I am richly blessed...

Bridget and I were invited to visit Los Quinchos today by our friend Jane. Los Quinchos operates two homes in San Marcos (about 1 1/2 hours from SJDS) for boys and girls who have been abandoned or mistreated. They keep children, whose homes are more dangerous than the streets, off the streets. The children (boys and girls on different properties) are given a safe place to live, food, shelter, the opportunity to go to school and the love of their caretakers and each other. We went to the girls home first and had time to play, help them serve lunch, and spent time with them reading and drawing pictures and writing letters. Our visit to the boys home was shorter and we served a snack and visited with them for about 45 minutes. I was richly blessed today by these amazing kids.

There wasn't room in the truck for Joe and the boys on this trip so they will go next time (in November). Edwin, who works for Jane, drove Jane, Bridget, Heather (who is also volunteering with Jane) and I to the residences of Los Quinchos. Edwin and Jane make regular visits but it was a first time for Heather, Bridget and I.

As soon as we drove up to the girls home Jane said "Get out your cameras, quick!" As soon as Jane got out of the car the girls swarmed her with hugs! As we got out of the truck we were the recipients of many hugs as well because any friend of Jane was a friend of these girls. The girls range in age from 6-16 years old. The older girls help care for the younger girls and while we were visiting we saw no signs of discord among them. I am sure they were on their best behavior but I think of how my kids behave "on their best behavior" and they still have squabbles. I did my best to capture the love these kids have for Jane but the pictures do not fully capture the experience. After we all received at least on hug from each girl they introduced themselves to us and asked our names and showed off one of the new kittens which Bridget immediately fell in love with and hardly put down the whole time. They shared cookies with us shortly after we arrived. These kids get one decent meal a day and cookies are a very special treat and even though they have almost nothing, they wanted to share with us. I was not a fan of the cookies but I took it and took a bite and thanked them and then passed it off to Bridget when they weren't looking. It is very insulting to a Nicaraguan to turn down a gift and we have been told that we must accept gifts that are given even when it is difficult to take something from people who have so little. I am so glad I was told that or I am sure I would have said "No gracias" to the cookie today.

We helped them get lunch on the table. Today's lunch was special; chicken with vegetables and a larger portion of rice because it was one of the girls' birthday. We brought chocolate milk and stuff for ham and cheese sandwiches and cookies but they will save that food for tomorrow. After lunch Edwin read a story to the kids and they had the opportunity to color pictures and write a story. A couple of children were copying from the books Jane brought but most of the children wrote letters of gratitude to Jane and the rest of us (blessed by association) and made pictures, many of which Bridget got.

These kids all seem very happy and well adjusted and loved. It is hard for me to comprehend what I saw today. I was the one who was blessed today. I did not sacrifice anything today. I gave my time but I received so much. As we were leaving the girls were asking "when will you come again?" and I wanted to yell "tomorrow!". We didn't bring them gifts or stuff. Jane left some clothes for the girls to be sorted out by the caregivers and we did bring food which will be eaten tomorrow, but the real gift to these girls was spending time with them, sharing books and giving them the opportunity to color and write out their feelings of gratitude. When Jane arrives in her truck she is not Santa Claus to these girls but friend. She shares her heart and her time. Jane was also there to get size information and a wish (AKA need) list for Christmas as her church in Colorado will be giving each child a backpack for Christmas with some clothes and other items. Jane does give materially to these kids but, from what I saw today, it's her heart that matters most.

After all that, we weren't done. We all hopped back into the truck and headed over to the boys home. Jane told us to get out our cameras as we were greeted with many hugs from the boys as well. They are a very energetic bunch of guys. These are boys who do not have a safe home to go to and would otherwise live on the streets. Jane told us that one of the little boys there had a relative in his home who tried to kill him with an ax and because of the injury he had headaches for a couple of years. How can I even fathom what life in his short life has been like?

Bridget and Jane passed out a snack of chocolate milk, a banana and 2 Oreo cookies for each boy. The boys were all fascinated with having their pictures taken and taking pictures with the camera. The one picture of me was taken by one of the boys. The boys also wanted to have their picture taken with Bridget, who was very accommodating. They showed us around the property to see the new kitchen (with tile and running water), the old outdoor kitchen (which they still use) the library building, and the salon which is a big room with a TV and chairs. We enjoyed our time with the boys and left with lots of hugs and questions about when we were coming back again.

