WanderMama

This is my day:

Wake up insanely early because I’ve been sleeping terribly.   Talking to Max on the phone he mentions that he saw that I went to Burger King in Managua.  Wha?  Nope.  Let me find my card.  Gone.  F%*&! Luckily I have $180 to get me home.  But will it be enough?

I told the friends that I made in San Juan del Sur about it and was generously offered some money.  They saved me by being genuinely interesting cool people to hang out with for two days and then they saved me by offering cash.  Guardian angels.

As I was leaving the place that I was staying, a guy who lives at the ‘vacation community’ offered to bring me to Rivas, half-way back to Granada.  Great.  He talked forcefully about how parents should never ever, ever yell at kids.  His mother never yelled at him.  Parents choose to have kids and we must have patience to sit and explain and let them come to their own conclusions about their actions.  OMG.  Really?

So I get to Rivas, about 1 hour from Granada.  If you are going direct. Not on a chicken bus.  The chicken bus is scheduled to leave in 2 hours.  The bus station is gross.  I find myself longing for Thailand.  Cleaner, more known to me.  And no machetes.

So these guys come up to me and offer a taxi.  Shit am I waiting in filth or am I putting myself in the hands of a (male) stranger?  I made him show me his license and taxi driver card, checked his plates, and got him down a few bucks in price.  Off we went.

I immediately brought up my kids and asked after his.  Having established our mutual parenthood, I relaxed and we chatted en Espanol: Nicaragua is beautiful, The people are nice, Is it safe for gringos to drive?, Is it cold and life hard in the US?

I arrive in Granada and return to my hostel.  The lady that smokes and talks non-stop is still there along with a hard of hearing North American gentleman who talks so so loud.  Smokey Smokerson has fallen ill and has an IV.  She is shouting orders to guests and staff alike from her room.  My proposed room is next door.  I start freaking out and pull out my phone/travel book.  Must leave.

I flee the hostel and 5 minutes walk later I am at the new place.  The private rooms are gross so I join the backpackers in the bunks room.  My Lord I am how old?  But it’s $9 and I am on a budget now because I have no credit card.

As I am  locking my belongings into a locker, I can hear some douche bag spewing utopian ideas about how the future should be.  He’s 20.  Maybe.  It’s gonna be a long night.

I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a party at the Empowerment Center, where several lucky kids got to meet their sponsors in person. It was touching to see how happy both kids and grownups were.

Next day…

Amazing day visiting the rural village of Santa Ana, where Empowerment International conducts home visits, tutoring, parent counseling among other programs and provides kids with school supplies/uniforms.

First of all, it took a bus, tuk tuk and horse cart ride to get us there. The driver of the horse cart was 8 but looked 6. The kids in Santa Ana were excited and their parents welcoming. I walked from home to home with EI’s staff member Carla, as she listened to their stories, encouraged school attendance, and told everyone that uniforms will be distributed next week.

Then Carla gathered the kids and we held a yoga class. Wonderful. The kids are so willing to try and laugh. They liked cat-cow the best. So sweet.

I just got back and am dusty and sweaty. I can’t believe I successfully spoke (very poor) Spanish all day. A day to remember!

I’m in San Juan del Sur a beautiful fishing village turned backpacker haven. Despite the tourism, it’s still pretty and surrounded to north and south by more pristine beaches.

At the moment I’m in the hills above the town staying at a yoga retreat. The calls of howler monkeys, parrots and other birds fill the warm air as I write this.

I had dinner last night with two funny, nice fellow travelers last night at a local woman’s house: pico de gallo, a fresh salsa, homemade tortillas, eggs, chicken and fresh squeezed juice. We walked back up the hill under the most amazing planetarium-like star show.

I’m lucky to be here.

Beautiful festival/parade to celebrate the Poetry Festival.  Check out this pic:

Visited Managua and was pleasantly surprised by the small slice of the city that I got to see. Then stopped off at the famous craft market in Masaya, a town between the capital and Granada. Two kid gifts for $5. Done.

Now I’m headed to bed. Nicaraguan music is in the air. There is a concert nearby in the shadow of a 500 year old church. When I joined the crowd there were people of all ages: children running, teens making out, parents and grandparents in white plastic chairs enjoying the warm evening and acoustic music. Me gusta!

Took a trip to Lago de Apoyo about 20 minutes from Granada. It’s a crater lake surrounded by lush trees. It was a quiet day of swimming in the clean, warm water and reading on my Kindle (i.e. best thing ever invented).

I’d like to find a place that is more kid-friendly.  The beach at the place I landed wasn’t the greatest.  This will be a great road trip from Granada.

Just as an aside, Granada is proving to be a great place to resurrect the ole high school Spanish. Each time I say something to hotel/restaurant staff in English they understand perfectly but then answer in Spanish. I’m taking it as encouragement to speak more Spanish. Unlike in other countries I’ve visited, the onus is on the foreigners to speak the local language. Love it.

I started at 6am with a walk to Lake Nicaragua in Granada, accompanied by a friendly stray dog. Beautiful views.

Then spent the morning at EI Center for the amazingly well-organized school uniform distribution. School starts for these adorable kids on Monday. They were so well behaved trying on skirts and shirts, writing letters to their sponsors, posing for pictures.

Walked back to town and then hung out by the pool. And at dusk, I climbed to the top of a church tower for a view of this beautiful city.

I’m here in Granada, Nicaragua safe and sound. I was greeted at the airport by six of Empowerment International’s students. They were very sweet but wow my Spanish sucks! I keep saying things in Russian.

As we were driving from the airport I could smell that familiar smell — the apparently universal third world practice of burning garbage is alive and well here in Nicaragua too. Kind of makes me feel at home …Thailand home that is.

Met with my boss at her place and then checked into my hostel. It’s nice for $17 — very clean, pool. There is 50-something North American woman chain smoking and watching Law and Order in the hostel courtyard.

I am putting my earplugs in and happily going to sleep.

Headlamp bought. Turns out Nicaragua has those same pesky blackouts I experienced in Uganda. This time I will be prepared with a light strapped to my forehead…no more handheld lamps for me.

Mother-in-law just in from Moscow to relieve me of my parenting duties.

I am almost ready.

Since August I have been working as a fundraiser for Empowerment International, a non-profit in Granada, Nicaragua that helps children in two impoverished communities succeed in school.  It is a wonderful organization doing good work.  I will be travelling to the communities in 2 weeks time and will be posting lots.

Here is something interesting that I just found on CharityNavigator.org  under the category 10 Charities Overpaying their For-Profit Funddraisers.  It’s incredible 90% payment to fundraisers with 7.5% program expenses.  Shameless!

Rank	Charity	Program Expenses	Professional Fundraising Fees
1	Disabled Police Officers Counseling Center	7.5%	90.9%
2	Cancer Survivors’ Fund	6.9%	90.2%
3	Firefighters Charitable Foundation	10.2%	84.4%
4	Operation Lookout	11.4%	82.2%
5	Wishing Well Foundation USA	8.5%	80.9%
6	Children’s Charity Fund, Inc.	8.1%	77.9%
7	United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association	14.8%	69.4%
8	Dakota Indian Foundation	19.9%	60.2%
9	National Veterans Services Fund, Inc.	17.4%	55.9%
10	Police Athletic League of New Jersey	39.5%	48.8%