Good Times in Granada

Hey Folks,

Sorry it's been a little while since we updated this thing. We've had a nice few weeks in Granada after my parents' visit. Most of the time we've been enjoying our volunteer work with La Esperanza, but we've also found some time to get away from Granada and chill.

Our uniform/school supply project is coming along nicely, and we should have all school necessities distributed to La Esperanza children by the end of next week. After that, we'll begin spending our mornings in a local school tutoring and helping out.

We've continued to spend our afternoons working with Junior and Whitman. Nina's speech therapy with Junior is coming along really well! He is saying words and making sounds that he never made before, and because of a very comprehensive picture book that Nina made for him, he is learning how to communicate his thoughts and wants with less and less frustration. I am still tagging along to play with/distract Whitman during Junior's therapy with Nina. Luckily, Whitman has not attempted to murder any more birds. He has, however, discovered my iPod, and I'm afraid he's hooked. I think he's approaching his thousandth time having listened to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" (see the funny video below). Anyway, I have started to read a chapter book with him by bribing him with iPod use after each chapter. The book is in Spanish, so it's probably like being read to by a third grader for him, but at least it's something!

This past weekend, we got away for a few days to nearby Laguna de Apoyo, a beautiful lagoon less than 30 minutes from Granada. For two days we did nothing but lounge around, swim, read, enjoy free internet, and eat great food.

Back in Granada, we joined much of the world on Tuesday in watching the inauguration of our 44th president. It was great fun watching the event, especially since it took place just steps from our old neighborhood. We know every crack in the sidewalk around the Capitol and the mall, and it was frustrating having to watch it on TV and not be there. In order to support the new President, we cracked open a bottle of Champagne with our roommates and baked a great big chocolate chip cookie, which we dubbed "La Galleta de Esperanza" (in English, "the hope cookie"). In spite of our silliness, we enjoyed the historic event from afar, and sent our best wishes to the new guy. He needs them.

Other than that, not a whole lot going on. We're really, really excited about a slew of visitors over the next month! Tomorrow, we are headed to Rodney's house where we'll spend the weekend with Sally and Manny Debono, and their daughter (our sis-in-law) Becca. Sally is celebrating her 70th birthday by returning to the country of her birth, and we are excited to share that special experience with her. Expect a blog post next week with fun photos! Also, Nina's parents have booked tickets and will visit for a week in February! It's likely that the blog post following their visit holds unprecedented comic potential, so be sure to stay tuned. And just when you think it can't get any better, my mom is coming back down to visit us when we return to Costa Rica! Oh! And Kathy and Paige after that! We are so well-loved!

Before I break down in tears, fun pictures and video:

We went out with the roommates for karaoke. Here, the boys butcher "Bohemian Rhapsody:"
Together at karaoke:

Relaxing at Laguna de Apoyo:

Nice view at Laguna de Apoyo:

Junior working with the wonderful book that Nina made for him:

During a therapy session:

Funny haircut story #2! For my second cut here, Nina accompanied me to make sure there was no funny business. Things went great until the very end, when the guy suddenly dumped half a gallon of gel in my hair to give me some style. Apparently, the porcupine look is in style here. Nina, of course, couldn't help but laugh in the guy's face, even though he was very serious about this:
Finally, some cute video of Junior and Whitman. Junior is riding me like a horse and saying "Va!" (a new word for him), and Whitman is dancing to (and trying to sing) "Hips Don't Lie:"

That's all for now! We'll post next week after fun with the Debonos!

Love,
Paul and Nina

Nothing like family visiting!

Hello Friends and Family!

Bobbie Wrenn and Dave, Paul´s parents, flew in on Dec. 30th for a fun-filled five days of traveling. We greeted them at the airport in Managua where we picked up our mode of transportation for the week, a red pick-up truck. Apparently, car reservations in Nicaragua do not mean you actually recieve the type of car you reserved, but instead insure you will get some sort of vehicle. We needed a 4X4 and the truck ended up being our only option. Luckily, it never rained and our bags weren´t stolen while we drove through the country, which were our initial fears with the truck.

