Wait, Emily's in Nicaragua?

Although she arrived two days ago it’s still hard for me to believe that Emily is really here. For the last 3+ months her presence in Nicaragua has been relegated to my computer screen via Skype videochats (we are dorks). Previously mutually exclusive, two of the most important aspects of my life, Emily and Nicaragua, finally met.

Emily arrived Wednesday afternoon and we enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner that evening. Having woken up at 4am she understandably went to bed early.

Thursday was her true initiation to the Nica life. She faced a daunting first challenge – riding a bus to the market – but overcame it with ease. I surprised myself by not getting us lost in the market and we had fun experiencing the lively bustling atmosphere. We caught a bus home and rested for about an hour before heading out to meet the kids for lunch.

Since the kids and their moms aren’t working now they arrived, again wearing clean clothes that you all donated, for our lunch date. Two little girls I’d never seen before – cousins of some of the regulars – came along as well as two of the moms and the grandmother.

Not surprisingly, the kids loved Emily. They kept telling me how beautiful she is, to which I responded that this was not new knowledge for me. They had such a great time playing games with her, taking pictures with her, and playing with her hair. With the exception of my dad’s I don’t think they’ve ever seen hair so blond before.

Emily brought two big duffle bags full of donated clothes and Thursday morning we put together packages for each family. After we all ate we gave the clothes out to each mother and watched them excitedly try them on. The kids and their moms were so thankful.

Thursday evening we went to dinner with my good friends Keren and Esmir. I’m glad Emily got a chance to meet them. We went to an organic restaurant, which felt like it should be located in downtown Baltimore instead of Managua. Nicaraguans are not as health-conscious as Americans (yet overweight Nicaraguans are quite rare) so I was quite surprised to find a whole restaurant dedicated to serving healthy, organic food. The food was delicious and the company was great. Both Keren and Esmir are friendly and full of personality and I’m so happy that Emily could spend time with them.

Here’s one typical Nica story for you: I talked to Esmir earlier in the day on Thursday and, not knowing the name of the restaurant, could only tell him that Keren picked the “organic restaurant” for our dinner. He told me that he’d be there so I assumed he knew where it was. I called Esmir when we arrived at the restaurant to see where he was. He told me that he was at home but was leaving just then and would be there in 5 minutes. Just before I was about to hang up I asked him if he knew where the restaurant is. “What’s it called? Where is it?” He asked. This response prompted me to wonder where he was planning on going if I didn’t ask that question. Nica…

It’s about 8:30am and Emily just came downstairs. I’m very impressed with her ability to sleep in. Although we stayed up very late watching “American Gangster” I still couldn’t make it past 6:45am. Oh well. Two cups of coffee today…

Today Emily and I are going to San Juan del Sur – the beach that Lauren and I visited in November – after lunch with the kids. I’m really excited. I’m not sure if they have internet at our hotel but if they do I will try to post. Otherwise I don’t think I’ll be able to put anything up until Sunday night or Monday morning.

I will be on a plane home in one week. I don’t think my departure will be real until I actually leave. I’ve had a lot of time to mentally prepare for it but I am sure it will still feel sudden and abrupt. I know that Nica will always be a big part of my life though, so this really won’t be goodbye.