BLOG!

I'm finally giving this a try! I know everyone has been anxiously awaiting my first blog entry (and by everyone, I mean my parents), but I have not had internet access since I've been in Nicaragua until now. (For those who don't know, this is a relief for me!) I have been in Nicaragua exactly a week today, though it seems both longer and shorter somehow, as time is likely to seem warped while traveling, especially when the trip is as disorienting as coming from Maine/Vermont to Nicaragua.
TRIP OVERVIEW:  last Sunday I traveled from Managua to Esteli, and from there to a small, remote village in the mountains called El Lagartillo to study at the Hijos del Maiz Spanish school (check it out! http://www.hijosdelmaiz.net/eng/vision.html). From there I went back to Esteli for the night, then came to Grenada, where I am currently (more on this later!). I don't have plans for the next few days, but I do plan to spend Wednesday night in Rivas and travel to Ometepe on Thursday, where I'm supposed to meet up with other participants of the permaculture design course at Finca Bonafide (http://projectbonafide.com/). The course is a few (?) weeks long, after which my internship will being on the farm. The internship itself is somewhat open-ended as of now, but I plan to concentrate on developing my Spanish as well as knowledge of sustainable ag, something I've heard is not always easily done with all the foreign volunteers lounging about (yipes!).
Now: El Lagartillo
On Sunday I left snow storms on the East coast and found myself enjoying a Tona (con ~), which is something like watered down Corona and pretty much the only localish beer option I've seen so far, in Esteli in Northern Nicaragua by nightfall. I ended up at gringo hotspot Hostel Luna. In my defense, this was not the first place I looked, but the only one open! Though I rolled my eyes as I sloughed my backpack through the lounge area where English muttering could be heard from various hammocks, I was psyched to immediately meet a man who had traveled to El Lagartillo a few times and loved it! Once I realized that my Spanish was somewhat less developed than I had thought, I was a bit relieved to be in an English speaking community for the night, but not for long...
The next morning I departed from Esteli on the 7 am "rurales" bus, one of three passengers as we left the station. Stupidly, I brought my backpack on the bus with me. What followed was what I should have anticipated (I've done this kind of thing before!)--the bus stopped every few blocks to pick up more people,  supplies, and animals, until it was impossible to move and I had to pile my giant pack on my lap and hold on for dear life. My pack actually provided a useful sight block, so that I didn't have to actually see the roads we were traveling on, and soon became a pillow as I gave in to my inability to remain conscious in moving vehicles (apparently ANY moving vehicle!, also most likely more on this later). Yes (parents may not want to read this sentence), I fell asleep on the chicken bus in rural Nicaragua.
Coming out of my stupor, I managed to hop off the bus at the right road (a bit difficult as there were no signs and the village was a kilometer or so up the road, but I do remember 'donde esta?!!?!'). I found El Lagartillo eventually, a square of a dozen or so open-air brick casitas surrounding a school and a library, and made it to my host family's house. I was going to get into the history of the village now, as this was something that both surprised and fascinated me during my visit, but I realize I've already been rambling for awhile and will save that for another time.
Overall, the week in El Lagartillo was absolutely perfect for me, I only wish I has planned to stay at least 2 weeks! The community is tiny, only about 150 people--kind of like a mini Bath, Maine only everyone literally knows everyone else and everyone's business. There is approximately the same amount of teen angst, proportionately. I will update more with the history and part 2: Berkley vs Grenada, tomorrow.
Buenas Noches!