So Ivan and I decided to spend our Friday night doing something super cool, grocery shopping! We were 2 of about 7 total people there including a couple and their young son, and two old men, because here in Managua, no matter how old you are, you go out dancing and drinking on the weekends. It is one of the nice things about here, going out to a club and seeing older couples dancing salsa among the younger crowd. There doesn't seem to be that generational dislike of each others music either. Salsa and merengue will never go out of style and the older folks don't even seem to cringe at the bass busting and sometimes indecent reggaeton.
Anyway, I am off topic, so we were at our local supermarket (again at 8 pm on Friday) and we needed a few basics: milk, bread, chicken, cheese, baking soda, brown sugar, etc. Well we were able to find most things, except for baking soda and brown sugar! Now brown sugar has been something I have been on the hunt for since Christmas, when we were unable to find it to make the beloved sticky buns for Christmas brunch. They had said they were out, but I haven't been unable to find it at any super market in Managua since that time! I mean, this is a super market in a capital city people! Brown sugar is a staple, something that should be found at any market, but certainly a SUPER one! Even dear, old Matthew in Anne of Green Gables was able to buy 20 lbs of brown sugar (and a puffed-sleeved dress to boot) at the local market in Avonlea at the turn of the 20th century!
"Twenty pounds of brown sugar!"
And baking soda...do I even have to explain how basic and necessary baking soda is? And not just that but the magnitude of its multi-purposefulness: its a baking ingredient, a cleaning agent, an odor absorber (which is what we needed it for in the fridge), its what you brush your teeth with if you run out of tooth paste, its what you put on a bee sting! If they don't have baking soda then they might as well not have tooth paste, or cleaning supplies or air fresheners! If interested click here for a link to 75 extraordinary uses for baking soda.
Although, two things they do have, which are quite delightful, are plain yogurt and mango nectar. Mix those together in your new Cuisinart™ blender, and you get a killer smoothie, which I am enjoying at this very moment :)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Creepy Critters
Since one of my fears is creepy critters and I seem to write a lot about them, I thought I would share some photos of those I have encountered here. They include: geckos (which I am not afraid of, but as my sister found out they can be startling at times)the geckos here come in all sizes, including very, very small, which is my favorite and there is even one that lives on Matt and Sabine's car and we seem to see it every time we are getting in or out. I named this particular gecko (in the photo) Fred; locust which I included a video of and luckily this locust came alone and not in a huge black cloud of other locusts; unknown weird flat bug which I saw crawling across the floor one night and Iva swiftly ended his life. We are not sure how it got into the house, as all of the windows have screens, but I guess as we learned with the tarantula, an open door will let just about anything in. The weird thing with this flat bug was that when it was killed a lot of goo came out, I am not sure from where; and lastly the tarantula, this was not the one we saw in our house, but I guess it could be, it was about the same size and color and Ivan spotted this one across the street as we were parking the car one night.
Thankfully there has not been any cockroaches or scorpions in the house (knock on wood), but in addition the big, scary and strange ones, the red ants are everywhere and super annoying, crawling into glasses you are drinking out of or left overs you are about to heat up. And there are also these gross little grey cocoon like things all over the house, which I have seen a little worm or larva in it once, but they seem impossible to get rid of.
Thankfully there has not been any cockroaches or scorpions in the house (knock on wood), but in addition the big, scary and strange ones, the red ants are everywhere and super annoying, crawling into glasses you are drinking out of or left overs you are about to heat up. And there are also these gross little grey cocoon like things all over the house, which I have seen a little worm or larva in it once, but they seem impossible to get rid of.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Holidays
Oh! Where to start!? Well Danielle arrived a day after I started my vacation and was greeted with a surprise! After we arrived home we were enjoying some fruit in the kitchen. We left the door open to let some of the cool night air in, when we returned to the living room I noticed a tiny little bug that I had never seen before and was pointing it out to Ivan when Danielle said something to the effect, "thats nothing compared to that huge spider" We looked up and saw a huge tarantula, just a few feet away from us standing in the doorway. Now just to be fair, maybe it wasnt HUGE as far as tarantulas are concerned, but it was a huge, black, hairy spider nonetheless!
