This weekend I went to Granada to visit Stella during one of her conferences. Now, I had been to Granada before and wasn't impressed, but I figured I should give it another shot. I am glad I did, it really is a beautiful city and as the pictures show, the colonial architecture really is breath taking.
Also, this was a great way to start off my Semana Santa. Every time I think Peace Corps is about sacrifice and giving up what I once had, I head off to a place like Granada or San Juan del Sur. How can I say I am really suffering when I am in such an amazing city. I got to meet up with Stella at her hotel and later we moved to a cheaper hostel I got to meet several of her coworkers and other people in the NGO world. It was a great opportunity to see what other people my age are doing and see where I might want to end up after my two years of service. The best part of it all was that when I told people I was in the Peace Corps the responses were very positive. I have a good feeling that this will help me a lot when I get out in two years.
Well Granada is just the first stop of my Semana Santa trip. From here we headed to Laguna de Apoyo for the day to get some sun and swim and then we were headed off to Costa Rica for the week. I am trying to be better and take lots of pictures to give you an idea of what I am seeing.
Some interesting things that have happened since I got here are that I stayed in a $5/night hostel called Casa Blanca. It was basically what you would expect for five bucks. I mean it was a restaurant with a few rooms in the back that I think they just threw a bed into. It was all I needed and I can't complain, but not a place to be approved of by Tom Koza. Also I met an interesting Nica at my hostel. I was exhausted and ready for bed when he pulls me aside and we get talking. I later found out that he is 18yr/old and had just broken up with his girlfriend two weeks ago. Well, it is true what they say about Latino lovers, he fell hard for her. I guess she was from the States and went back, but they were only dating for one month. He was nursing a beer while he talked to me and crying about how much he loved her. He kept wanting me to hug him and said how he was going to fight for her. I was amazed that he felt this way for someone and also pretty disgusted that he thought he loved her that much. I dunno, maybe I don't do the whole crying thing, but come on man, buck up.
Here is a picture of Stella and I on Volcan Mombacho after doing a coffee tour with her company. It was basically like Parque Cafe in Colombia but a lot smaller. We got to see the whole coffee process and then they gave us a free sample at the end. To be honest, nothing too amazing and it was so hot, but it was nice to get out for the afternoon and meet some new people.
Oh, I have horrific story I forgot to write about earlier on my last day of teaching before Semana Santa. Well I only teach 3-6th grade, but on Thursdays I go next door and often play a game or two with the first and second grade class. Well I went next door and organized a game where it is like musical chairs and there is one person in the middle. The person in the middle has to say one thing they like and if anyone else does as well, they switch seats. So, everything was going great and all the kids were smiling until one little kid got stuck in the middle and began to cry. Alright, no big deal, he is a first grader, it happens all the time. Well the teacher jumps in and starts calling him a baby and a girl. I am completely flabbergasted, what do I do? I think I was just in shock, there is this teacher calling this little boy a girl and that he is weak. Great, now all the kids are learning that woman are weaker than men, and that crying is for girls. Way to reinforce sexist stereotypes. Well she doesn't stop there, she picks the boy up and puts him on display, asking other kids "what do you see here?" Well she is waiting for each kid to call him a baby and a little girl. I was horrible because I just sat there stuck not knowing what to do, but I tried to smooth it over by when he got close to me by letting him sit down. It was horrible, the teacher thought it was hilarious and the poor kid couldn't stop crying.
Well that is my little Nica story for the day. Just something you don't see everyday in the United States.
The Stages of a sinking:
The day started off easy enough. Stella and I found a taxi to take us to Laguna de Apoyo just outside of Granada. I have been there before with some of my Peace Corps friends and figured it would be a good little get away with Stella. After getting to ride in the back of a pickup truck for about twenty minutes we hit the beginning of a dirt road and a deep descent. It was exciting because such things would be so illegal and unsafe in the States, but are common practice here. Finally, down at the water we got to just swim around and soak up the sun. As the picture shows we got to some kayaking and so far everything looks good.
Ok, things are starting to get a little shaky. In my defense these were not calm seas. The waves were white capping and I chose the most unstable kayak possible. I had to keep my legs outside of the boat to stay balanced and as this picture shows I am starting to look uneasy.
Things have really hit the fan. As we were trying to take pictures I realized the front of my boat was starting to point more and more upwards. I didn't think much of it until the waves starting hitting my back. Finally it clicked, I was sinking. Oh no, we were about 200yds off the coast and my kayak was going down. I wasn't worried about drowning or anything but I was more worried about the boat; I was not buying them a new kayak. Well it just so happens that there was a huge hole on top of the kayak and when I turned into the waves the water began pouring in. I had to grab hold of the boat and have Stella drag me, who was holding the boat to shore.
Here it is, Laguna de Apoyo.
No comments:
Post a Comment