I hope everybody had a better Christmas than I did... I don't want to say it was bad, but definitely very different. It felt more like the 4th of July (actually, pretty much a mirror image). Keren invited Dylan and I to spend Christmas Eve with her family, so we decided to go. The dinner was great, and very filling, but that was pretty much the night. After dinner we basically sat around while some of the guests were shooting off little fireworks. We spent about five hours just waiting for midnight to come (here the big Christmas event is at midnight on the 24th). I'd like to say that it was worth the wait, but we were out of the city and all midnight was was a few more fireworks. There was no exchange of gifts, which was the most surprising of all, and of course there was no snow. Let's just say I'm looking forward to next Christmas.

On Christmas day everything is closed, and everybody sleeps off the night before. In much of the country Christmas Eve is a big drinking and partying night. I spent the first half of the day in La Chureca, but even there it was a lazy atmosphere. Afterwards I went to hang out with Dylan and his street kids in a nearby fast food restaurant called Pollo Campero (Country Chicken). We played with the kids for a couple hours and then we went to Dylan's house to throw the football around. We had to do something to feel more at home on Christmas. On my way over to his house I picked up Esmir who was talking to our buddy the security guard a few houses down. We threw the ball around for a while, and then these three Nicaraguan guys walked by. They wanted to play and said they knew a little of the rules. So we played 3 on 3 touch football, but it was hilarious. Team Nica was basically just trying to play keep away, but they couldn't even do that. We were just flat out dominating. Haha so they told us we had three downs to score and they had infinite. Esmir, who we had only just taught how to throw the ball was our quarterback to make it more fair, but in our last two drives Esmir went 6 for 6 with two touchdowns! It was pretty amazing, and a nice taste of home for Christmas.

On Wednesday we had another long session of HSM dance practice. The new additions were better then the real group members, which I found pretty funny. The five new girls were actually good dancers and the new guys all played basketball. The guys were there just for the basketball song, in which there's practically no dancing, just a little scrimmaging and basic basket ball drills. We were nowhere near ready, however, by the time practice ended. Thursday would be another practice day before the show. After Wednesday's practice I just did a little hanging out with the people who run the bakery near my house and some planning of my family's visit coming up. I got invited to go to church with the people in the bakery, so tomorrow I'll be checking out a new church.

I went to La Chureca on Thursday, but not before printing up 70 photos to take with me. That was the only present I could afford to give the kids there, and even that ended up a little more expensive than I'd have liked. The kids were really excited, though, to get photos of themselves and their friends. I drove around the neighborhoods there feeling a little Santa Clausey. After my rounds in La Chureca I showered and headed to the Holiday Inn, our big venue for the first time in three months. We practiced for a couple hours, trying to get everything down, but it was not enough time. Cristina and I (Gabriella and Troy) were told that we had to quickly learn a duo for that very night. We practiced it about 5 or 6 times while watching the movie, but didn't quite get everything down. Showtime was coming up, so we had to stop practicing and get our makeup done. It was quite hilarious to see everyone getting made up for the show. There was a gay guy orchestrating all of the hairdo's and makeup, and gave me way too much. I went to the bathroom and took it all off because I was so gay looking. It was ridiculous. The basketball song was first, and it went pretty horribly. I was the main guy, doing the lip syncing and everything, and I ended the choreography one line early, so when the music ended we were all just kind of confused. It was pretty funny. Next was Bop to the Top, which was a duo of two other members. Then came "Breaking Free," my duo with Gabriella, which actually went well considering we had just learned the song an hour before the show. The finale was "Together," which was a success and was followed by a short interview of the group and a raffle of some of the newest High School Musical products. We had a small autograph session afterwards, in which I signed three kid's notebooks. I could barely keep from laughing. Three of my friends were there for the show, which was pretty embarrassing. Melissa and her siblings Brenson and Elizabeth could not keep from laughing.

We went out as a group for the after party, which was terrible. We went to a bar instead of the restaurant we'd planned on going to, and hardly got anything to eat. I decided to leave with one of the members, Denis, and we went to a fritanga to get a meal. We talked and ate some beans, rice, steak, and plantains all for a buck fifty. That night I woke up a couple times feeling awful, and in the morning woke up with a fever. I'd told Denis that I'd stop by his house in the morning to take him to La Chureca and to work on my motorcycle since I know nothing about them and he has been riding since he was 8. I felt terrible, but took some meds and went to his house anyway. His mom invited me to eat lunch when we returned from La Chureca, and I accepted. We were only in La Chureca for a short while because I was struggling, and then we went to my house so I could take a cold shower and another dose of ibuprofen. We then went to his house and worked on my bike. My brakes were squeaking, so we took off the back wheel, and sanded the brake disk to make it a little more textured. I learned quite a bit and had a really good lunch afterwards with his mom and dad. I felt much better after lunch, and played soccer with Denis and a bunch of his neighborhood friends. I then went home, showered, and napped because all the pain had come back.

After my nap I took another dose of ibuprofen and went to Casa Habila, which is the rescue home for a few girls from La Chureca who have been abused or whose families can't take care of them. It was Rosa's 15th birthday, which in Latin Culture is a huge celebration. My fever broke and I was sweating pretty bad during the majority of the party, but it was good to participate in and to see a lot of my friends both from La Chureca and from elsewhere.

Dylan invited me to go to the movies after the birthday party, and we went to the nicest theater I've ever been to in my life. It wasn't big like an IMAX, but every chair is a lazyboy recliner, and comes with a button you can press for service. We were the only people in the theater, and could have popcorn or beer brought to us any time throughout the movie. I didn't get anything, but definitely enjoyed the recliner. The tickets were only 5 bucks, which is about double of the other theaters here, but still way cheaper than theaters in the states.

Today I came out in the paper again, with a picture of Cristina and me in our duo. The article says that we're supposed to have a show today, but I think that it got cancelled. I guess that's it until next time. I'm getting excited for my family coming down Wednesday night!

The past two weeks were very full, and I'm sorry for not getting to the blog. This one might be a long one, so before you continue I'd suggest going and getting a glass of water and maybe a snack. I'd tell you to get some calala and churros, but you'd have to be here to enjoy that.

I now have tried almost all of the Nicaraguan dishes, juices, and snacks, and can tell you what to go for and what to avoid. My Spanish is really coming along, and I'm now able to "platicar" with whoever I run into, be it street kids or businessmen. I'm just starting to get comfortable here, and then I realize that I only have half of my trip left! That realization makes me both sad and happy. I'll try not to think about it. I can still do a lot of things before I leave, and I have a lot to look forward to upon my return. I think that things will work out exactly as they should.

So, to pick up where I left off, I had 5 days to myself, as Esmir was out of town, and I enjoyed them. I visited La Chureca often, with my problematic road hog faithfully getting me there. I went and visited the Cisneros, who are a family who own a small hotel in Managua. I met them through Brad Corrigan, who stays there on all of his trips. They are a great family who really have a heart for Nicaragua. I met with Priscilla, the last of the three children of the owners, to talk about my family coming down. She gave me a list of places to try to visit when they're here, and I reserved a couple rooms for us. I have to say that I am really anticipating the arrival of the Johnson Clan. I haven't been able to do much traveling yet, and there's an awful lot to Nicaragua apart from Managua. We're planning to visit a few volcanoes, islands, lakes, beaches, historic cities, and of course some orphanages and La Chureca. It should be a real blast.

