Last Sunday Nicaragua celebrated it´s independence. There is a lot of political history here which I am still trying to learn. My friend Cecibel and I went to watch the festivities for the evening. We took the most crowded bus I have been on yet. We barely fit in for the driver to close the door. After we had stopped a few times, a woman warned Cecibel to be careful. I held me pocket, which held my money, in one hand, and the rail in the ceiling and my change with the other. A minute later, Cecibel saw someone near her get pick-pocketed. She let me know what she saw, but it would have been dangerous to try and make justice with them. It was a relief when we finally arrived at our stop. Half the people on the bus got off. We walked a short distance to an open square of the city filled with a crowd of students waiting for the festivities to begin. We stood on one side of the square facing the beautiful old cathedral. To our right, was the Palicia Nicaraguense, which holds the museum, a library, and archives. To our left was an equally large goverment building, the presidents house, outside of which hangs a giant billboard with Daniel Ortega´s face and slogan. (Elections are in November).

We waited for about an hour, during which it started to rain. Cecibel was prepared with her umbrella so we were able to cover ourselves, a couple nearby and a little girl. It lasted a while and people were soaked, even us under the umbrella. There was a woman nearby shivering from cold, so we got her under aswell. The six of us under a tiny umbrella was an experience I will never forget. The rain let up and Daniel Ortega took his place at the podeum. He gave a speech, most of which I didn´t understand, but the crowd signalled it´s approval.

Then the parade began. The top students of each school held their banner high as they exited the mass of students in the middle of the square. There must have been a thousand of them. Each school did a performance for the government persons, before swirling out in ront of the rest of the crowd.Most groups were well prepared with a correographed dance and matching outfits. Some of the young women wore dresses with long, fan-like skirts, which they held to their sides as they spun. The men wore shirts, with smart trousers. Some schools had drums that were tied around their waist and rested on their knee. It was evident that the day was a big deal for people. Especially when there were two days of no school afterwards.

We left a little bit early to avoid the crowd. We ended up walking a bit and then taking a bus. A few days ago, Cecibel and I returned to look in the museum and the old cathedral. Unfortunately we weren´t allowed to go inside the old cathedral because it is too dangerous. It has big cracks on the wall and broken concrete statues outside, which we tried to be satisfied with. Some of the doors are missing, so we were able to see inside a little. Hopefully we will get to go inside the old buildings I hear about in Leon, a nearby city.

Sorry about the late post! Hopefully I will be updating more regularly in the future.

I have been here for 3 weeks already, and am settling in well. The language, the traditions, the food, and the values are all new to me, but I feel like they make a good fit. I will tell you a bit about Nicaragua as I have experienced it so far, thought I know there is so much I have to learn about this fascinating culture.

The food here is delicious. I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with my host family, who cook for me. My host mom is an excellent cook and prepares many of the traditional dishes, which commonly include rice and beans, cheese, soup, tortillas, chicken, and bananas! From what I hear, the family I am staying with eats healthier than the norm. Most lack a variety of vegetables daily, but I get that withmost meals. Also, my host mom tends not to fry things, but boils the food. My favourite so far has been a version of oatmeal. It had cinnamon, and milk in it, I think. It´s hard to figure out what I am eating sometimes, but I have yet to dislike something. Another treat are the fruit juices here. We eat fresh pineapple, mango, orange, or dragonfruit juice every day!

My host family are very welcoming. I live with my host mom Oseffa, my sisters Maria and Veronica, and another girl from the United States, Amanda, who works at a hostel in the area. They all help me learn the language, which I din´t know much of when I first met them on my second day in the country. I have made good progress, but it is still a struggle to communicate eventhe everyday things like where I will be back and what I did for the day. I look forward to visiting them in the future when I have moved houses and started work. I will actually be able to have a decent conversation, which I am sure will be satisfying.

People stop by the house all day long, which is common in Nicaragua. Either selling things, coming to have a chat, or relatives coming to stay the night, like Oseffas other daughter and granddaughter do. There is one main room that everyone hangs out in. It it like a living and dinning room in one and also has the main door. Usually I sit at the table and study or talk with them. Sometimes I read (in English) but that is mostly when I need a break from Spanish. Talking and listening to another language takes a lot of concentration and energy. The Spanish language is beautiful. I just hope it will get easier soon.

Nicaraguans have a lot of culture. Last week I had the privelege of goin to a music-cultural performance put on by a group one of the other SALTers will be working with. Actually I went three times! (It was different each time). The first time was with the other MCCers. There were eight choirs. Some were accompanied by the recorder or guitar. The second time I went with my host family because the grandaughter, Issaura was singing in the choir. That time was in the same theatre, but upstairs. That performance was amazing. There were 4 soloists, a brass orchestra, and a large choir. The fact that I went with my host family made it even more special. As we left that night, I felt a part of the family. We walked down one lane of the road arm in arm to get a taxi. Lovely night. The last performance was equally spectacular. This one was on the main grand stage and the other MCCers and some friends had 1ast balcony seats. This one had traditional dancers as well! Girls with big fan skirts and boys with horse and soldier costumes circled and swirled and interacted to the music. My favourite instrument was the mandella, I think it´s called. It looks like a wooden xylophone and has a hollow sound with quick notes.

Getting around in Nicaragua is an interesting endeavor. The buses are really cheap--2.5 Cordabas each, which is about 15 cents Canadian, not even! A taxi costs averagely 40 cordabas, or $2. The drivers of both vehicles are notorious in town for crazy driving. They are fast, and take risks. Today, for example, the bus driver passed a car and another bus waiting at a traffic light on the outside lane and got in front of them to turn left. He looked back at the bus driver as he was doing it, it must have been a friend of his. They like to make their own detours on residential neighbourhoods and honk their horns for people to move out of the way. Everyone knows to stay off the streets. We learned that quickly.

Right now I am going to school for 2 hours in the mornings, and having a tutor for 2 hours in the afternoon. I live in the downtown area at the moment. When I start work in a couple of weeks I will live in a more rural part of town. I look forward to being able to walk to and from work and breathing fresh air, however will miss the convenience of living in the city.

I visited Hogar Belen for the first time last week and am looking forward to starting. I predict the first month or so will be difficult, as I try to find my fit in the centre, but I see that they could never be in excess of help. I will write more about it when I start. Right now, I am going home for dinner because tengo hambre (I am hungry).

Until next time!