1 week down, 103 to go...but who's counting?

*** Note: This post is copied from an email I sent to family and friends about 4 months ago, on Thursday, January 12, 2012.

Hi Everyone!

We're here in Managua and it's actually pretty great! Our house is really nice, the weather is amazing, Bode hasn't skipped a beat, and everyone we're meeting (the local Nicas, and the other Americans from the Embassy) is super friendly. The only complaint I have is how hard it is for me to communicate basic thoughts throughout the day, due to my very mediocre Spanish language abilities. By noon I'm usually exhausted and need to give my brain a break. One of these days my head might actually pop right off my shoulders! But "poco a poco" as the Nicas would say...

Here are a few of my initial thoughts/observations from week #1:

-- For breakfast on Tuesday morning, the 3 of us ate out on our open-air patio and enjoyed our first papaya from our garden - pretty awesome!

-- Not so awesome is the fact that the locals don't use street names or house numbers, so there aren't really any actual addresses for places. This makes it a little hard to get around if you're not familiar with their landmarks. In order to learn where someone lives, or where a restaurant or store is located, you'll be given directions like "take a left at the church, and 3 blocks later at the yellow house go right, and then go to the turnabout and make a right, then a left at the school, and what you're looking for will be 5 doors down on the right." Hmmmm. Not so easy.

 -- The best thing we packed and brought down with us for immediate use was our own set of sheets. I know it sounds ridiculous but that first night without them was rough (literally!) And our biggest packing mistakes: we forgot diapers and a hairdryer. It was not fun to be borrowing diapers from people we hardly knew, and of course without a hairdryer I'm afraid I didn't make a great first impression with anyone. Both issues, thankfully, have been resolved.

 -- Our garden is beautiful and it's all because of the handiwork of our gardener, Diego, who has been caring for this yard and garden for the past 2 years. In talking with other Americans, we've learned that organic produce is hard to find down here so I've already talked with Diego about planting a vegetable garden in a corner of the yard. I've always wanted to grow my own stuff, and now I'll finally get the chance - and with the help of an expert gardener to boot!

-- I had a pretty nasty experience with the bathroom at the hardware store the other day, but the story isn't fit for email. If you're really curious, I'll be glad to share over the phone....it's a pretty funny story, actually, now that it's behind me. (HA! No pun intended!)

-- And lastly, I have only one small complaint about our house: it doesn't have a bathtub, only showers. So for those of you who love bubble baths as much as I do, I know you feel my pain...

OK - that's all the news for now.  Please be in touch whenever you like, and please think about coming down for a visit. As I write this email, my computer tells me the local temp is 88 degrees!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

With love and hugs from Nica.