So I ran into the kitchen (and stood on a chair, of course) while Ivan killed it with a broom (but not before he made a run for it around the living room). Needless to say it was difficult to fall asleep that night picturing that spider in the apt.
Danielle and I took it easy for a couple of days, she got to meet Sabine and Matt before they left on their honeymoon and we went to a concert at a famous live music venue here in Managua. Then we hung out at Laguana de Apoyo, a beautiful lake in a volcano crater.
A week after we picked up Danielle, we were back at the airport to pick up Mom and Dad! We saw Maura (a teacher at Lincoln) and her husband there again (we had seen them when picking up Danielle as well). Maura was busy going back and forth to the airport because she was having her wedding ceremony over the holiday break and all her friends and family were flying in!
Christmas Eve was the next day and Dad and Ivan went to find a rental car while Mom, Danielle and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas meal. We could find all the ingredients to make all of our favorites, but we were able to get almost everything. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at Matt and Sabine's house (where my parents were staying while they were away) Ivan went to his mom's house to have dinner with his family. We watched Its a Wonderful Life, opened presents and listened to the firecrackers everyone set off around midnight. Ivan came back around 1 am. In Nicaragua Christmas Eve is the big day of celebration. Families go to church and then eat dinner close to midnight and then open presents after that.
On Christmas day we went to the Mirador Catarina overlooking Laguna de Apoyo and then drove a very, very steep decent down to a nice place on the lake and spent the day swimming, relaxing and eating. The next day we went to Leon and had lunch with Oscar and Eira and then headed to the beach. The road to the beach was under construction, so the driving again for Ivan was very treacherous. The waves at the beach were strong and fun to frolick in. After a lovely sunset we headed back toward Leon and then on to Chinandega where my Dad's friend is living. It was nice to see even a little bit of Chinandega, as I had never been there before. We had a nice dinner and a great time visiting with Mike, who reminded me and Ivan of our dear friend Corey :) The ride home was long and we stopped part way to look at the bright stars.
On Saturday we got up late and then headed to Volcan Mombacho to go zip lining. Their credit card machine was down so Ivan negotiated a discounted cash price and we headed up the volcano. We had a ton of fun and got some great pictures and videos! We then went into Granada, walked around the park for awhile and had some vigoron (a delicious dish that Granada is famous for that has yucca, pork rinds and a vinegar-y, spicy cabbage and carrot salad on top. Then we headed down to the pier for dinner with a lovely view of the lake (yes another lake, Nicaragua is the land of Lakes and Volcanos).
After dinner, as we were heading out to the car, Mom was holding a doggy bag with my left overs in it when a street kid came up and ask her to give it to him. When she said no, he grabbed it from her hands and ran away and started eating it. We were all pretty upset and Ivan went over to yell at them. They told him that she gave it to them and Ivan told them that they stole it and asked them how would they like it if someone had stole from them and then he took their basket full of gum and cookies that they sell and started to run away with it. The kids got very upset and he again tried to tell them that stealing was wrong. These children were very brazen and seemed to have no fear of authority, nor care about the fact that they did something wrong. The waiters then came out and began to scold the boys as well. I felt bad about the whole thing, they are poor and hungry and dont get the love and affection they deserve at home (I imagine), but my Mom and Ivan were right, they need to learn their lesson, because if they think nothing of stealing food now (and if people pardon their behavior because of their situation) then they wont think anything of mugging someone when they get older, or worse!
The next day we brought the parents to the airport super early and rested the rest of the day. We went to Volcan Masaya on Danielle's last day and enjoyed a short hike to the top and some lovely views. Then we went to a nearby restaurant that has a lovely view of another lake and got to watch the sunset behind Volcan Masaya while we had beer and ceviche.
Then sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Daniellie. So that in a nutshell, was the wonderful vacation I had with my family! I am of course enjoying the rest of my free time before school starts again next week. But I cant help but feel a little dread as each day brings my vacation closer to an end and the long 3rd quarter begins, with no long weekend holidays insight until Easter :( Oh my!