On Saturday, the 15th, we had a huge party in La Chureca. I still don't know exactly how it all went down, but it was pretty much the craziest thing ever. I got there at seven in the morning to get everything organized. We passed out tee-shirts to all the kids in the school. The tee-shirts had pictures of a limousine, hummer, and suburban, and were given by a wealthy Nicaraguan who has a limousine rental business in Miami. I think that's right. Anyways, all the kids got black shirts and those helping organize (like me) got a white one. We finally broke all of the kids up into their respective age groups and headed out to load up on buses. There were six school buses waiting and ready at about 9:00, and we filled all of them with both kids and their parents. I decided to take the motorcycle rather than leave it behind, and we headed off for what shouldn't have been, but was, an adventure. We had a police escort of three cops on motorcycles, as well as a fire truck and ambulance, all with their sirens blaring. "Santa Claus Nica" was there too, in the bed of a truck waving to the people as we went by. Also in the caravan were about 20 expensive SUV's, including the hummer and suburban from the tee-shirts, as well as the limousine. We took a big lap around the whole city (for who knows what). The police were doing indian runs around the whole caravan, stopping traffic at the stop lights for all to pass, and racing up around us on both sides to get to the front of the line in order to stop traffic at the next intersection. It was pretty crazy, as I was just driving alongside the buses waving to the kids and trying to stay out of the way of the fly-by cops. Then it got crazier. A cop passed me on the right-hand side of the buses (which I think is much safer than on the left-hand side because on the left there are cars flying by in the opposite direction). He was about 100 feet ahead of me when I see an old man fall to the pavement and the cop's bike crash into a rack of car wheels for sale on the corner. The man was somehow between the buses and the curb, and the cop tried to get by him on the curb side but took him out and crashed into the rims, sending everything involed in all directions. The cop was fine, but the man seemed to be pretty badly injured, as he lay on the pavement moaning. I guess it was good that the ambulance was part of the caravan, as it drove up and its crew loaded the gentleman into it. The policeman stood nearby looking kind of embarrassed, as it seemed to be his fault. It was a really nice bike that he wrecked too.

The caravan continued as if nothing happened, and once the man was in the ambulance I proceeded to follow the buses, but with greater caution. We finally got back near the dump and went to Expica, which is a big open space under a very high ceiling that has carnival rides and a stage in the back and front, respectively. The kids all were given food and gifts, and there was singing and dancing. After the big party I went back to the dump to help out with the first meeting of the new church of La Chureca.

Pastor Ramon was already there, along with the churchplanting team from Verbo, and a number of people from the dump neighborhood. We opened with a prayer and some worship songs, and Ramon gave a 15 minute talk to the people. It was a very successful first meeting, and hopefully they will continue to get better from here on out.

I'm going to skip to Tuesday morning, when I appeared for the first time on national tv in Nicaragua. Yeah, finally something happened with the high school musical gig. We went at 7 in the morning to the main channel of Nicaragua, canal 2, and were special guests on their version of the Today show. We did a song in which only two members danced (Bop to the Top with Ryan, played by Isaias, and Sharpey, played by Yamileth--for those of you interested). The number was preceeded by a group interview in which I said very little, but understood pretty well for the majority. I was surprised actually at the professionalism of the tv station, in spite of the man trying to sell his husky puppies inside the building.

Tuesday was followed by Wednesday, and another tv appearance. This time we all danced (on channel 11) and had a group interview afterwards. We gave away packets of notebooks (which we're supposed to be advertising), and people called in to the tv station like you do a radio station in order to win. One of the callers was a teenage girl and she was talking about how much she liked me, and they made me blow her a kiss on tv. It was kind of hilarious. On Thursday I went with Esmir to Priscilla's going away party, as she is going to Sevilla, Spain to study as well as evangelize for a year. Brad Corrigan was down for a week, and he and his friend Jonathan Kilinger were there as well as many of Priscilla's close friends. It was a really fun time of hanging out and getting to know William, Raquel, and Priscilla. We ate pizza and cake, and afterwards danced and talked. I learned a few salsa steps, but I really need to take a class.

I went to La Chureca early on Friday to help out with a party with Juntos Contigo, which is a small program that works with kids apart from the Esperanza school. We had a couple pinatas and all the kids got some rice, chicken, and world renowned coca cola. Brad Corrigan and Jonathan, along with a small group of Korean missionaries who have a ministry working with glue-sniffers in the biggest market in all of central america, came in about noon to have another party. We gave the kids some gifts and sang some worship songs together. It was a really good afternoon. It was a great reminder of God's love for us in sending His son to die for our sins. I am ever reminded of how I deserve to live just like these kids if not worse, but God has been so good to me to give me all that I have. None of us deserve any better than to live like the people of La Chureca, because we have all made mistakes and done things that have hurt both ourselves and others. For some reason, inspite of all that we have done against him, God has never stopped loving us, and in fact loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us so that we don't have to pay the penalty for our wrongdoings. That's the motivation for my being in the dump everyday. These kids are awesome and God loves them just as much as anyone else, and I just want for them to be able to partake of his love for them. There were two kids at the party with Brad who tried to enter in with their jars of shoe glue (many people in La Chureca and other impoverished parts of Managua sniff glue to get high and eliminate the pain of hunger). They wanted to be able to get gifts just like everyone else, but we told them that if they wanted food, candy, and toys that they had to give us their jars of glue. The first little boy, probably of about ten years old, just wouldn't give up his glue. Brad and I, along with Bismark, who is a great guy Brad uses as a chofer around the country, talked to him and prayed for him and he finally let us have the glue, and he took the gifts with a smile. Later, the other boy saw that the first had gifts, and asked what he had to do to get some too. He showed us that he no longer had his glue, but we knew that he had hidden it outside. We told him that if he wanted gifts he had to go and get the glue to give to us. He saw that it was worth it, and had the first boy go out and get the glue to give to us. That experience reminds me of what God asks of us. He has an amazing gift of eternal life waiting for us. It's a gift, as in free, we don't have to pay anything for it. All we have to do is see that we are not perfect, and accept Jesus' payment on the cross for our sins. For us to say no to His gift is just like if those boys were to say no to all the toys and food and instead go on sniffing glue. This life is short and temporary, and is nothing compared for the eternity to come. What really matters is the life after this one, and there is nothing like the freedom we have in Christ once we put our faith in Him to save us rather than ourselves.

I was on tv for the third time yesterday, as we appeared on another channel, but then got a call from Priscilla asking me to do a radio show in the afternoon. Eynard, a friend of Priscilla's who I'd met at her going away party, has a Christian radio show and wanted to interview me on my work in La Chureca. We talked for a while before so that he could get a background of what I've been doing in the dump, and then we had a half-hour interview all in Spanish. It was a fun experience, and I was really excited not only to share what God's been doing through me in La Chureca, but also just to be able to understand all of his questions and to express myself in Spanish. There's still a lot for me to learn, but I'm really happy about how far I've come. After the radio show Priscilla invited Esmir and I to a young people's gathering at her church. She attends Hosannah, which is Managua's biggest christian church, with a weekly gathering of almost 1,000 young people from 18 to 25 or so. It was a really fun time, and afterwards she invited us to dinner at one of her favorite local spots. We spent about 2 hours there just talking together about her going to Spain, our experiences in Nicaragua, and about our hearts for the country. Priscilla really is a solid girl and I think that she will do great things both in Spain as she goes for a year but also in Nicaragua when she returns. I wish I had met her earlier, but I'm sure I'll see her in the future.

Today we had a really long morning practice with High School Musical. We're supposed to have a pretty big show this coming Thursday, so we had about 9 new people practicing as extras to look more like the movie, and we are working hard to get things ready for the big event. I'm still not a fan, but apparently I now have fans, so we'll see how it goes.