The first day we showed off Granada to Paul´s parents. We climbed to the steeple of a local church where we had a beautiful view of the city. We enjoyed showing them our house, the market, Junior´s neighborhood, and our favorite gringo hang-outs. Later that afternoon, we set off on the road for a quick drive to San Jorge, where we could board a ferry to take us to Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua. We thought our only challenge would be the lack of road signs in Nicaragua, but it turned out the police were our biggest challenge! A policeman asked us to stop and proceeded to ask us for our car registration and Paul´s license. As they were checking things over, the policeman asked us where our fire extinguisher and hazard triangle were. We all looked at each other with total confusion as we searched the car for these items, knowing very well this was just a scheme to get our money. We tried our hardest not to laugh during this awkward exchange with the police in fear of making the situation worse, but of course I (Nina) failed at this attempt and couldn´t hold in my laughter. Paul told his parents afterwards, "if you want Nina to stop laughing, NEVER tell her to stop or it will just make her laugh harder." Lesson learned! Anyway, the policeman told us we could either pay $25 in Managua and he would keep Paul´s license OR he could be very sweet and have us pay $45 and he would kindly return Paul´s license, which he reminded us was very important to have when driving. Well, that was the first hit to Dave´s wallet, which we brushed off our shoulders as only an expensive toll road.

We made it to San Jorge only to find mass confusion as cars and people tried to load the ferry. It was new year´s eve afterall, so everyone was drunk and insisted on telling Paul where to park and drive. We decided it was best to listen to the people who actually worked for the ferry when one local man kept yelling at Paul to pull up and the lonely worker kept yelling at Paul to not move. Needless to say, we eventually made it on the ferry and had a pleasant 1 hour boat ride to the island while we watched a beautiful sunset. Shockingly, the adventure for the day wasn´t over! We had to navigate ourselves to our hotel without sunlight as Paul dodged fireworks, small children, old people, drunks, bicycles, oxen and carts, horses, and dogs in the road. He decided that the experience would make a perfect virtual reality driving course for 16 year-olds.

We made it to our hotel safely but unfortunately the kitchen had closed at 7 and were served the one dish remaining, spaghetti. The four of us enjoyed a few drinks and decided it was way too long until midnight and after our long, adventurous day, we headed to bed. Paul and I are officially an old married couple as we slept through the new year. I thought we would be at least 50 before that happened!

We had a good few days on the island reading our books and taking mini-hikes. After another disorganized ferry docking experience, we successfully left the island and made our way to San Juan del Sur. We stayed in a condo overlooking the beach and enjoyed finding hidden beaches nearby where we read, body surfed, and took another stab with the surf board. During our last dinner in San Juan, I (Nina) abruptly ran out and lost my lunch right in front of a lovely restaurant. I was bound to have my first travelers sickness after 2.5 months in Central America, but who knew it would hit that fast! I´m sure the restuarant enjoyed their nice, free advertising. Luckily, similar to Paul´s sickness a few weeks ago, it only lasted throughout the night and I was good to go in the morning when we had to make our way to Managua.

We successfully turned the car back in to the airport and took a taxi for the rest of the evening. After picking up Rodney, we headed to one of his restaurants, which was a real treat. We ate the best food we´ve had in Nicaragua, besides, of course, the food we´ve had at his home, and were treated like queens and kings with 3 waiters for our table. Bobbie Wrenn and Dave enjoyed getting to know the man who has taken such good care of us in Nicaragua. It couldn´t have been a better way to end our trip.

We were sad to say goodbye the following morning, and a big part of us wanted to hop on that plane with them! Of course, we resisted the urge and are still happily enjoying our life in Granada. Thanks for being patient...on to the pictures!

Bobbie Wrenn and Dave taking a stroll on the beach:

Paul and his dad, Dave, walking back from a swim:

Paul and his parents on the Mirador de Diablo (Devil´s look-out) on Ometepe Island:
Bobbie Wrenn sharing the front seat with a stranger in a taxi in Granada. A taxi is never full:
Our cute bungalow on the island overlooking the lake:
Nina with the new in-laws on New Year´s eve:
Paul and his Dad pretending to have celebrated New Year´s the old-fashioned way, prior to being old and married:
Dave navigating his way through ticket payment on the ferry:

Our view from our condo in San Juan del Sur:

That´s all for now. By the way, we never did get stopped again from the police due to our clever efforts to not look like a car full of gringos with Dave´s hat down low and others ducking. We DID find it interesting to learn that it wasn´t a true scam afterall. Apparently, every car must have a fire extinguisher and hazard triangle, but of course seatbelts and carseats in the cars are optional.

The old-married couple,
Nina and Paul