So I ran into the kitchen (and stood on a chair, of course) while Ivan killed it with a broom (but not before he made a run for it around the living room). Needless to say it was difficult to fall asleep that night picturing that spider in the apt.
Danielle and I took it easy for a couple of days, she got to meet Sabine and Matt before they left on their honeymoon and we went to a concert at a famous live music venue here in Managua. Then we hung out at Laguana de Apoyo, a beautiful lake in a volcano crater.
A week after we picked up Danielle, we were back at the airport to pick up Mom and Dad! We saw Maura (a teacher at Lincoln) and her husband there again (we had seen them when picking up Danielle as well). Maura was busy going back and forth to the airport because she was having her wedding ceremony over the holiday break and all her friends and family were flying in!
Christmas Eve was the next day and Dad and Ivan went to find a rental car while Mom, Danielle and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas meal. We could find all the ingredients to make all of our favorites, but we were able to get almost everything. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner at Matt and Sabine's house (where my parents were staying while they were away) Ivan went to his mom's house to have dinner with his family. We watched Its a Wonderful Life, opened presents and listened to the firecrackers everyone set off around midnight. Ivan came back around 1 am. In Nicaragua Christmas Eve is the big day of celebration. Families go to church and then eat dinner close to midnight and then open presents after that.
On Christmas day we went to the Mirador Catarina overlooking Laguna de Apoyo and then drove a very, very steep decent down to a nice place on the lake and spent the day swimming, relaxing and eating. The next day we went to Leon and had lunch with Oscar and Eira and then headed to the beach. The road to the beach was under construction, so the driving again for Ivan was very treacherous. The waves at the beach were strong and fun to frolick in. After a lovely sunset we headed back toward Leon and then on to Chinandega where my Dad's friend is living. It was nice to see even a little bit of Chinandega, as I had never been there before. We had a nice dinner and a great time visiting with Mike, who reminded me and Ivan of our dear friend Corey :) The ride home was long and we stopped part way to look at the bright stars.
On Saturday we got up late and then headed to Volcan Mombacho to go zip lining. Their credit card machine was down so Ivan negotiated a discounted cash price and we headed up the volcano. We had a ton of fun and got some great pictures and videos! We then went into Granada, walked around the park for awhile and had some vigoron (a delicious dish that Granada is famous for that has yucca, pork rinds and a vinegar-y, spicy cabbage and carrot salad on top. Then we headed down to the pier for dinner with a lovely view of the lake (yes another lake, Nicaragua is the land of Lakes and Volcanos).
After dinner, as we were heading out to the car, Mom was holding a doggy bag with my left overs in it when a street kid came up and ask her to give it to him. When she said no, he grabbed it from her hands and ran away and started eating it. We were all pretty upset and Ivan went over to yell at them. They told him that she gave it to them and Ivan told them that they stole it and asked them how would they like it if someone had stole from them and then he took their basket full of gum and cookies that they sell and started to run away with it. The kids got very upset and he again tried to tell them that stealing was wrong. These children were very brazen and seemed to have no fear of authority, nor care about the fact that they did something wrong. The waiters then came out and began to scold the boys as well. I felt bad about the whole thing, they are poor and hungry and dont get the love and affection they deserve at home (I imagine), but my Mom and Ivan were right, they need to learn their lesson, because if they think nothing of stealing food now (and if people pardon their behavior because of their situation) then they wont think anything of mugging someone when they get older, or worse!
The next day we brought the parents to the airport super early and rested the rest of the day. We went to Volcan Masaya on Danielle's last day and enjoyed a short hike to the top and some lovely views. Then we went to a nearby restaurant that has a lovely view of another lake and got to watch the sunset behind Volcan Masaya while we had beer and ceviche.
Then sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Daniellie. So that in a nutshell, was the wonderful vacation I had with my family! I am of course enjoying the rest of my free time before school starts again next week. But I cant help but feel a little dread as each day brings my vacation closer to an end and the long 3rd quarter begins, with no long weekend holidays insight until Easter :( Oh my!
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