Galleria, the mall where I went to looking for a phone at, so he decided to take me out to do a little bargaining. After getting to the cell-phone store, he quickly found a good deal for a basic, pre-paid phone and I went ahead and bought it. For those interested, the Nica # is 977-0459, plus country code 505-2). So now I'm proud to say, I have a full-fledged Nica cellphone. Afterwards, we went to the national cathedral and toured around a bit. The pictures are right here. It was a huge, open-air cathedral and I'm planning on getting back tomorrow for mass in the morning. It was a great atmosphere there, everyone was very into their spirituality and very openly so. When we went, there were people jamming out to some music. I'm sure it has been host to some very inspiring sermons. Hopefully my Spanish comprehension skills will hold up tomorrow listening to the one tomorrow.



After the church visit, we hopped on the Nica bus out to Carlos' house in Tipitappa. Although I didn't realize this, its over an over an hour on the bus. Nevertheless, this was very interesting as I got to see the outskirts of town and more parts of Nicaragua as well as experience the local bus. In total, Carlos has and hour and a half commute to to work his shift, pretty rough if you ask me. Once we got there, his wife had prepared a huge meal of arroz con pollo with ensalada and, of course, coca-cola. It was a huge lunch indeed. However, I couldn't help but feel guilty while there. It is really tough to swallow how stark the contrast between his housing and mine are. Likewise, it is so easy to forget how blessed we are as Americans, to have the opportunities open to us that many around the world can only dream about. How lucky is it that we were born in such a prosperous country? I couldn't help but question my merit at being so fortunate compared to many Nicaraguans. What did I do to deserve the opportunities that I am privileged to have, especially when many deserving Nicaraguans won't ever have. Here's a middle-class Nicaraguan family living in a very basic house completely opening there doors to me and giving me so much. It really meant a lot to me, and exhibited how kind Nicaraguans really are.

Later, Carlos showed me a hot springs pool that is heated by the local volcano. It was really incredible to feel how hot the water was, particularly on top of the hot weather.
The picture to the left shows the water, and although it doesn't appear in the photos, is bubbling due to the heat. Truly incredible. The setup was also pretty interesting- everyone was hanging out around the water, but very few actually swimming in the water. Of course, like everything in Nicaragua, it was heavily commercialized. 10 Cordobas (about fifty cents) for entrance and then food and drinks were also available and very prolific. At the end of the day, we caught the bus back into Managua as the sun was setting. It was a great day, really getting to experience the country and deeply immersing myself in Spanish and the local culture. I hope more weekends will provide similar opportunities.

Nica Adventure

So last night I had my first, real Nica adventure. I was driving with a friend to dinner and his car and his radiator starting overheating. He pulled into a petro-station and asked if they had any supplies. Predictably, they didn't; so I decided to take a taxi and go to the hardware store (la ferreteria) and get some rudimentary tools to fix the issue. On the way, the taxi driver and I hummed along to some MC hammer and discussed the downfall of los Yankees this year. Anyways, we got the problem fixed with his help and everything worked out. Then made it to dinner and watched some of the Lakers-Celtics game, in which the Lakers soared to a huge early lead (though they ended up losing). In general, it's great how American-friendly every one is here and, likewise, how much they enjoy discussing American sports. My Spanish continues to progress, which is good news, and things is general are going well. I'm excited for my first weekend in Managua and am expecting to really see the city and truly experience it (albeit safely). I'll keep in touch. Hasta luego...

Settling In

So I've officially been in Managua for 24 hours. I love it so far. The city is really dynamic- poverty is rampant but the people are vibrant. Fortunately, everyone here is really friendly and very patient with my Spanish, which is slower than the ultra-rapidly speaking Nicaraguans.
On a sadder note, the earthquake of 1972 has had incredibly far-reaching implications, as significant areas of the metropolitan area still have yet to be rebuilt. However, the house I'm staying in is great- really quaint with all the basic necessities (Thank God for A/C). In general, I'm really excited about my time here in Nicaragua. As I get more free-time, I'll be exploring Managua and hopefully on the weekends long stretches of coast-line and the other cities, such as Leon and Granada. Hasta el proximo tiempo....

Ready to Head Out. Hoo-RAH!

It's the night before I embark on my journey to Managua. All the packing is pretty much done and now just closing up a few loose ends around home with friends and family. It's a pretty intimidating task trying to pack for almost 2.5 months, but two bags did the trick OK. Overall, I'm pretty excited about the trip, though also slightly nervous. Hopefully all will be well in Nica, as the country is affectionately called. I can't wait to see for myself how everything looks and feels (hopefully not too hot) down south. Anyways, I'll be updating my blog often with pictures, comments on life in Managua, and other assorted anecdotes.