Everything's cool except the weather down here. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Nueva Iglesia

This Friday I went to the church to help out with decorating the stage and arranging the chairs for the graduation of the kids from Esperanza, the school in La Chureca. Norman, the teacher that I helped the most (his class is full of 33 preschoolers), and I were responsible for putting the sticky letters on the wall behind the stage, "Promocion 2007 Colegio Cristiano La Esperanza." We did a spectacular job I might add. Afterwards they asked Norman and me to go and buy some sodas for everybody. We hopped on the bike to go, and Norman asked me if I wanted to get some food while we were out. We drove a few blocks to a Comedor and bought Carne Asada (a long, skinny cut of steak), Gallo Pinto (rice and beans), Ensalada (salad), and Tejadas (plantain chips). We brought it back along with the sodas to the church to eat, and everybody else was jealous, so we collected some money and went back to buy for everybody. It was really good, and I finished off some meat that one teacher couldn't put down. The whole time that we were driving and eating, the rest of the city was celebrating the "Purisima," which is a Catholic holiday that lasts about a week and culminates on the 7th of December, where the whole city shoots off fireworks, sings songs to the Holy Virgin, and gives gifts away. I participated in one on Thursday with Dylan and some kids who work in the streets at stop lights washing cars. We just waited in line for 20 minutes to get some goodies, but the kids loved it. It's kind of just something you have to be there for. Anyways, after dinner Norman and I went to a 24-hour market to buy shoes for him. He needed some dress shoes for the graduation which was the next day (saturday) and that was the only place open after 9pm. Since it was the final night of the Purisima, there was a concert in the market and we stayed a while and had a couple drinks. It was a pretty fun night. Followed by a pretty cool day.

Saturday morning I went early to the church to make sure everything was ready. I was plenty early, since the events didn't start till about an hour after they were supposed to. It was great to see all the kids dressed up with some of their parents there as well supporting them. Only the preschoolers and sixth graders were graduating, but that was plenty enough kids. I took some photos, but then lent the camera to Romolo, who took photos for quantity rather than quality, but I was fine with that.

After the graduation I went to La Chureca for a meeting with Ramon Vaca, one of the pastors from the church. He is starting a church in La Chureca, and asked me to be part of the team, since I've been spending so much time there. There was about 25 people at the meeting, all there because they share a heart for the people there and want to see God move. We talked about the vision of the church, and how we don't want to be a clone of the existing church we attend, but want to fit the needs of the people there, allowing God to be creative and shape the church according to His will. We had a time of prayer and worship, and then talked about the first event, which will be a get together this Saturday to have a time of fellowship with the people. I'm really looking forward to that.

Dane had invited me to the Mana Project house for a party, so after the meeting in the dump I went home and changed, and went to the party. It was just a hang out time with the Mana team and their English students, with some dancing, eating, and swimming mixed in. I didn't swim or dance, but grabbed a bite to eat and got to know the guys a little better. Afterwards we went out to a club, and I invited Esmir to come along as well. It was a pretty good time, I danced with a Nicaraguan girl who I'd met before. Esmir of course danced with the Gringas.

Sunday Esmir and I went to church and I was part of a little presentation of the church planting in La Chureca. We turned off the church lights and carried candles throughout the building to represent God's light going into the dark corners of the world. Ramon gave a few words, and we had a time of prayer for the new church. After church I went with Esmir to play some ultimate frisbee with about 30 gringos, only a few of which I'd met previously. It was kind of funny to watch Esmir play, since he had no idea what he was doing. He caught on farily quickly, though, and had a good time.

Today Esmir left for a few days to go on his final university field trip. He went with his classmates to a farm up north, about a half hour from Honduras. He said that there is no electricity there, and that he'll probably be sleeping in a hammock. Can't really say I'm jealous, but I might be a little lonely this week. After Esmir left I went to la Chureca and we finished up the census. I don't know the official count of the total population, but there are 169 families living there, which would probably be about 900 to 1000 people, as most families have a good number of kids. Many more people work there, but only about 900 actually live inside and among it.

I took my bike to the shop again because the case for my headlight cracked. It broke open on its own due to vibration, so I thought that it would be covered by the guarantee. They said it should be covered, so I left it there, only to get a call an hour later saying that i'd have to pay for it. I told them to just leave it and I'm going tomorrow to pick it up. I talked to one of the guys there, who i've gotten to know pretty well now after the 5th time taking it in, and he told me that it's the cheapest bike he's ever seen. He told me that they have more than one of them come in the shop everyday, and told me I should trade it in for a Kawasaki. I'm strongly considering that, but we'll have to see if it fits in the budget. I'm also thinking about just straight up selling it, because it's a pain always taking it in for problems. I should have done more research, but I guess it's just a lesson learned the hard way.

That's about it, everything is going great and I'm still loving it down here. Please pray that the church will really be a success and that people will be brought into the Kingdom. Also pray for me that God will continue to provide and keep me close to Himself.

Habukuk

When Brad was here we often talked about how we both feel that God is doing something in La Chureca, and that it's about to happen. Something inside of us is whispering that He is about to blow us away with something absolutely amazing, and from Him alone, that credit can be given to no one. I had a dream or something like a dream the other day, but it was just the word Nahum. I don't know why, but I woke up and just thought I should read the book of Nahum. I opened up to it, not having really any idea what it was about, and browsed to find that it was about God punishing Nineveh for its unbelief. I thought, "false alarm, i guess," and turned to the next book, which was Habakkuk. I knew that Habakkuk was a prayer, and so I began to read.

The book started out by asking God why He tolerates all that He tolerates. I had been struggling so much with that very question, especially in regard to La Chureca. How can He really have plans for all of the people there and have nothing to show for it? Why does He let the devil prevent His plans from coming true? It was really bothering me, even though at the same time I was so excited to know that He does have infinite love for each and every one of them.

Well, God answers Habakkuk by telling him to "Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." That right there was so amazing for me to hear. I've read and heard it before, but it was so powerful to read yesterday, in light of all that I've been wrestling with. I really do think that God is moving in and around La Chureca, and is using me there in ways that I wouldn't have believed if I had been told before coming here.

I've also been reading Job, which is really helping my struggle. Our human nature wants to believe that we deserve to live a nice, cushy life, but the fact is that we are all sinners and have turned against our Creator and deserve death. Not one of us is innocent, even the little girls in La Chureca. We all deserve to live in the trash heaps, but to some of us God is unbelievably gracious. It's probably the most difficult thing I've ever tried to understand, and I will never fully understand it because God's ways are so foreign to me, but God's been showing me little pieces to grow me closer to him. Seeing all that La Chureca is very easily could have turned me against my "God of Love," but thanks be to God, He has been gracious enough to encourage me in all of this. I still want to cry for the people there, but that won't do anything. Even my going there is in vain without God. In Job, Elihu says that we are powerless, and that, good or bad, our works have no impact on the character of God. He will forever be able to use everything to His glory.

I'm right in the middle of His hand, living daily on his provision. I have a lot to talk about, but it will have to wait until next time.

More Twists in the Story

On Friday I was planning on going to the beach to surf with Dane, but I got a text message from him Thursday night cancelling due to something in the school he teaches English at. It wasn't a big deal, though, because Melissa had called and said that the school needed help doing inventory and organizing. So, I went in the morning to the school and we counted tables and chairs, swept the floors and ceilings (spider webs) and organized all of the school supplies like books, pencils, etc. Friday night I went to an art exhibit on the south highway where Melissa had set up a sale of the La Chureca kids' artwork. They had some really good work, and I wish I could have bought some, but I didn't have any money at the time. I did get to spend some time with Eli, Deanna, Melissa, and other Americans, as well as two teenagers from La Chureca who are now living outside with a pastor from the Verbo Church that I attend. Their names are Miguel and Romolo, and I talked with them for the majority of the night. Romolo told me that he knew how to ride a motorcycle, so I foolishly decided to let him drive it. I showed him the basics, which he did kind of know, and let him at it. He drove around the parkinglot at a very irregular pace, without changing gears from first to second. It was funny to watch. Then Miguel told me that he wanted to learn, so i spent about five minutes explaining everything to him with Romolo also helping me. Then I got on the back and he tried to drive. We took a lap around the lot, and it went alright, but then he started heading for a portion of the lot that had a slight hill. I told him not to go much farther, but he couldn't turn very well, so we went right up to the hill. I told him it was really hard to start on a hill, but he tried it and sure enough we fell. He accelerated, but with me on the back, the front tire went up in the air and he didn't know how to recover, so we slowly fell to the side. We caught the bike fine and nobody was hurt, but it was pretty funny. He felt so bad, but luckily nothing happened to the bike.

