Nicaragua, dia tres

Friday, July 25, 2014

Thankfully, I slept a tiny bit better than the first night. I love a firm bed, but even this one is a bit firmer than I am used to. Plus, I sleep in a queen sized bed and now am in a twin. There is not much room for rolling over without rolling right onto the floor if you know what I mean? I chose to sleep in rather than eat breakfast so my alarm did not go off until 8 am. I thought I had until 9 to get ready so was surprised by a knock on my door before 8:30, and so the adventure continues.

The group, minus Paul and Jesse, went to the church to work, well, they worked, I took pictures, and boy did I take pictures. If I may say so myself, I am getting some fabulous shots. That being said though, for every great shot I got, I must have taken at least 25 that were only average or not so great.

I learned a LOT today. I learned there are no street names in Leon. I am not kidding, seriously, no street names. Everything, and I mean everything direction-wise is in relation to a church; 3 blocks North of de Cathedral de Leon and 2 blocks East, etc. I learned it is normal for  "police officers" to pull up on a street, hop off their Moped, and flag cars down to check papers or give tickets. (I put police offers in quotations because corruption is still alive and well in Leon, Nicaragua, and what the police are doing is not all necessarily legal.) I learned that there are only 2 street lights in Leon, and that the lights are red and green, no yellow. Apparently, when the green is about ready to change, it blinks, and you better stop because if not, you will be in an accident. I learned that there are many unwanted, hungry, scrawny dogs begging for food and attention. I learned the people at Pedro's church love The Lord and show it by showing up and working/cleaning/helping at the church, many times without even being asked. However, the most important thing I learned today, DO NOT put my camera bag down unattended (not really the most important thing I learned of course, but it was  a valuable lesson). I was warned not to put it down in the sanctuary, but I was told this one certain place was okay so I left it there because the others were in that area and went about taking pictures. After Jesse, Pedro, and Paul finished their meetings, they invited me to go with them. When I went to get my bag where I left it, I was panic stricken when it was not where I left it. After a few terror filled moments and fretting I decided to ask and thankfully somebody had moved it to a safer place as the rest of the group have moved into another area to work and it was unattended.

Jesse, Pedro, Paul, and I went to check out the leading cabinet shop in Leon, Nicaragua. Not that I know anything about wood shops or woodworking, but according to the guys, the shop was nice, had some very good equipment, and did quality work. The next stop was to go into a housing development and check out the finished work. That was quite amazing. They houses are beautiful with their concrete everywhere, gorgeous tile floors and granite counter tops, and custom built wood closets. Apparently, you can buy a 1400 sq foot, 3 bedroom with 3 full bathrooms, a powder room, and maid's quarters for $85,000. Anybody want to buy a vacation home/real estate investment with me?

Okay, I know this is not all about the food but come one, I would be lying if I said it was not at least a little about the food, right? I am having a great time trying the local food here. Every time we eat out, I try something different. Today, Pedro took us to somewhere the locals go so you know the food has to be good. It would be the equivalent of Luis' in Woodburn. I had a different version of jalapeño chicken, rice and beans, green salad, and fried plantains. I probably only ate half of it. Here, they eat breakfast, a HUGE lunch, and a much lighter dinner. While most here cannot afford to eat out because the prices are too high for them, it seemed reasonable to us...for all four of us to eat, it was $20. Oy vey, I now understand why everybody takes a siesta in the afternoon.

The guys dropped me off at La Posada del Doctor. While they went out to do some more exploring for cabinet shops, etc., I decided to do a little exploring of my own. Pedro assured me it was totally safe for me to go out on my own but he did strongly suggest I not take my big camera out with me. He said it could prove to be a big temptation. As much as I hated not to take it, I decided I should heed his advice. As most of you know, I truly have no sense of direction and since there are no street names, I decided if I wanted to make my way back to the hotel I better be direct in my path. I pretty much kept in a straight line. I was so afraid that I would get lost and while I know the name of my hotel, probably anybody I would ask for directions would give them in Spanish and I was not sure that would help much. I only stayed gone about an hour, and even with my iPhone I got some great shots of a couple of churches.

Since the youth group at Iglesia Comunidad Cristiana ranges from young to old, I thought I would go to youth group with the rest of them so I could take pictures. It was very interesting. Eric is a great youth pastor; he really knows how to get the kids involved. You cannot miss his passion for The Lord and the youth of the church. To describe youth group...I would have to say it reminded me of a Friday Night Worship.

Youth group did not end until about 8:30 so then off to El Sesteo for dinner (I guess the owner of El Sesteo also owns La Posada del Doctor and are Christians so that is great to support) we went. They make a juice there with fresh fruit that is wonderful. This was my second try at the juice so I tried the mango limonada, yummy! Dinner was amazing of course, Chicken El Sesteo (all of the food has been very good). After paying the bill, Ronaldo dropped me off at the hotel and took the others home for the evening. A few minutes later, Jesse rapped on my door to make sure I got in safe so we chatted for a few minutes. After that I went to get some money out of my bag and realized I had lost a large sum of money...I was sick about it. I decided I would try and call the restaurant; however, my cell phone will not call here and there are no phones in our rooms. I asked the desk clerk, he who spoke NO English and me who speaks poco espanol, to call the restaurant to see if I had left it there (I knew I had had it there but did not have it when I returned). He told me no that they were closed for the evening and I would have to wait until tomorrow. I tearfully returned to my room and tore my stuff part one more time just to make sure I did not have it. I was just sick to my stomach by this time so I decided to go out and beg him to at least try and call since it was Friday night and I had just returned so there should at least be people there cleaning up. So with Google Translate I headed down to the front desk armed to begin begging and begging is just what I did. He finally relented and called. I was able to speak with the manager and explained my dilemma. He told me yes they had found it and that somebody would drop it off at the hotel when they finished closing. About 11:15 somebody from the restaurant did show up and gave me the money. I was so thankful, first for their honestly and second that God is good!

It is almost 11 here and I still have to move pictures to Facebook of our adventures today so it is time for me to say tengo sueno, hasta manana.