I'm sitting here right now in the lobby of Hotel Corazon in Granada, Nicaragua. It is beautiful here. I am sitting in an open air lobby while a warm breeze is blowing by. In front of me is the lush garden and to the left is a pool under the sun. I am constantly reminded of the beauty of God's creation. We are in the midst of our two free days here in Granada. It's a fun city and tomorrow is Independence day so we will be able to see a parade and experience their National Holiday! I have spent the day laying out at the pool and reading, shopping around in the plaza, eating chicken for lunch, and relaxing. This is a much needed break to refresh and remind myself how lucky I am to be here. It is easy to get caught up in daily frustrations and it has been good for me to remind myself that I am so blessed to be here and I need to make the most of the experience and appreciate every day for what it is!
I like Nicaragua a lot better than Panama. Panama was very Americanized, and I didn't really feel like I was in a foreign place except for the rainforest around me. However, here in Nicaragua it is definitely more of a third world country. This is where we are living with no air conditioning, carrying toilet paper, only drinking bottled water, watching what we eat, and seeing more poverty than in Panama. I like being able to see the culture and what it is like living as a person in Nicaragua. Though it may be uncomfortable, it allows me to appreciate my life in the United States and humble myself. Our home base, The Center for Global Education (CGE), is actually right across from the President of Nicaragua's house, Daniel Ortega!! This part of the trip is also going to be much more fast paced and we will be moving around a lot. Hopefully it will make time pass quicker and allow me to move on and not get stuck in one place. The food in Nicaragua is also much better, in my opinion, the flavors are more enjoyable and there is a bit more variety. They eat less meat here, when they do it is usually chicken. There is still beans and rice at almost every meal. We often have cooked vegetables, onions, and bananas available as well. They also drink a lot of hand squeezed juices from fruits in the area. Some of the drinks have been very sour!
Yesterday we heard two talks. The first was on the History of Nicaragua. It was wayyy over my head!! I haven't taken History of anything since my sophomore year of high school, and I have never learned about Nicaragua. The guy who spoke to us went into such detail it made my head spin. Hopefully as time goes on it will all make better sense and I can begin to put the pieces together. We also heard a talk on feminism. The woman that spoke to us was one of the heads of the women's movement for rights for women in Nicaragua. It was again humbling to hear about everything that women have gone through here. Though I think some of her views for entire equality are a bit extreme it was really interesting to hear about all that she has gone through. I am glad that as a women living in American, I have not had to experience discrimination and very few rights.
That's all for now! I am jealous of everyone experiencing the season changing to fall! I love that time of year! Enjoy it.
Love, Shelby
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