I spent saturday with Esmir, Dylan and Lauren. Dylan and Lauren had just come back from a Thanksgiving trip back home, so it was fun to watch the hokies win and get some other college football action. Saturday night Esmir and I went to a concert in a coffee shop close to where the art sale was. A Christian group runs the shop and also performs, and it was a fun night. They sang worship songs in English and Spanish, as well as some of their own stuff. They later opened it up to whoever, and Eli played wagon wheel, ring of fire, and some others with another missionary named Mike and the group keyboardist. Sunday was another chill day. I went to church with Dylan and Lauren, had lunch with Eli in MetroCentro, a mall close to my house, and then spent the afternoon watching some NFL with Dylan.

On Monday I went back to the school, where all the staff met to do a census of La Chureca. We split up in groups and walked around, talking to families about how many lived in each house, how many kids were or were not studying, and if they weren't we asked how far they'd gotten to if they ever did study. It was all new to me, and I was fascinated to learn the different backgrounds of the families. About half of the adults never studied, and of those who did there wasn't one who made it past 6th grade. It was pretty much the same story with the kids. Half worked in the dump, and those who are studying are in the school in the dump, which goes up to 6th grade. There are only a handful of kids that are attending secondary schools, from which none have ever graduated. Romolo and Miguel, who I mentioned earlier, are in Melissa's scholarship program, and are in their last year of high school. If all works out, they will both graduate as the first ever from the La Chureca school to do so.

While doing the census I ran into some of my favorite boys boogie-boarding in a terrifyingly dirty lake in the middle of the dump. I waved to them, and they shouted and waved back, just having a blast in the lake filled by dump runnoff. Next to the lake was one of the cutest girls ever with some of her friends looking for who-knows-what in the trash. She called my name and hid behind her cousin, who I'd never met. I went up to her and gave her a big hug, and she introduced me to her cousin, who was nine, and worked instead of school. I didn't want to leave them, but I had to continue with the other teachers.

Today Marvin, the High School Musical organizer, called me and said I just had to come back. He said that the owner of the Distributor wanted to talk to me and so I decided to at least hear them out. I went in, and the owner decided to pay for my rent and also give me gas money each week, and I only have to go two days a week. I said yes, and now I'm reluctantly back in the group, but they do seem to be more serious now at least. I'll let you know how it goes.

good day

today was so great... i decided to go on foot to the dump this morning, since i didnt know what i was going to do exactly. i walked to the entrance where i ran into some familiar faces, a couple guys who are paid to clean up the streets outside the dump. They called me over to talk, and i did so for about a half hour. they asked me if i was a christian, and i said that yes, i was. one guy said that he was pentacostal, but that he just couldn't keep himself from sinning. he said that his sin was fornication, and he went on about how he has three girls right now, plus prostitutes that he gets every once in a while. he was all smiles, but i just wanted to punch him right in the face. i can only hope that he's not buying the little girls from La Chureca, but i guess it doesn't really matter who is, because it's happening. it felt really strange looking into the eyes of the enemy. he saw nothing wrong with it, and it actually seemed like he was bragging about it. to think that these precious girls are selling themselves to monsters like him just rips my heart out. i guess the part of the day talking to them wasn't that great, but i did find out some more about the economy of the dump.

I asked them if it was true what i'd been told about the middlemen marking up the prices like that. i told them about the kids that sold iron for one peso per pound, and they told me that the man they sell to only takes the stuff about four blocks away and sells it for 180 pesos per quintal, which is a hundred pounds. so, i guess the middlemen don't mark it up nearly as bad as i thought. they told me that the plastic bottles might have a higher mark up on them, but that might be because they transport them farther to sell.

Once i left the street cleaners, i walked down a little neighborhood street just to see who i'd run into. i walked past a number of houses until i heard my name called from my left. i looked in, and sure enough there was a small group of kids from the dump school. I didn't know that so many lived outside the dump, but there were about 15 kids who all lived nearby in this little street outside La Chureca. I was given the nicest chair to sit in, and the grandmother of some of the kids, who is a cook in the dump school, had her granddaughter andrea go and buy some soda and pico for us. pico is that good bread with sugar and cheese. i sat and talked with her and her son, who was the father of andrea and david, two students at Esperanza. after about an hour, i was given a plate of beans, rice, and tortillas which was excellent, followed by a glass of water to wash it down. i don't know how much the family had, but it was so generous of them to offer me so much. i spent about a total of two and a half hours sitting and talking with the family, and then i went out into the street to play with the kids. i was a human jungle gym for about 15 minutes, and i said goodbye and continued walking down the street to see who else i'd run into. there was a few kids playing catch with old, beat-up gloves and a ball made of tightly packed plastic bags. they asked if i wanted to play baseball, and we played for an hour or two. in the street they play with only home plate and two bases, one on each side of the road. it was one of the most fun baseball games i've ever played, but i haven't played too many.

Now i'm here at the coffee shop, where i just finished talking with deanna and dane about la chureca. dane is a christian guy from Mana Project, a non-profit down here that does some work with the clinic in La Chureca. he's also the guy i went surfing with with brad on tuesday. he invited me to go again with him tomorrow morning, so i'll be hitting the waves with him at 6 tomorrow. we'll come back by noon, and later in the evening i'm going to come back to the coffee shop where there will be a Chureca art exhibition, where people will be buying art done by the kids in the dump. they have an art class that they do outside la chureca, and apparently have quite a number of pieces that they're going to sell tomorrow. inbetween surfing and the art exhibit, i think i might go meet some people Orlando wants to introduce me to. Orlando is the guy who was driving Brad Corrigan's group around, and he wants me to meet a bunch of his wife's girlfriends who are students at UCA, the university where Esmir studies. I dont know if i really want to be hooked up, but he wants me to meet them so i might do that.

Everchanging Nicaragua

Well, on Saturday night Esmir and I took a taxi (the bike was still in the shop) to the coffee shop and nobody was there. It turns out everyone cancelled, but didn't let me know. So we pretty much just threw 5 bucks out the window, but that's Nicaragua. On Sunday I went to the second church service to meet Melissa and get my bag which I had left at her house on Thanksgiving. I also burned a cd for abdhie with the frontier horizon t-shirt designs i had made so she could make some more shirts. Apparently they were a hit, even though I don't particularly like them. Eli asked me to go to lunch with him and then to a soccer game, so I accepted gladly. We walked to pizza hut and finished off a family sized. He got a call and we found out the soccer game was cancelled, so instead we went to his house and watched some NFL football and I used his wireless internet for a little while.

On Monday morning I went to get my motorcycle from the shop. They had fixed the chain, and repainted the chain cover. They gave it to me with the idle a little low, but i adjusted it and everything was good. I went into the school and hung out a little while, and then went to dance practice. I told them that I might quit, and they were a little surprised. I told them that I would stay in the group until this Saturday, because we were supposed to have a show for the TV and everything, but that after that I wasn't sure if i'd continue. It's far away to drive everyday, and we never really do anything, not to mention that they never pay us, so I told them I was a little bit irritated. They said that this part of the program was just promotional and that we'd be getting paid once we started going on tour. The thing I was fed up with was that they kept adding new people and subtracting others, and we never learned anything new. Everytime I went was worthless, and I didn't want to waste my time.

