Friends, Family, and Amoebas & Amoebas Today, Gone Tomorrow (DOUBLE POST)

Friends, Family and Amoebas

First of all: Apologies. We have not posted in a while, mostly because we have both been busy traveling across large geographical distances and haven’t paused to write about our adventures. Matt will write about his travels, but as for me, I just returned last week from an absolutely wonderful trip to New York/New Jersey, in which I managed to combine visits with my friends and family (Matt’s family included J).

The impetus for the trip was the wedding of Jolene and Zach Bennett, and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to be part of the wedding and to see so many people that I love, all in one space! My mom and dad also deserve thanks, for two things – for bringing together so much family, and for organizing an amazing picnic, the highlight of my entire trip. And thanks must, of course, be given to Matt’s parents, Dave and Cathy who carted me all the way from Newark to Syracuse, and later from Honeoye back .
Despite what Dave may think, I actually enjoyed the roughly 11-hour car ride with my in-laws nearly as much as the food (though the food clearly comes in first place – I’m sorry).

The Newlyweds!

While my trip home was amazing, timely and filling, my return trip to Nicaragua quickly reminded me that Nicaragua and New York are clearly different places. First of all, the humidity of Western New York in July pales in comparison to the suffocating heat of Managua that greats you when you leave the plane. And, next to the 11-hour, nicely air-conditioned trip in the cute convertible PT cruiser of my in-laws, the 3 hour bus to Ocotal seems to take a century.

Reaching home Tuesday morning, after roughly 24 hours of traveling, all that I wanted to do was shower. But of course, there was no water in Somoto, and it didn’t return until about 8pm. To top it all off, I was acutely reminded that I live in a third-world, tropical country on Thursday, when I awoke with massive stomach pains, vomiting and the need to visit the bathroom several times throughout the morning. Apparently the amoebas that seem to have taken up residence in my stomach were thrilled that I had chosen to return to their country of origin. Thank god for pharmaceuticals.

After readjusting to Nicaragua (Matt and I are still having serious discussions about the reverse culture shock of visiting the states and the adjustment needed to come back, but that seems too serious of a conversation for the blog right now), medicating myself heavily and sleeping for nearly 24-hours, I decided to join Matt and Aeron in Masaya and Granada for the weekend. I was still feeling a bit exhausted, but not too much for some bat-cave adventures at Volcan Masaya. Pretty cool stuff, especially with our great bilingual tourguide, Luis. I also scored an absolutely beautiful amber necklace and ring set, handmade by a Chilean women. Matt bought it as a gift for me in Granada – I consider myself very lucky to have a thoughtful husband, who also has a great eye for jewelry.

All in all, life continues as always in Somoto. We work, we eat and we play with the dog….

Amoebas Today, Gone Tomorrow

Jess and I both are recovering from amoebas, but I’ve had mine waaaay longer than her. I almost feel bad killing them off, I feel like we’ve bonded over the past month. However, waking up with morning sickness is just not something I ever want to experience again.

The Irish group and their health center are coming along nicely, although over the past two weeks I haven’t had much of an opportunity to participate in the building. Most of my time (when not out of Somoto) has been spent negotiating with contractors, lunch ladies, and solar panel salesmen. I really enjoy the role I fill with this group, but it leaves me exhausted at the end of the day. They are looking to finish up the 8th of August, which means our time is quickly winding down. Consequently, I am really poking and prodding Nicaraguan business folk who are used to a slower pace of life.

Our boss from Managua came to visit us last Monday and Tuesday to check in on our work and living situations. All volunteers are required to have some sort of activity ready to show them what it is we do on a daily basis. I took our Assistant Peace Corps Director for Health and the Project Specialist for Health to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting around the corner from my house. It’s a group of about 40 recovered alcoholics, all men, who meet every single night (7 days a week) from 7-9 to discuss and fraternize. Some of these guys haven’t had a drink in a decade, but they still go every single night. So, we spiced it up a bit with an HIV talk. I really enjoy working with men in this capacity, so it was easy for me. We talked about the virus, how it’s transmitted, its effects and how it can be prevented. We even did a condom demonstration with a variety of vegetables. Specifically, we put condoms on a cucumber, a yucca root, a carrot, an ear of corn, a banana, and a platano verde. Clearly, we had a ripsnortin’ time and learned quite a bit as well. Peace Corps was happy.

After the visit I met up with Aeron in Nicaragua’s second colonial city, León. León isn’t nearly as touristy as Granada (Nicaragua’s and the New World’s first colonial city). We had a great time and stayed at a great hostel that was cheap, clean, and relaxing. We went on from there to Granada, then Laguna de Apoyo, and finally to Masaya to meet up with Jess. I won’t go too into detail about our adventures, as Aeron is going to be a guest blogger and elaborate on our journeys.

