Somoto, Nicaragua -June 19, 2003
Since I last wrote, have been mighty busy attempting to stay alive here in lovely Nicaragua. As far as ‘Nica family’ news goes, a few weeks ago I joined my host brother at his grandmother’s farm where we had a wonderful time hiking, climbing mango trees and rounding up a wild stallion. As well, my hostsister recently had a baby girl so things have been quite exciting at my house.
Two weekends ago I visited the lovely artisan town of Masaya, known for its fine pottery and handicrafts. Decided that if I had to live in this country, I would choose to live there as it is full of parks, athletesand artists, and overlooks a beautiful lake. From Masaya I traveled to Granada where I wallowed in its lively marketplace and toured its old cemetery. Didn’t enjoy myself as much as I should have though as I spent the majority of the weekend sick as a dog.
Back in Somoto I attended the infamous cock fight. The event consisted of two fighting roosters each fitted with a single blade on one of their claws and placed in the centre of a dirt ring. Thereafter the birds persisted in clawing and pecking each other repeatedly until their feathers were red and the room was saturated with the overwhelming smell of blood. I left as soon as I could make my way through the disgustingly drunken crowd. Later on that night I attended a Macolla concert (one of Nicaragua’s most famous salsa/ meringue bands).
In this last week I had enough excitement to last me a few years- encountered another crazy man with a gun as well as a pervert outside my house at night, and was on the local TV station dancing like mad at a disco. Also discovered I have managed to catch three parasites during my lovely stay here- one of which is quite dangerous; my doctor told me if I was in the US I would probably be quarantined for it. Fun times -I think I will kiss the ground wet if I ever make it home.
Anyways, today is my last day at work and this evening I plan to sing a song I wrote about Somoto(my town) on the radio. From here, I will be on vacation for 2 weeks in Costa Rica, then will return to work for a month in New Brunswick(Canada) until August 1st. After that, I am planning to look for work in Montreal.
Hope you are all doing well & I look forward to seeing many of you when I return home.
Saludos,
Alix
Two weekends ago I visited the lovely artisan town of Masaya, known for its fine pottery and handicrafts. Decided that if I had to live in this country, I would choose to live there as it is full of parks, athletesand artists, and overlooks a beautiful lake. From Masaya I traveled to Granada where I wallowed in its lively marketplace and toured its old cemetery. Didn’t enjoy myself as much as I should have though as I spent the majority of the weekend sick as a dog.
Back in Somoto I attended the infamous cock fight. The event consisted of two fighting roosters each fitted with a single blade on one of their claws and placed in the centre of a dirt ring. Thereafter the birds persisted in clawing and pecking each other repeatedly until their feathers were red and the room was saturated with the overwhelming smell of blood. I left as soon as I could make my way through the disgustingly drunken crowd. Later on that night I attended a Macolla concert (one of Nicaragua’s most famous salsa/ meringue bands).
In this last week I had enough excitement to last me a few years- encountered another crazy man with a gun as well as a pervert outside my house at night, and was on the local TV station dancing like mad at a disco. Also discovered I have managed to catch three parasites during my lovely stay here- one of which is quite dangerous; my doctor told me if I was in the US I would probably be quarantined for it. Fun times -I think I will kiss the ground wet if I ever make it home.
Anyways, today is my last day at work and this evening I plan to sing a song I wrote about Somoto(my town) on the radio. From here, I will be on vacation for 2 weeks in Costa Rica, then will return to work for a month in New Brunswick(Canada) until August 1st. After that, I am planning to look for work in Montreal.
Hope you are all doing well & I look forward to seeing many of you when I return home.
Saludos,
Alix
posted by Alix at 6:10 PM
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