After practice I went to the gym (in the dark because the electricity was out) and I thought about what to do with the whole dance thing. I thought it'd be cool to be on TV, and it was pretty hilarious just being part of this group, but I didn't know if it was worth all the time that I was putting into it. I didn't make up my mind on anything in the gym, but was leaning towards leaving the group.

On Tuesday I woke up early and headed out to Esperanza (the dump school). I noticed that as I was driving something was rattling, so I pulled over to check it out. A pin was loose, an important pin that connects the exhaust and other important parts. I got out my basic tool kit that the bike came with (which is a piece of junk) and tried to tighten the pin. None of the wrenches fit the nut, so i had to just tighten it as best as i could with a wrench and my thumb. I drove off and it started rattling again, so I just decided to take it to the shop again. I showed them what was wrong, along with a couple other things that I wanted fixed (the turn signals allways fall off because the nuts work themselves off the bolts when i drive) and they told me that it should be ready by 2 in the afternoon. So, I took a bus to La Chureca to spend some time with the kids. As I walked in, i saw the security guard that I had met the first time I went in back in September. I talked with him for a while because he's a really cool guy. He said that he's gotten to meet a lot of gringos who come in and out of the dump, but he say's i'm the first one he's really gotten to talk to much. We talked about the different aspects of La Chureca, as well as about the differences between here and the United States. I do want to get to know him better, but I didn't talk to him for more than 15 minutes. I said good-bye and walked into the dump.

As I was walking down through the dust and smoke, dodging animal waste, sporadic fires, and trash piles, I heard my name called from behind me. I turned to see two young kids who i'd never seen before. I said hi, went up to them, and asked how they knew my name. They told me that they had friends that went to school who had talked about me. That made me feel kind of encouraged, and I continued to talk with them. They were collecting iron to sell to a middleman just outside the dump. They had two bags full of scrap iron, each weighing about 25 pounds. I took one bag and they shared the weight of the other, and we walked up the hill and out of the dump to the man who would buy it. Everyone watched as I helped these two kids (Jose Noel, eleven, and his half sister Margarita, twelve) carry their heavy load. I was surprised at how hard it actually was to carry a 25 pound bag of iron up a hill, mostly because of the awkwardness of all the scrap pieces. How they do it multiple times a day is amazing. We got to Don Manuel, the middle man, and he put the bags on a scale. They weighed in at a total of 52 pounds, and they had a bag of aluminum as well which was relatively weightless but had some valuables which totalled 12 cordobas in value. In total they made 64 cordobas between the two of them, with the 12 cords from the aluminum and 52 cords at 1 cord a pound for the iron. Once split, the each made about $1.70 for the heavy load. We walked back down into the dump, and passed Margarita's house. There they had another bag ful of iron, and decided to do a second trip. This one I guessed to weigh about 20 pounds, but they said it was 35. We made the trip up the hill, collecting little washers or nails along the way. The bag weighed in at 20 pounds, much to their disappointment, but at least we could joke around about how bad they were at guessing the weight... it's a shame they weren't that far off in the other direction. I decided to just hang out with them a little while instead of go to the school, since by then it was already about time for school to get out.

I walked out and got a bus back to the shop. On the bus I ran into Alvaro, a young guy like me who works in Juntos Contigo, which is a computation class in another part of La Chureca. His bike was in the shop for maintenance, so we went together. Neither of our bikes were ready yet, as it was only about 12:30, so we went to get some lunch. It wasn't the best, but I was really hungry so I scarfed it all down. We went back and I got my bike, but his wasn't going to be ready until five, so I took him on mine to where he needed to be. We went to the house of a girl who works with Juntos Contigo as well, as they were going to an event together. We sat and talked for a while, and enjoyed an orange soda. Alvaro told me that Don Manuel was practically stealing that iron from the people in La Chureca, as he goes and sells it for 25 to 45 cords a pound. That reminded me of the time I talked with a man in La Chureca who sold plastic bottles at 3 cords a kilo to a man who turned and sold them for 28 cords a kilo. It's unbelievable how those middlemen oppress the people of La Chureca. I said goodbye and left at around 2:30 to head home.

As I was on my way home, I passed the hotel that Brad was staying at. I had seen his driver going into the dump to drop off bags of clothes in the school, and he told me that Brad was just relaxing at the hotel for a while. I decided to turn around and stop by the hotel to say bye, since Brad was leaving the next day. At this point everyone who was with him had left for the states, and he was alone for one last day. He said he was headed to the beach and invited me along. I didn't have any trunks, but he lent me a pair of his, and I pulled my bike into the hotel. We were off to the beach by 3:30, but Brad realized he didn't have a surf key to put his fins on his board. We decided to stop by the MANA house, where a group of Americans are staying for a year doing service here. Dane was there, who is the best surfer of the group of them, and he decided to come along as well, with his board and surf key. We talked in the car about a bunch of cool stuff. I told Brad about what I'd learned economics wise that day in La Chureca, and he was really intrigued. We read some verses in Proverbs that speak to the rich oppressing the poor and about how balanced scales are righteous in the Lord's sight but how unbalanced scales will bring destruction. Brad asked me if I'd like to be part of Love, Light, and Melody, his recently started non-profit. What that would entail is really just what I've already been doing... spending time with and learning about the people there. He was especially interested in me finding out more about the economics of the place. We want to try and possibly create a way for the people to get a fair price for their work, and that way maybe they could move out of the dump and just go there to work, not live. We think that something along those lines should be possible, since the fair price is apparently around 3 or 4,000% of what they're making. Brad said that he'd have to talk to Casey and Daniel, as well as their small board to see if I could come aboard, but that he was excited to meet someone who was on the same page as him.

The surf on Tuesday was a blast. We only had two boards between the four of us (Brad, Dane, myself, and Bismark, the driver) but just being in the ocean watching the sunset was great. I got to try both boards, Dane's seven sixer and Brad's six sixer. Dane's was much easier since it was longer, but I managed to get to my feet on both. We only surfed for about an hour since the sun was going down, but it was beautiful. On the ride home Brad told some stories about his experiences in La Chureca. He said that on Sunday he was with his favorite family there, and one of the girls, named Mercedes (now back into being a crack addict and glue sniffer at 16 years old) stole Casey's cell phone and some other things of theirs. They got them back, but he said it was so hard to think you're making so much ground in the way of friendship with these people, and then they slip back into their old ways and you feel like you're back where you started. He told us another story of when he first met the family, and a relative of theirs, Senor Ortiz, was dying. He was in his fifties or sixties, and was laying in the dirt with a bag over his head to keep the flies away. He was so out of it that it was almost as if he was in a coma. Brad was with Bismark at the time, and they said a prayer with him and called the police, news stations, hospitals, and firemen hoping that somehow an ambulance would come. They were told an ambulance was on the way, but they had to leave before it got there. The returned two days later and asked about Senor Ortiz. The family said that he was still the same, and that the amulance had never come. Brad and Bismark rushed over to where he was, and again prayed for him and gave him water. Brad said that he heard God speak to him saying, "Praise Me," and they began to sing worship songs with him. They heard the sound of sirens and an ambulance appeared from around the corner. They got him on a gurney and took him to the hospital. The next day, Bismark saw his name in the obituaries. Brad told us that he had asked Senor Ortiz if he had known Jesus, and he said yes. Brad said he was so happy to know that one day he will see Mr. Ortiz in heaven. Brad then asked Bismark in Spanish if he had that part right, and Bismark said no. He hadn't known Jesus, but Bismark witnessed to him, and the day before his death he accepted Christ as his savior. When Brad heard that with us in the car, he was speechless. We were all taken aback, and were just so overjoyed with how good God is. That was such a cool story.