We then drove to Granada where Jane was picking up her dog from the dog sitter, who has been caring for her while Jane has been traveling and helping volunteer groups. Granada is much bigger than San Juan del Sur and has lots of expats living there. It also has a large population of street kids. Some sell their wares to foreigners in the Central Park but sadly most of the street boys from about 12 and up are begging for money to buy glue to sniff. This is what the boys we just visited are being saved from. When we arrived in Granada, Jane's dog sitter wasn't home so we went to eat a delicious dinner at El Zaguan (one of the best restaurants in Granada) before getting the dog. We had planned to eat lunch with the girls but because it was a special birthday lunch, and not the sandwiches we brought, we didn't want to eat their food. So we had been out all day with only cookies and milk so we were starving! After dinner we headed over to the dog sitter's house. She is a single Dutch woman living in Granada who doesn't like to give the street boys money but she feeds them. As we were collecting Jane's dog, they were calling to her from outside the door telling her they wanted food. It was very different from any experience we have had in San Juan del Sur. When Jane was walking her dog to the car, the boys wanted to say goodbye to her dog as well as they had gotten to know her during her time in Granada and one of the boys had been scared of dogs but Negra had cured him of that. We were all standing as the boys said their goodbyes...each holding their jar of glue up to their noses as they were talking with us. Looking into their vacant eyes was so sad and really made our time at the boys home that much more meaningful. There were a couple of boys who were new to Los Quinchos and they were less social but almost all the boys we visited with were engaging in conversation, making eye contact and smiling. The boys on glue in the streets of Granada were vacant and slow with no emotion.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet the kids I did today and feel truly blessed. Now my body is exhausted and must rest...

Another great day...

Sorry photos are out of order. I don't know enough about blogger to do it right. Lo siento.

I was sidelined this week with a UTI and the side effects of medication so I didn't run this week but I am feeling better and was able to go for a run this morning. I took pictures which you can see in my previous post ("Settling in...") about my new running route. It is beautiful and today was a particularly beautiful day. Everything was brighter and crisper today and I couldn't get over the beauty of God's creation around me. See the pictures for yourself. I did a lot of walking on my run but it felt good to be out and I look forward getting out and running consistently this week and from now on.

After my run we all went out for breakfast and had pancakes at a restaurant right on the beach (see photos). There is nothing quite like having breakfast as a family right on the beach. Even Gus couldn't finish his one pancake! Then we decided to walk around to check out potential neighborhoods for a new rental house. We are looking for something a little less expensive and with a little more room (and probably less of a view). We ended up stopping to see our new friend Jane at her house. Jane has been the most amazing connection we have made in San Juan del Sur. She is a gringa from Colorado who has commuted here for the past 12 years. She owns a hotel here but she is also responsible for starting the local lending library. She works with numerous organizations to bring about positive change here in Nicaragua. I couldn't even begin to scratch the surface of what she does here. She has a huge heart and is incredibly generous with everyone. Just stopping by to say hi to Jane turned into a couple of hours of talking and then heading to lunch with Jane but not before we got to see a local marching band here for a celebration for cleaning the beaches, Bridget got her own library card, and we paid for our laundry (not a direct route to lunch). "Lunch" was at about 3:30. Jane continued to share more about life in SJDS over lunch and ended up offering us tongs, ice cube trays and a popcorn maker; all things missing from our furnished home. We watched an amazing sunset from her patio (again it was a spectacularly beautiful day and sunset did not disappoint) and at around 6 we heading to Eskimo for our "dinner" (ice cream).

We planned to go home and watch a movie (from Jane's personal collection) but on our way home we ran into our neighborhood friends, Yosseline, David and Israel. We stopped to chat and met David and Isreal's mother, Maria as well as their little sister Iliana. It was a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. Joe has been taking Spanish classes for 5 weeks and he understands (and speaks) much better than I do. I believe Joe invited them to our house for dinner on Monday. What do I feed the Nicaraguan neighbors? They are such a nice family and the kids are so great. We feel very blessed that they are friends to our children (and us). They live up the street from us so after chatting on the beach for about half an hour we walked home together. They came up to our house for a drink of water (after walking up 95 stairs, most people need water and a chair).

