Festivities!

The last week or so in Somoto has been a good time. Last weekend was the annual Somoto Carnival. About six blocks were stationed off and in the center there were four stages with different bands playing music. There was food and beer and lots of people.

Apparently nobody enters the carnival before 10 or so, even though the gates are open at about 6. So, Matt and I had a bunch of local volunteers and their friends over to the house to eat and have a few drinks before we headed off to the festivities. We made tacos for 14 and had a great time. The only bad point of the evening was that a few of us were pick-pocketed. I lost about 100 cordobas (5 bucks) but that’s it, and it was my own fault. I had had a few drinks and I put the money in my back pocket, so it was easy for someone to grab. Not too smart.

Yesterday, for Thanksgiving, we also had a few volunteers over to the house and had a wonderful Nicaraguan take on the traditional Thanksgiving meal. We had chicken (turkey is hard to come by) with rice (rice was just easier than stuffing), beets, carrots, challote (a Nicaraguan vegetable), apple salad, a dish with eggs and cheese, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and (thanks to a package from my mom!) pumpkin pie! I think that I felt more full yesterday than I have in all of my time in Nicaragua…

Thanksgiving crew
Discussing the finer points of tacos before making our way to the carnival.
A couple of volunteers preparing for the long night ahead.