We went out to dinner afterwards, and then back to the hotel. Brad gave me a copy of his new CD, along with his first rash guard, which is a tight shirt that surfers wear to keep from scraping up their chests on the board wax. I was so grateful for the gifts, as well as for the time he invited me to spend with him. I said goodbye, but it was more of an "hasta luego," because he's coming back for another trip just before Christmas. It was a pretty cool day, yesterday.

Today I went to the school again, this time for the last time this year. Today was the last day of school, and there was a party with food, singing, and dancing. The news channels were there, and presented 12 kids with the opportunity to go to Disney World in Florida. I'm not sure on the truth of that promise, but when I got home today at 2:00 I saw the kids on TV, and that's what they were saying. I don't know the details, but apparently some people from the States are paying for six boys and six girls from the dump to go to Disney World. I'm going to look more into that, because I have a feeling it was just a publicity stunt and that the kids are getting set up for a big let down.

I went to dance practice again today, but it wasn't any better, and I decided to quit. I said goodbye to everyone, and went home on the bike. I told them to call me if they really had something serious, but that I couldn't keep coming for nothing. Today they told me that the show for this Saturday had also been cancelled, because we weren't ready, but the only reason we're not ready is because they keep adding new people who have to learn everything over and over again. Some of us know it all, but we just keep doing the same thing over and over because half the group doesn't know it. I think the whole thing might fizzle out, because on Monday when I told them I was thinking about quitting, two of the other guys told me that they were also thinking about it. They said that if I was out they wanted out too. I feel kind of bad about it, but it was a waste of time and gas money.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to my first day in La Chureca completely on my own. I'm not sure if I'll take the bike or if I'll just go in a bus, because I won't have the school to leave the bike in. Hopefully I can get the position with Love, Light, and Melody and start spending full days just learning about the people there. It's an exciting time right now, and I'm seeing a lot of God at work both in me and around me.

Popochil

I woke up today at 5:15 to my cell phone alarm. At 5:30 I was on my way to the beach with Brad, his friend Casey and her two brothers Sam and Joe, as well as their dad. Also joining us were Eli and Deanna, who are each down here individually, Eli just doing volunteer work for whoever needs it as a handyman, and Deanna with her non-profit NicaHOPE, in which she is beginning a vocational school for the kids from La Chureca. Again the waves were small, (this time we went to a neighboring beach to the one last weekbut it was a fun time meeting everyone and actually getting up on a board for the first time. We only stayed until 11:00, and then headed back to Managua. I went home and ate lunch and showered, put on some dirty clothes and headed for La Chureca (in the bus, because my motorcycle is still in the shop). I got off the bus a ways from the dump, and when i came up to the entrance, i saw that it was almost impossible to get in, even on foot, because trash was all over the street. I'd forgotten that on saturdays they dump everything there (i dont know why) and on Monday the clean it all up. So, i turned down a really small street where many people were walking, working, or playing. Some were rolling joints as well, and of course drinking. It was a new sight for me, but i didn't feel uncomfortable or scared because i didnt have anything on me. i had only brought my bus money and an extra 5 cordobas just in case. I didnt even bring my wallet, just coins, keys, and my cell phone. I was planning on going into the dump because Brad and Casey were going to be going in, but i saw how the entrance was closed and didn't think they were coming. I was walking towards the back entrance where i ride my bike in, when I heard from behind me kids calling my name. I turned around, and it was 5-year-old Lester and his 3-year-old sister Alison calling for me. I went up to them, and just decided to hang there because it was a little rainy and it was already 4:00 anyways. I took some fun pictures with the little guys, and met some new kids as well, who don't go to the school. We played soccer, and my jeans got trashed, but it was a fun time. I spent my 5 cords on a 6 cord soda, but the lady was nice, and gave it to me anyway. i said i'd give her the cord next time i was around.

Tonight i'm going with Esmir to a coffee shop with Brad and Deanna and everyone, to hang out and see a band play. the band is a group of kids who play and work at the coffee shop. It's a really cool place apparently, run and owned by a christian man who employs the students as both workers and performers. They were the group that played worship in La Chureca on Wednesday. It should be a fun night.

Motorcycle Diaries

So on Monday I left dance practice and my bike just wouldn't start. A security guard showed me how to choke the engine and i started it and went on my way. about a kilometer later, it quit on me. I started it again and it died, and again and it died, and i didn't know what was going on. I took it over to a close by security guard and asked him if he knew much about motorcycles. he said no, but his friend was a mechanic just a block away. so i walked the bike with him to the mechanic. he said he knew what was wrong, something with the carburetor, but that if he fixed it i would lose my guaranty with the company i bought it from. i told him to forget it, and I walked back to the place where the security guard was because he said he'd look after it for the night. i left it with him locked up behind a gate and took the bus home. It was dark out this whole time, and it would have been dangerous and tiring to walk it home. I was also carrying my computer because i'd taken it to a guy before dance practice to show him some design work i'd done because he was looking for a graphic designer (i got the job by the way). So when i got home, they asked me about the bike, and i told them what had happened. Alfonzo, the man who i rent from, freaked out and said that i can't just leave the motorcycle with a security guard on the other side of town! that's not safe at all! i thought it was fine, but he wouldn't have it, so we got in his car with some rope and went to bring it home. We got there about 10:30 at night, and the guard opened the gate for us and i walked it out. Alfonzo asked me if i had gasoline, and i said yeah i think so, but we checked and it was dry as a bone. Imagine that! i felt so stupid, but then i remembered that i had lent the bike to two friends of mine who told me they'd put two liters in, but didn't. it doesn't have a fuel gauge, and i just thought i had enough. i still was an idiot though, i mean i should have at least thought to check that, but i walked it over to a gas station, fueled up, and drove home fine. it was all a false alarm.

On Tuesday I took the bike over to the shop to do the first maintenance check of 500 kilometers. they said it would take 4 hours, so i left it there and took a short taxi ride to la chureca and went in on foot. While walking in, i ran into a boy who i'd met on my first trip to Nicaragua about a year and a half ago. he's now ten years old, but he hasn't been going to school, so i started walking with him and asked what he was up to and why he wasn't in school. he said he was looking for his friend, but he wasn't home, so now he was just going back home to hang out. he wasn't in school because he had to help work with his family, but he is going to start again in january. I walked with him back to his house and talked with his mom. she said that her husband was at work, but that since jose luis, the boy, was her oldest, that times were hard. With only her husband to make money, she had to take jose out of school to help out. she has four children in total, and i was able to meet jose's younger sister, the second oldest. it was a fun time getting to know them a little bit, and hopefully i'll have more time to do that type of thing, because this coming wednesday is the last day of school till mid january. for the next few days the kids will have exams, and then will be free for "summer break."

Wednesday we had a big party in the school because a group was down from the states for Thanksgiving, and a Nicaraguan youth band came in to perform. it was a really cool time of worship and dancing with the kids. Brad Corrigan, "Braddigan," was there as well, just playing with the kids. I met and talked with him a little, and met some of the other Americans. Later I went home and went to the marked with Esmir to buy food for the next week or two.

I went to La Chureca again on Thursday, and when i left i had another motorcycle problem, but this time for real. The chain broke in the middle of an intersection, and I had to walk it to a grocery store on the corner. I called the dealer and they told me to walk it to the shop, which was about a mile away. i did that, and dropped it off there, where they told me everything would be free since it was under guaranty. that was a relief, but i was pretty angy that my month old bike already broke. hopefully it won't be a problem bike. I rode the bus home and then went to melissa's house for thanksgiving. it was a really nice time, and it was a blessing to be able to enjoy the company of friends.