Then the woman who works at the Lavanderia, came by to drop off our laundry. Joe has worked out pick up and delivery as toting 1 week's worth of laundry for 5 people is hard. Now she picks it up and drops it off in her truck. We give her and her son a drink of water and a seat after coming up our stairs too. We chatted with her while she recovered from our stairs and she asked me how cooking was going. I am sure that Joe told her that I am struggling with cooking in Nicaragua with a small kitchen, limited pots, pans and utensils, and drastically reduced food options. She told us that she could teach me to cook in our kitchen for a day. I showed her our limited resources. She said it could be done. I asked her "Cuanto cuestra?" she replied "Nada." She likes to cook and she would be happy to do it for free. I told her no, but she insisted. It is such a blessing to be here for this extended time because it is only after almost 7 weeks that we are really getting to know people.

Tomorrow Bridget and I will be going to Los Quinchos to help Jane serve. Los Quinchos are 2 houses for abandoned and mistreated children. There is a home for girls and a home for boys. The organization keeps children off the streets. They give them shelter and food. Jane is going tomorrow to get measurements for the kids for Christmas gifts and to bring lunch and snacks. We are both looking forward to meeting some new kids and practicing our limited Spanish. There isn't room in the truck for the whole family (we have to drive on the busy street and Jane only allows people in the back of the truck for slow trips to the local beaches) so Joey and the boys will go with Jane another time to visit and serve.

So it shaped up to be a pretty nice Saturday. We are very blessed. Enjoy the pictures and I hope to post pictures after our trip tomorrow.

P.S. I'm throwing in a picture of a monkey. We learned there is a lady in town with one as a pet. It bites.

Nicaraguan Beach and River Clean Up Day

Last Saturday was scheduled to be Nicaragua's national beach clean up day. Unfortunately it had to be cancelled do to Tropical Storm Mateo. Today we participated with Barrio Planta Project (BPP) in cleaning up the beach in San Juan del Sur.

All the students and teachers met at the beach at 7 AM this morning for instructions (don't pick up needles, dead animals, or glass). The event was supposed to go till 12. But it turns out that picking up garbage on the beach is really hard work and carrying a garbage filled bag up and down the beach is no picnic either. We lasted from 7-10:30.

Lots of kids from BPP showed up to help and clean. They are hard workers. The attitude about littering in Nicaragua (or at least SJDS) is pretty lax. People regularly just throw their garbage on the ground in the neighborhoods. Part of the problem is that when it rains, and it's been doing that a lot lately, the rain washes everything from the streets into the beach. There are also people who go to the beach and leave all their garbage.

Here are some of the things we cleaned up: Plastic baggies (used with a straw for drinks), straws, bottle caps, beer bottles, water bottles, a needle (specifically told not to pick them up but one kid did) candy wrappers, matches, grocery bags, cigarette butts, a tire, shirts, shoes, and tons of small pieces of plastic. We saw several dead fish; we were told not to pick up any dead animal, which was good information to have when we came across a dead puppy. We all filled up big rice bags with our trash and returned it to the truck that would carry it away. Our group was a bit slower and we ended up picking up mostly tiny garbage as others ran by with bags filled with plastic water bottles (one girl had 72 water bottles).

The organization running it (not BPP) supplied the bags and water. The water was in plastic, like a juice box but a sealed plastic bag. You just bite the tip off and drink (see photo of Bridget drinking). A couple of the local restaurants donated sandwiches and drinks and the use of their tables for the event (see photo of kids in restaurant). The organization running the clean up is tracking what they have cleaned up. Each of the team leaders (adults overseeing 3 or 4 kids) was given a form to fill out with no less than 30 catagories for garbage which we were supposed to tally. This is where it gets a bit senseless. These kids spent their Saturday morning working hard cleaning up garbage on the beach (most of which is from adults) and they wanted us to dump out the bags of garbage and count and categorize what we picked up. We just couldn't do it. We left early. We picked up so many tiny (dime sized) pieces of garbage that I wasn't about to pick them up again, let alone count them. I don't really understand why they need the kids to do that. I wish they had taken the garbage away and had other volunteers count it or even just weigh the garbage and call it a success. It just seems wrong to ask the kids to undo what they did, count it and put it back in the bag. Maybe that's just me.

All in all it was a good day of hard work. And that's how we spent our Saturday...

Settling In...

So after having Bronchitis in various stages for four weeks, I am finally up and running, literally. I still have a bit of a lingering cough but I feel like it is out of my chest now. I went for my first run on Monday at 6:30AM. I only made it 2.25 miles and it wasn't pretty but I got my butt out of bed and went for a run. I have to give myself permission to start slowly since I have been sick for 4 weeks and hadn't been on a regular workout schedule since I finished my Half Ironman on August 1st. But I made it out on Wednesday and Friday this week too, logging 3.5 miles each time.

