The Election

Ivan and I watched the numbers come in last night at Sabine and Matt's place, with Cezanne too. It was nice to watch it with other Americanitos and Ivan was excited about it too! They also made squash soup, which was delicious and like a touch of autumn in the tropics :)

It was so amazing to see people celebrating last night. I am happy to see so many young people excited about politics again and making history. I felt like a new American going to work today, and received some congratulations on the new president, although many of my students were disappointed McCain didnt win.

Elections in Nicaragua will be on Sunday and there is a big Mayoral election going on in Managua. Work is canceled nationally on Friday and Monday because the streets will be dangerous, but since Lincoln is private they are holding classes on Friday, the only school in Managua doing so, because they say the school is in a safe area...but many need to commute across the city to get there, so we will see what happens.

I am excited for the long weekend, but sad we will not be able to do anything. It is recommended to just stay at home. Cezanne, Sabine and I are planning a movie marathon. Ivan will probably be gone all day Sunday waiting to vote. But he is unsure if he will be allowed. He applied to update his cedula (the identification card that you need to do anything here) but many of the offices have been closed down the past few weeks, specifically to prevent people from getting their updated cards so they wont be able to vote. Gotta love those Sandinistas, trying to steal another election!

Oh and I saw a rare sight today--- a pretty Bentley driving in Managua, for a moment I thought I was back in Boston, walking down Newbury Street (not really though)!