Today I spent the day with the group from the states that was down with Braddigan. We visited an orphanage called El Canyon, and then went to the mountains nearby to get a gorgeous view of the country. We were going to go to La Chureca, but it rained, so we didn't. Tomorrow i'm going to the beach with Brad and Deanna and a group, and it should be a blast. I will fill you in later. Sorry this was such a short summary, but i only had a half hour of internet time today.

Sorry for my silence

A lot's happened over the past week and a half, and I've been doing a lot. The internet cafe is finally going to be set up this Monday, and hopefully going to be fully operational on Thursday. Keren had a phone conference with Vinny last week about all of it, and called me afterwards with some bad news. Vinny was only going to be able to pay me half of what he'd initially promised, which would still be enough to live on, but things would be really tight. I still agreed because I had no other source of income, but I wasn't too thrilled about it. I thought that with the money I'd be getting that I could maybe do things with the kids from La Chureca on the weekends and afternoons like take them out to eat or things like that, but now that was out of the question too. I spent last week in the Word and in prayer, because I really want to work with the kids in La Chureca. The internet cafe will be a great thing for the community of Vera Cruz, especially for the kids, but La Chureca is another story entirely. The kids in the dump need love more than anything else. I don't want that opportunity to be taken away from me just because I don't have money. So, today Keren called me with the news about the cafe being almost ready. She said she had yet to hire someone for the afternoon, but had someone in mind. I told her my situation, and that I wasn't 100% sure that I was in. She said that she needed to figure everything out really soon, and that it'd be better to just hire someone for the full-time position if I was hesitating. I said alright, do that, and hopefully that was the right decision. It's hard for me to know, but I do know what I feel in my heart, and that is that God wants me with the community in the dump. I can't really describe it, but I absolutely love it there. The kids are so different from any others I've ever met, and yet are just as human. I think I could spend the rest of my life with them.

That's another thing that I've been struggling with. I know that God has a plan for me, and that within every one of his creations he has instilled desires, gifts, talents, and dreams. God has given me so much that I don't know what to do with it all. Here I am studying at the recently #1 ranked school for Industrial Design, but at the same time I'm down in a dump full of these beautiful people who need Jesus so badly. I love art and design, and God has given me talent in those areas, but he has also given me a heart for these people, and the opportunity to work with them. What is my role as a steward of all that He has given me? I want to live in a way that is honoring to him, in which I am responsible with all that he has allowed me to have. It's really hard to answer these questions, and for now I'm here, so I'm just going to give all I can to the people here and really learn from them. I still plan to go back home and finish up my schooling, and I'm eager to see how God is going to tie everything together. If there's one thing I've learned so far down here, it's that life is a mystery. We'll never know all the answers, but when some are revealed to us we see that it's with good reason that not everything is in our control.

I did run into a possible job opportunity, however. One of the men who works with the guy in charge of the High School Musical group is looking for a graphic designer. "Someone who's really good," he says. I called him up yesterday and he wants me to come in on Monday to talk business. Ideally, I'd be able to meet with him for maybe an hour a day to discuss what kind of work he wants, and then be able to work on my own time on my computer in the evenings. I'm not sure if that will work out, but I'm kind of excited to have an opportunity to use my design talents and still be able to spend time with the people of La Chureca. Hopefully it all pans out.

So for the last week we've had some intense dance practicing. They found a guy from Mexico who was involved with the Mexican version of HSM, and who knew all of the choreography to every song. If only we'd have had him in the beginning. Next Saturday we're supposedly doing a show, but just of one song, and I'm not sure if it's going to be for the TV or not. But at least it will pay, and then we'll have more practice to try to get six songs ready for the competition in Costa Rica. I was really contemplating quitting the whole dancing gig, but it doesn't take up too much time and it would be kind of cool to be on the TV here. We were in the papers for the third time on Wednesday, but the pictures are never of very good quality. I managed to get a free copy, though.

Last Sunday I got invited to go surfing with Melissa, her brother Brensen, a friend named Eli, and a girl named Deanna who I met last Friday in La Chureca. I couldn't pass that up, so we went for a few hours after church to a beach where Melissa's family owns a plot of land. The waves were pretty small, but I managed to catch a few waves. It was a lot harder than I thought, but I was starting on a 6'6" short board. I never got up to my feet, but I got to a crouching position a couple times. It was a lot of fun, but it wore me out. I don't think I'm the strongest of swimmers yet. It was a fun time, though, and I look forward to getting to know the group better. There's a group coming on Monday from the states to pass Thanksgiving here. Brad Corrigan, who performed the concert in the dump last March, is among those coming down. Hopefully I'll be able to get to know him a little bit and actually have a real Thanksgiving! I am starting to really miss some things about home. Obviously the family comes first. I miss being able to talk with them whenever I want. Now it's hit or miss on the internet. Melissa has a German Shepherd and a Great Dane, and they make me miss Greta, my Saint Bernard. There are a lot of nice Land Cruisers down here that bring back memories of cruising around in my Bronco with friends at Virginia Tech. But in light of all of that, there's no place I'd rather be right now than right here. God's moving and it's great to be here with Him.

Well, I’m safe again for a little while. I have the rent money and a little to work with until I get more from Vinny. I went with Keren today to figure out all the prices for the internet café. It turns out that the five computers, multi-function (fax, copier, scanner, printer), furniture, router, telephones for international calls, and the internet service will total around $6000. We’re letting Vinny know the breakdown and hopefully we’ll have everything in a week or two. Vinny’s going to pay me for a week of work in advance, since I’m a little low right now.

Monday I got my license plates, as well as my “circulación,” which is something like a title. I then went to dance practice, which was really nothing. The choreographer wasn’t there, and we just practiced to see if we remembered everything, since it’s been about a month since we’ve done anything. The dance teacher is apparently really expensive, and they’re thinking about changing her for another one, but they don’t know where to turn. I told them to give me the movie, pay me half of what they were paying her, and let me be the teacher. I could easily do what she did. We simply watch the movie and try to copy it—there’s nothing new or created. Anyone could teach that, so hopefully they’ll let me. That’d be some good money, too. I think she was making like $650 a month while working only three or four hours a week.

I went to La Chureca on Tuesday for the first time in a while, and all the kids wanted to have a turn sitting on my new bike. I took some pictures, but I lent my camera to a friend so I’ll have to post them later. I’m going to miss being there with the kids. Hopefully I can spend some time there in the afternoons and weekends.

Something got me a little bit sick to my stomach, but hopefully it will pass quickly.

funny blip

I forgot to say that when I was following the group out of La Chureca and to the historical sites, the truck with the group got pulled over by the police. I pulled over in front of them too since I didn't know where we were going. The officer looked at me, but didn't see my face, as I was watching him in my side mirror. He talked to Felix, the truck driver, and to the group for a couple minutes and then let them off. I'm not sure whether or not they had to give him a little bribe or not, but I'm glad it wasn't me that got pulled over. I didn't have (and still don't) my license plates or license, but luckily the officer assumed I was Nicaraguan and not a Gringo with the group, and didn't really give me much attention. Tomorrow I'm going to the "dmv" to pick up my plates and maybe get my license if I have enough to pay for it. If not I'll wait till Tuesday or Wednesday when I have some more cash.