It has been challenging trying to figure out where to run here as San Juan del Sur is a small town and I can go from my house all the way to the other end of the beach and it's only about 1/2 mile! I was talking with our neighbor, Katie, last night about running routes. I told her where I was running and she told me that I should not be running there. Apparently the street I was running on is the "Red Light District" of San Juan del Sur. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about it but I was running by during off hours I am sure. She gave me directions to another route and described a road I had never seen. I tried it out this morning and I LOVED it! I took a turn down this road that was perfectly paved cobblestone (good roads are rare in SJDS) and it wound through lush green fields with beautiful old trees. I felt like I was looking at the pages of a travel magazine. Not only was this road beautiful, it kept going, and there were few cars (good since there was no shoulder or sidewalk). The route from home and back was just under 3.5 miles. I can easily see doing the loop part twice for extra mileage. It was so cool to discover a route that was longer than 1 mile that I could run and the beauty and serenity of it was just an added bonus.

I am hoping to bring my camera on my run next week so I can post pictures of the new route I found. I am tempted to run down that old route and take pictures there too but probably won't. Check back in a few days if you want to see pictures.

Nicaraguan Independence Day

On September 14th we celebrated our 15th anniversary of our first marriage. Our "wedding" anniversary is in June (long story) but we like to celebrate twice a year anyway and that way if we forget our anniversary we get another chance. But I digress, since we are in Nicaragua this year we also get to share our anniversary with Nicaraguan Independence Day. The celebration was pretty low key by American standards but it was a fun day to experience.

The kids got to play on the beach and even though it was a National holiday, the beaches weren't too crowded. The kids played in the waves and the sand.
There were street vendors out and the Parque Central and lots of people to watch the dance troops.
The parade with all the school kids was fun to watch. Each school in San Juan del Sur was represented at the parade.

There were marching bands in the parade as well.

We are having fun experiencing life in Nicaragua and their traditions.

A Nicaraguan Birthday Party

So yesterday was Joey's 12th birthday. I can't believe that this time next year I will officially have a teenager! I still think of him as that little toddler with the high pitched voice an large vocabulary with a "bopu" (pacifier) in his mouth. He's definitely growing up and it is really cool to see the young man he's becoming.

He started his day "opening" presents. They were in a plastic grocery bag from the mercado and wrapped in my sarong. It felt a little "Little House on the Prairie". He received two reading books (brought from home) a pack of Oreos, a package of shrimp flavored Top Ramen (something he'd been begging for which I told him I would never buy), a bottle of Rojita Fanta (soda) and a Hershey's Cookies n Cream bar (pop and candy bar were gifts that Bridget and Gus bought with their own money). Then we found out that we were invited to a birthday party tonight for the son of the Spanish School owner. Joey really wanted a piñata so we got a really sweet one for a 12 year old boy. It's a car that is supposed to be Lightening McQueen. Really it's a boxy sedan with yellow lightning bolts on the side and it has eyes. I guess that's artistic license for you. The other option for a small piñata was like a doll's head, which upon further reflection, Joey might have enjoyed hitting with a stick more. Most of the piñatas here are big ones because birthdays here are a big deal and they invite many kids. Dora the Explorer and Diego are really popular too. In Spanish Dora and Diego teach kids English. Kids who in the US would be considered too old for Dora or Diego still wear Dora shirts and have backpacks etc. But I digress. So since we had a party to go to at 6 we did Joey's piñata after lunch.

After lunch Joey got his "big" present, surfing lessons. Joe and Joey went to another beach about 20 minutes away and spend about 1 1/2 hours surfing. They both had a great time although they got banged up a bit as the beach was rocky. I was glad I didn't have to watch that.

They got home, we ate dinner, Joey's favorite thing that I can make in Nicaragua is cabbage salad with crumbled Top Ramen. Then we walked 2 miles to the birthday party.

The party took place in a 10' X 20' upstairs room. There were 18 adults and 35 kids in attendance. Can you imagine a piñata in a room that size with that many people? It was about as crazy as it sounds. It was like no birthday party I have ever been to. Musical chairs was hysterical and since the first round was played with tiny toddler sized plastic chairs, when the music stopped, everyone went for a chair enthusiastically and you could hear the chair legs crack! Before the cake was cut and Happy Birthday sung (they sang in English and a couple of other songs in Spanish) the party favors were handed out. Each child got a ball, a plastic basket and an assortment of goodies. Each of the 35 baskets had each child's name on them. There was a chicken fried rice sort of dish passed around with a piece of white bread on top, a cabbage slaw type of salad, fried plantains and fried cheese. Tons of food for lots of people. Click here to see a video of the party.

