Managua is amazing! It has been a little over two weeks since I arrived, and I realize I haven't written anything about what has been going on so far. So, a brief update:
The photo to the left is a view of Managua taken on one of my first days in the city. It's always hot here, the roads are dusty, bumpy and full of litter, but the vast majority of women I've seen wear high heeled shoes, skinny jeans and tight, brightly colored shirts. Not exactly what I expected when I packed all shorts in my luggage, and threw in a pair of jeans at the last minute, expecting to wear them only a few times. It's a good thing I brought them! Wearing shorts above the knee or dresses isn't advised on the city buses, which I have been riding every day to get around the city.
To say I've been eating well would be an understatement.The food here is amazing: the photo at right is from a restaurant we ate at on the second night here, but typically I've been eating three meals a day with my host family, which include fresh mango, banana, melon, pineapple, homemade tortillas, gallo pinto (rice and beans), meats, fresh juices, and a million varieties of fried bananas I love it.
I live with a family of three women, a grandma, mother and daughter. I don't have a photo of the entire family yet, but my host grandma is named Natividad (Mami Nati), my host mom is Irene, and my host sister, in the photo, is Xochilt. They are super sweet, and although I can't always understand what they are trying to tell me, we get along well. Last weekend my host mom took all of the girls in my exchange program to Granada, a small city near Managua, for the Nicaraguan Poetry festival.
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Me, my host sister Xochitl, her friend Dulce, and Daphne, one of the girls in my exchange program, with some of the people in the parade though central Granada at the Poetry festival... |
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Brigid, Dulce, Amalia, Daphne, Me and Xochilt in Granada |
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Parade in Granada... |
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Parade masks.... |
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Smoking and dancing during the parade... |
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This past week, we went on a CIEE trip to the Volcan Masaya, which is about thirty minutes from Managua, and is one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world. We drove up to the base of the crater, and then climbed to the top of the peaks surrounding it. Once the sun had set, we hiked into lava caves long ago created by the volcano, which were once used for sacrificial ceremonies, and were able to peer down into the bottom of the crater and see the lava glowing red inside of it!
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At the lip of the crater of the Volcan Masaya |
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Moonrise atop Volcan Masaya |
Video panorama from the top of highest peak of the Volcan Masaya
All for now... I will try to stay much more on top of my blog in the future! Catching up on two weeks' worth of activity in a new country involves more than I thought... all for now! Hasta pronto!