One of my favorite parts of his visit was our horseback ride into the mountains bordering Honduras. We headed out from the Irish’s up and coming health center and headed toward a town called “Las Pintadas,” or, the painted [rocks]. The community says they have several pre-columbian petroglyphs scatter around, but we only encountered one. Either way, it was pretty cool. From there we continued on past the community. Aeron’s horse was named Maria de los Pobres and mine was called Pony. Astro came along, but he didn’t get his own horse. He just chose to ride mine when we was tired, and/or lazy, depending on your opinion. Basically, Aeron and I just aimed for the highest peak on the horizon and rode towards it. A few hours later we were at the top with a beautiful of both Nicaraguan and Honduran countryside. We rode back almost completely in a full gallop, with Astro keeping pace next to Pony (who I chose to call Frank because Pony sounds too wimpy). We arrived back at the worksite, a couple of true American cowboys, with our cattle-ranchin’ dog in tow. Everyone was awed by our equestrian mastery. That is until Aeron was clotheslined by a wire connecting a couple of fence posts. He fell right off of Maria de los Pobres (who he was calling Bob, despite the gender contradiction), but luckily she was a small horse. His fall did nothing more than hurt his pride and dispel the respect of the Irish. They are a harsh group, what can I say.

I’m also beginning to study for the GRE’s. They are being offered in Managua in October and November and I want to take them with plenty of time to re-test if I go belly up. That being said, please take note of my expanded vocabulary in this post and those in the future. Thank you.

More to come!



Laguna de Apoyo at sunrise. Nuthin´better!

Aeron Hurley: Today, world explorer and cancer research pioneer. Tomorrow, Greek god.

Here we are about to climb into the bowels of the sulfur spewing volcano you see behind us. Hi, Mom!

I survived the Volcán Masaya Lava Tunnels and all I got was this stinking bat guano on my legs...

The Cathedral of Granada.

Optimism and Innovation, the two keys to hitch-hiking.

Kathy´s Waffle House, Granada. American Diner food never tasted so good.

The Cathedral in León, still awaiting a facelift like it´s cousin in Granada.

The condiments found on the table of a local Chinese restaurant in León. Okay, okay, we brought the beers....

Welcome to the Canyon!

Me, Astro, and Pony, also known as Frank, contemplating the universe and our pack out lunches.

Aeron, Maria de los Pobres, also known as Bob, somehwere near the Honduran Frontier.

Aeron and Astro, best friends who found each other through Emo music.

Jess and Aeron found this incredible specimen sunning himself by the pool of our Managuan hostel. Croikey!

Long time no blog

The Island of Omotepe!

Hello to all you faithful readers out there. First of all, our apologies for not posting in quite a while. Since we last wrote, Jess has spent a week in Carazo (our old training site) and I have begun working with a group of Irish volunteers who are building a health center near Somoto in just under 6 weeks.

El Volcán Concepción

We also spent the 4th of July on the Island of Omotepe. It´s located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It´s actually the largest fresh-water island in the world with two huge volcanoes, one which is active. The volcano Concepción last erupted in 2007, so let´s just say it´s really active. The island offers all sorts of nature outings, but Jess and I chose to have a relaxing weekend and spent most of our time napping in hammocks or eating. We did go on a hike to see some pre-Columbian petroglyphs. They were carved in volcanic rocks a few miles from the hostel we were staying at. There was a bunch of pretty flowers and wildlife as well. Fairly interesting stuff!

The trip was really more of a reunion for our Peace Corps training group. We celebrated 3 birthdays (mine included) and just caught up on our experiences over the past the months. The birthday boys got cookies and a piñata full of chocolate. Nicaraguans have giant piñatas like in Mexico, but the way they are destroyed varies. In Nicaragua the person hitting the piñata isn´t blindfolded, but the challenge is much greater. The person hitting has to dance while they swing the bat, and another person is pulling the piñata up and down on a string. Very difficult.

The hotel that we stayed at was like a beefed up tree house with hammocks and lawnchairs and rooms hidden all over the place. Unfortunately, the don´t accept credit cards, so Jess and I were stuck camping at the lake´s edge. We had brought our tent, however, so it really wasn´t that bad. We also saved a bunch of money!

On the way back across the lake we found ourselves on a much smaller ferry than on our trip across. What we rode couldn´t really be called anything more than a tugboat. There was only the main deck, which was already loaded with produce before the ¨human¨ cargo even made it on board. While the ride was very beautiful, we all were a little nervous we´d hit a giant wake and find ourselves swimming amongst pineapples and potatoes.

The week has been fairly regular, with Jess once again in Somoto. I´ve been working on the construction site of the Health Center every day, which has been great. Astro has been joining us occasionally, but has had to stay home lately because we´re pouring concrete. He did get to take a run with his dad the other day, though. I don´t know if we´ve explained this in the past, but Astro lived with his biological father and his family for the 4 months of his life before we got him. Every time we go by their house, it´s always a battle to keep Astro from running in the door. We bring him by for visits, but only when he´s just had a bath. We don´t want them to judge. Sometimes when we´re out and about we find Astro´s dad just sitting outside his house. His dad still remembers his son, like any good father, and always likes to run with around with us as we walk. The two look almost identical, so a lot of our acquaintences around town are constantly laughing and pointing at our white dog parade. It´s ok, though. We like the attention.Can you guess which one is our dog?

So, that´s all for now. Jess heads back to the States next week and Aeron Hurley is coming to visit for a couple weeks. We´ll have plenty of adventures to share as well as pictures of the construction site. Thanks for reading and we´ll be sure to post more soon!