The party lasted for 3 hours at which point cake was finally served and everyone headed out rather quickly. The kids all had a fun time at the party and Joey even said that this was one of the best birthdays ever.

As we walked back home at 9:30 PM on one of the only evenings it hasn't rained in 3 weeks, Joey said he thinks he might be bored when we go back to the states. Wow, I know that isn't true but to think that my video game playing, TV watching, computer loving kid is so taken with life in Nicaragua was a bit surprising. It has been really nice to be forced to spend so much time together as a family. We don't all go off into our our rooms here and do our own thing. We don't even have Quiet Room Time (GASP!) but we do have time in the afternoon after lunch when they need to be quiet and let me lay on the hammock and read. We may do quiet room time when we get to another house but for now the current system is working. We seem to be spending good quality time together without stepping on each others toes.

In case anyone reads this and starts to get concerned that Joe and I are going to make this a permanent move, we are definitely planning on returning. We are enjoying our adventure but don't feel the need to make a permanent lifestyle change. We feel very blessed to be living within this culture and experiencing so many new things.

Feeling under the weather...

So about 10 days ago Gus and I started getting sick. Actually Gus was full on sick for 2 days and miserable. I was dealing with a scratchy throat and being tired. I thought my awesomely powerful immune system was fighting something off and I'd be better in a couple of days, without actually being down for the count. That was not to be the case. My scratchy throat turned into a nasty unproductive dry cough, which brought our family to check out how this whole Nicaraguan Farmacia works. After being unwell for 1 week, I thought I better do something about other than rest and drink water. The Farmacias here in Nicaragua operate similar to an Urgent Care in the US, but without those pesky degrees and copays. From what I gathered online, if you are sick and need prescription medicine, you can either just go to the Farmacia and tell them what you need or you can go there and tell them your symptoms and they will get you medicine. The caretaker of our property offered to walk us to the Farmacia, and I am glad he did as it was on the other side of town and I don't think I could have followed the directions and I didn't feel up for wandering. The first thing I asked when I went in was "¿Habla Inglés?" and fortunately she said "a little". I described my symptoms and she went back to the medications, pulled something out, made a phone call (not sure if it had anything to do with me) and brought me expectorant. Expectorant is exactly what I would be taking if I were in the states so that was a good sign. I did ask about antibiotics but she said no, I don't need them. For the record I can't even remember the last time I took antibiotics, but I also didn't want it to develop into pneumonia. I think it's fair to say that I have bronchitis right now. I have been faithfully taking my medicine for the past 4 days and in the past 2 days I actually feel like I am making progress in the right direction. Being sick in Nicaragua sucks.

While we were still at the Farmacia, we decided to ask about medicine for Bridget. She wasn't really sick but she'd been blowing her nose and coughing for the past 2 weeks. We got her hooked up too with an antihistamine, decongestant, pain reliever and expectorant all in one. The total cost for our medications came to $15 US when we were done. That's less than the copay for 1 person and less than I would have paid for similar medication in the US. Expectorant is pricey! Plus we now know a little more about how things work here, and directions to the farmacia.

All that to say that I haven't been the most fun wife and mom for the past 10 days. I am really looking forward to feeling better and having the energy to explore a little more. There is a large statue of Jesus (El Christo) which is on the top of the cliff opposite our house. At night it's lit up. Joe hiked up to the statue (for $1 you can go look at it) when we were in school one day and he's been wanting to go again but now I've been sick for too long. I am really looking forward to going up there and looking down on the beach from the other side of San Juan. There is also a Turtle Tour that we could go on to see the baby sea turtles. It's late at night and an hour away. Joe is starting to get a little bored with San Juan del Sur, but I think part of that is that I haven't felt up to doing anything. I did venture out with the family this afternoon, the power was out, and we walked to the far end of the beach and Joe and the kids climbed over the rocks to check out tide pools. I made the walk but didn't feel adventurous enough to risking slipping on the rocks in my flip flops so I sat on a dry-ish rock and read a book and watched their stuff while they explored. Baby steps to recovery.

So there is the real truth of our trip to San Juan del Sur. It's not always perfect here and neither are we but it's all part of the adventure.

The picture in this post shows our house on the hill. The roof is red and is hidden by the trees and the deck blends into the forest but you can see the white part below and that is the caretakers quarters under our house. Wish you were here....