Almost seven years to the day from when I arrived in Guatemala to start my Peace Corps service, I found myself again sitting in an American Airlines plane looking down at an incredibly green landscape dotted with volcanoes and lakes. This time was different though. Instead of going to Peace Corps to test my ability to survive in a foreign country for two years (not the only reason I did Peace Corps, of course, but a big anxiety I had going into it), I was taking an extended honeymoon of sorts - accompanying my husband on his sabbatical in Nicaragua. Unlike Peace Corps, where I had no idea where I'd end up, I knew I was going to beautiful and colonial Granada, where door fetishists rejoice. Looking out the window at Managua, I was excited to be back in Central America, and a little nervous about the prospects of starting over in a country I knew next to nothing about.
Managua and Lake Managua from the plane
Its been two and a half weeks since we have arrived in Nicaragua, and while I am still figuring out my work, starting over in a new place has been surprisingly smooth. While there have been some adjustments to weather and mosquitoes (wake up at 6 am to enjoy some cooler weather, get a mosquito net to sleep in peace, look and smell like a tourist with my wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen odor), on the whole I have found Nicaragua is far easier to live in than Guatemala - tap water is safe for drinking (though chlorinated), the country is safe (money is exchanged in public), and people on the whole are a lot more open and friendly (I've been called 'amor' by countless market vendors). That said, I have yet to see any traje tipico nor eaten pepian, so we'll be going to Guatemala before the year is up.
I've also worked hard on amending my lack of knowledge about Nicaraguan history by reading as much as I can. Nicaragua's history is super interesting (e.g. the crazy story of William Walker) and knowing it gives a lot of insight to current events taking place in the country (see this article by a former Sandinista). If anyone is looking for a good book about Nicaragua, I cannot recommend Stephen Kizner's account of living here during the Revolution enough, you should read it.
Mural in a public building, can you spot William Walker?
While we are spending our weekdays working, our we've started to do some traveling on weekends. This past weekend, Aaron and I went around some of the small towns near Granada and stumbled upon Niquihomo, hometown of Augusto Cesar Sandino, who of course inspired the Sandinistas and continues to be cited regularly by Nicaraguans in public discourse and all over public spaces (like "What would Sandino have done about the canal?").
Aaron with an exceedingly ugly statue of Sandino in the Niquihomo plaza
In Sandino's childhood home with a life-sized statue of Sandino: little man, huge impact
As our yearlong sabbatical/life vacation continues, I will make an effort to update this blog on a weekly basis with updates about what we're up to and new things I've learned. Thanks for joining me on this adventure (comments encouraged)!
