It's Good to Be Blond

Sometimes being blond is really entertaining. I was touring the oldest cathedral in Nicaragua today, trying to figure out what the plexiglass on the floor was covering, when a twenty-two year old guy told me it was a tomb. He worked in the church, and lifted the plexiglass so that I could get a look at the indigenous priest´s bones underneath. He told me that I must be an angel come down from Heaven, and offered to let me scale the tower for free to watch him ring the bells at noon (usually it costs 20 cordobas---about a dollar). He asked who he had the honor of meeting (where did he learn these lines?), and told me his name was Enoch. His name was so close to eunuch that I had to choke back a laugh. He was so sweet, though. Of course I didn't scale the tower with him unattended (my friend had left for Managua the day before), but it was a great thing to be offered. I love Nicaragua.

Not An American Road Trip

Today I drank this great drink made of cocoa beans. It was sweet and a little chocolately. This is the advantage of travelling: getting to try all sorts of new foods. It balances out some of the bad parts: bumpy bus rides, food poisoning, and bed bugs. This definitely isn´t an American road trip.

Granada, Nicaragua

I´ve spent my day reading, doing GRE test prep, and exploring Granada. It´s a beautiful city, but there are so many children begging in it! A lady asked me for money on the bus the other day to buy a prescription for her sick baby. She was walking around, showing everyone the prescription. Her baby was most definitely sick. You could tell just by looking at the little girl. There is just so much suffering here. There are so many people just struggling to survive. I always carry a stash of food on me now, to give to street children. I'm not comfortable giving them money, as some buy glue to sniff to take the hunger pangs away, or are forced to give a cut of their proceeds for "protection." Food is harmless.

Things the Guidebooks Won't Tell You

There are certain things that the guidebook doesn´t tell you about Central America. Like how to get rid of fleas caught teaching in a public school, or what to do when you hear gunshots in the street. Do you duck and cover, or become so accustomed to the noise that you can calculate its distance? You´ll never hear how to get rid of an enamored student who wants to be married in Mexico.

Don´t get me wrong, these tidbits have their uses: "In Tegucigalpa, armed gang members outnumber armed police officers," and "Women should never travel alone in Honduras under any circumstances." But a little info on how to identify venomous spiders in the rainforest would be nice, too.