Greetings from Managua

I have arrived successfully in Nicaragua. Managua looks like a nice quiet city from above, but on the ground, it's anything but. There are no tall buildings cause no one wants to be higher than 3 or 4 stories when if/when the next earthquake happens. I have been here for almost a week and have already leaned and seen a ton. On Wednesday, I met the rest of the group and the program directors, Hector and Morena. All together, there's seven of us and Hector and I are the only guys. The other girls are Jennifer, Zoe, Barbara and Graciela, who goes by the name, Xela (che-la), which ironically is what they call gringos here. Together were all a bunch of cheles.

The first few days, we toured around Managua, which isn't a very historical town since much of the old city was destroyed in the '72 quake. A few things remain like the Plaza de la Revolucion, and plenty of murals and graffiti left over from the revolution. We went to the Loma de Tiscapa, a glorified hill that serves as the highest point in the city, where there lies a huge 50 or so foot tall silhouette statue called Sandino's shadow. Augusto Sandino became legendary in the 30's when he drove out the US marines occupying the country. For that he is the national hero and you see his face and name everywhere. We also went to the market which is like the Nica version of Costco, but with a low metal ceilings and triple the amount of stuff inside. That night we went to a very Nica restaurant that features live music and serves local food including rice and beans, plontaines, and an absurd amount of meat. My sister in law would faint.

I met and moved in with my new family. There's Mercedes, my mother, Manuel is my father and then there's Gersan, my brother. There's also ton's of family who live nearby and neighbors coming in and out. There all very nice and approachable people (not to mention very patient with the language process). Nicaraguans don't finish their words and have some gnarly slang. The other big thing about Nicas is they love their politics. My host parents picked me up from orientation, we talked about the basics like family and where I'm from, then a nice abrupt change into politics (my dad would flip).

The house is located just a 10 minute walk or so to the university that I'll be attending. My room is small, but does include a tv, fan, and wifi. Class starts at the end of the month but right now we are taking a Spanish class to get the gears moving, as if living here and speaking it all the time weren't enough. I'm very excited to start class and get to know the culture more. I've already learned that they love to party and hate sleeping when the sun is down. 'Tonce, no vemo pronto. (Entonces, nos vemos). Until next time.
Top: Sandino's Shadow. Bottom: A mere taste of the market.