We have arrived!

Friends and family,

We are here!! We spent our first night in Nicaragua last night and are already at work today.

I am just going to type my written journal entries for the blog, so as to save some time.

06.06.11, 9:00 p.m.

We have arrived! Scott and I , along with Emily and Eric will be living in El Transito, Nicaragua for the next 4 weeks! We are here to establish a library and to help our friend Julie @ the El Transito Centro de Arts, coming up with product designs and teaching the women new skills.

We are renting an amazing beach house for the month--only $250! El Transito is a fishing village on teh Pacific coast, about 1.5 hours from the capital cit of Managua. This house is SO nice. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, polished tile floors and an outdoor kitchen/patio area. I was shocked when we walked up to the house! There are hammocks and beds in every room and the coast is literallya bout 20 to 30 feet from our porch. The waves have become our music... as well as the frogs, ha! SO many frogs! The weather is about like it is in Houston--HOT AND HUMID. Thankfully we have a nice breeze because of our proximity to the coast. The whole house is surrounded by a white columnar concrete fence that stands about 4 feet high. Starting tomorrow night we will have someone sleeping on our front porch as a "caretaker".

Scott and I arrived in Managua at 11:30 a.m. with Julie. Eric and Emily will be arriving on Sunday. Upon our arrival, we took a taxi to pick up Julie's truck at her friend's house. This friend is from South Korea, like Julie, and own sa very nice health spa in Managua. Lukcy for us, because she insisted that we stay and get a complimentary 1 hour full body massage! YES PLEASE. Scott and I were led to a a "couple's" room and thus had our massage together. I now know why the massage tables have a hole for you to stick your face in--it's so they cannot laugh @ the ridiculous faces one makes while receiving a massage. I grimaced, I winced, I laughed through the whole thing. Partly out of minor discomfort, partly from embarrassment, and partly at the thought of a tiny Nicaraguan woman performing the same moves on my husband mere inches away...

After our massages, we had a nice lunch at a cafe, Ola Verde. We had chicken sandwiches and tomato soup, so pretty American fair, but drank mango juice--a Nicaraguan staple--YUM.

Lunch was followed by a trip to the supermarket, then a 1.5 hour BUMPY drive to El Transito. Pot holes are the norm. We would drive along and out of no where would be a mine-field of pot holes! Julie literally drove off the road to avoid them. Don't even get me started on driving in the city. Let's just say I had my eyes closed for most of it.

And now we sit on our porch rocking chairs. THe crickets, waves, and breeze are the only sounds. That, and the ocassional Spanish phrase spoken by my husband who is practicing his Spanish currently.

Much more to come.

HK

06.07.11 6:20 a.m.

Woke up to an INTENSE storm early this morning! The sound of the rain pelting the roof combined with the clashing waves made it seem as if our house would be swallowed by the storm.

The sun rises early here. I woke up at around 5:45 and the sun had already risen. 6:00 a.m. brought the sounds of children running and laughing on the beach. THe fisherman leave in the middle of the night to cast their nests and arrived just outside our patio with the mornings' catch. I haven't ventured outside yet, but I hear men and a scraping sounds. Will have to see what that is..

The crash and roll of the waves is so near, it's as if they will just rush right into our windows!

Breakfast with lie @ 7:30. Gallo pinto, another Central American staple. It's basically rice and beans. In the morning, though, they might add an egg and some cheese on the side... we'll see!

Photos to come very soon!