the one month mark

We have just finished our first month in Nicaragua. I am getting more comfortable with navigating the city and understanding directions. When U2 sang about the place "where the streets have no name," they were singing about Managua. Nicaraguans orient themselves al lago (to the lake) or al sur (to the south) and then use arriba and abajo and numbers of blocks. You have to remember (and be able to say in Spanish) a serious of these directions.

I am feeling more comfortable with transportation as well. I have taken public buses around Managua. This weekend, some of the students and I went to Granada but I needed to return a day early. I found the bus stop and took the bus back to Managua by myself. I have also walked by myself from the grocery store. These seemingly little actions are tremendously liberating. For me, it can be difficult and frustrating to constantly walking in a group of 6 or so. I understand at times this is necessary and often is more fun. But, little bursts of freedom to walk by myself are great. It is still hard to sometimes know when it is 'okay' to walk by myself. For example, today my homestay mother said that I shouldn't walk to the study center at 1pm in the afternoon because it is a Sunday.

On another note, I am generally enjoying the food. Beans and rice have not gotten old yet. I eat a lot of chicken and sometimes plantains. I will try and post about typical Nicaraguan food soon. I also am enjoying Nicaraguan music. The fashion here is something I think about a lot as well. There are lots of bright blues, yellows, pinks, and purples with tight jeans. Gladiator sandals are also very popular. Women take a lot of pride in painting their toe nails and fixing their hair and makeup. At times, I have felt very ugly in this city. I wish I would have brought some different clothes.

I go through waves of liking Nicaragua. In general, I do. The people have been very nice. I love some of the music. And, the streets are lively. At times, the piropos (cat calls) really bother me. The trash also bothers me. There is a bench in the park next to my house where people are supposed to dump their trash. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it is collected. However, the collectors never pick up all the trash and people dump their trash on other days too. This past Wednesday no one even collected the trash. Almost every time Brenda and I walk by this trash pile, she comments about the trash or the people that dump it on the wrong day.

The showers are generally cold water. I keep waiting in the shower like I do at home for the hot water to come on even though it never does.

Finally, I am loving the SIT program and staff. I am learning a lot although the Spanish is often frustrating. My Spanish is improving each day and I feel that my understanding of Nicaraguan life is deepening each day as well. We have had some wonderful guest lecturers (Dora María Téllez, Luis Fley, Antonio Lacayo, Phillipe Montalbán). I enjoyed my 5 days in La Ceiba (rural homestay). We leave for the Atlantic Coast this Tuesday, which was part of the program that I was looking the most forward to before arriving in country.

How I would describe Nicaragua in a few adjectives: friendly, difficult, crazy, passionate, dirty, political

And don't forget it is the land of SOLDIERS and POETS and the land of LAKES and VOLCANOES.