Today was just another Sunday. I went with Esmir on the motorcycle to church, bought a few churros to hold me over till lunch, and then followed the orphanage bus to Vera Cruz. There I ate with the kids in the orphanage and later played soccer with them for a few hours. We returned to Managua around 6:00 and ate dinner at a really cheap "comedor" which is just a roadside eatery. I had gallo pinto, which is beans and rice (of course), a really interesting (but good) baked potato, some salad, a taco, an enchilada (chrunchy fried tortilla filled with rice), and a passionfruit juice all for 29 cordobas, which is about a buck sixty. That's where I need to do more of my eating.

finally some futbol

When I said I was going to practice driving the motorcycle yesterday, I didn't think it would be very much. Just in the streets near my house, practicing starting from first and stopping, starting, etc. But boy, was I wrong. I left the fast food joint where I was on the internet (where I always go to write new entries... also where I am right now) and called Abdhie to see what Vinny and the group were doing. Keren answered the phone, and said that they were just about to go visit La Chureca for a little while. I said I'd meet her in the motorcycle and rushed home to get it.

I knew the way, mas o menos (more or less), because I take the bus towards that area of Managua all the time. I only made one wrong turn, but corrected myself quickly and found my way to the back road that winds behind the dump. I found the entrance, the better of the two by far, and slowly bumped my way to the school. Street dogs and kids were all over the path, so it was good practice for me as I made my way to the school. Reina, who is a really nice girl and one of the best nicaraguan friends of my good friend Chez from Virginia Tech, ran up to me and asked for a ride. I said alright, and she got on and I drove (poorly) her to the school. At the exact time we got there the group showed up in a truck. They told me to follow them, but I had no idea where they were going. They started to go out the other entrance, which is always horrendous. I really didn't want to go that way, but I had no choice because they were on their way and I had no way to catch them if I went out the back.

I was so scared. The mud was between two and eight inches deep, maybe deeper in places, with water and trash everywhere. I thought for sure I was going to fall into the mud head first and ruin the bike. A sharp turn came, and I prayed almost out loud that I wouldnt go over. The engine went wild as I squeezed the clutch and slowed to an abrupt stop. A guy standing nearby broke into a smile, and came up to the back of the bike. "I'll push you," he said, and so I slowly started up again and wobbled on down the sloppy mess of a road. Only by the grace of God did I make it through, with a bunch of dump workers laughing at me and helping me when I got stuck. Both of my shoes got submerged in the muck when I had to stabalize myself, and my shins were plastered with mud. La Chureca mud is by far the worst I've ever experienced. you have month old or older rot sitting in the water and dirt, and it is the worst smelling stuff you'll ever see. That's really the only time I was actually scared while driving the bike.

It's only from stories that I'm scared of the people there. I'm not scared of them, but when I was struggling on my way out of the dump, I was scared that they might do something to me. From my personal experience with the people there, I would never dream of anything happening. Just as I experienced in the muddy road, they are kind and willing to help when problems come around. People tell me to be careful there, that they jump you and take all you have, but I really don't think that's who they are. Yeah, they have done it, and yes I try to be careful, but if I treat them as humans instead of dirt, they are just like anyone else. I felt absolutely ashamed of myself for being scared of them. From now on I'm not going to be, because there's no reason to be. If I'm careful and friendly with them, they'll treat me just the same. They are people, after all. And beautiful people at that.

So, I made it out, my legs caked in refuse, and I followed them to some historical sites in Managua. We saw a tomb of a soldier who fought to overthrow Samosa, and also a shrine to honor him after he assassinated Samosa. We also visited an old building that had visible bullet holes in the towers, left from a battle between the dictator's army and the Sandanistas. Vinny gave us a little history lesson, and then we headed to his favorite restaurant: Ola Verde (the green wave). All the food at Ola Verde is organic, which really excites Vinny, but which I could care less about. One girl in the group had a grub in her salad and freaked out. The waiter apologized with great humility, but she wouldn't even accept a free desert or other dish. We all ended up getting a free brownie on the way out.

From there the team went to the market, but I went home quick to shower and rid myself for the moment of La Chureca. Esmir was in the room, so he hopped on the motorcycle with me to meet back up with the group in the market. When I parked the bike, a man said he'd look after it (there's always someone around eager to make a few cents) and wash it if I wanted. I said that would be great, and asked how much it would cost for him to wash it. "15 cordobas," he said, which is less than a buck, and I said, "Dale, pues!" which means "Deal!" in this senario. That was really a blessing. We went in and met up with the group. There was a woman trying hard to sell some hamocs, but I didn't have money (I wasn't going to say this in the blog, but I ran out of money. I guess it was a mistake to buy the bike, because it took much more than I expected to pay. I got it for $800, but some fees that I didn't know about took it up to $890, and then I had to buy a year of insurance in one payment, amongst about another $50 of small fees including license plates and a helmet. At the moment I have only $1.38 in my bank account, and about $6 in my pocket. Don't worry though please, because I'm getting paid about $90 on Tuesday, between my High School Musical gig and my English teaching job. Then I'll start with Vinny in the internet cafe, and I'll have more than enough to live on. It's just the past week or so that I've had to pinch pennies). Vinny really wanted to help her out, so he asked me if I could use a hamoc. I said no, but that I could give it to Lauren, our friend who's down here for a few months. "That works," he said, and bought a hamoc for $5, which would probably feed the woman and her family for a week.

From the market we went to the hotel where the group was staying to meet up with some kids from an orphanage to go swimming in the pool. We got there, and Esmir and I enjoyed a half hour of small talk with two men who were working for Vinny as chofers. I knew both of them previously, but it was fun to get to talk with them about my bike and joke around about my bad driving (on the way to the hotel I had one incident with the clutch that made the bike do a little wheelie and it freaked us out a little). Esmir loves to exaggerate ;) We then had a great dinner in the restaurant, made by a Belgian chef who's live in North and West Africa, Costa Rica, and Belgium previously, but who now has resided in Nicaragua for just a month. It was delicious, and I had a nice, though brief, conversation with him.

The plan was to go to the movies afterwards, but part of the group was going to San Juan del Sur (including Esmir). So, I left early with the truck that was going to San Juan del Sur because the group going to the movies was going to take a taxi, which would be hard to follow in the dark on my motorcycle for the first time. Felix, the driver of the truck, was going that way anyway to go to San Juan so he didn't mind showing me the way. I parked the bike in the lot, and walked to the entrance to wait for the others to arrive. There was a man with autism standing outside the theater saying hi to everyone that passed by and trying to shake hands. Everyone was ignoring him, and some people gave him dirty looks. The security guards seemed to know him, though, and left him alone. I decided to talk to him while I waited. He didn't have a whole lot to say, but he was quite a character nonetheless. Abdhie called me after five minutes to say that Vinny didn't feel well and that they weren't going to come. I said by to my buddy and drove home in the rain. It was just a soft sprinkle, but it reminded me that I still have to buy a raincoat and some booties.

Esmir was gone for the night, and I found myself a little bit lonely. I just read a little in Romans and listened to some good music before bed. In the morning I was going to play soccer.

I got up at 7:45 and got on some shorts and shirt, grabbed my cleats, phone, wallet, and helmet, and headed out to try to meet Esmir's friends to play some futbol. I got there and asked some guys if they knew Esmir, but they said no. I asked if I could play with them anyway, and they said they were full. So, I looked around the place and didn't really see any other group to play with. There were three guys there but they were just sitting in some chairs and smoking, and didn't really look like they were ready to play. I called Esmir and he told me to look for Jorge Roudes. I said I would, and when I hung up the three guys asked me if I was waiting for someone. I said that I was waiting for a group of my friend's friends. It turns out they were who I was waiting for, and I sat and talked while we waited for more to come. They were pretty cool guys, all around my age, but mostly out of shape. They said they studied with Esmir, who they called the "sheep," and asked me why I was here. I told them I was living here for a while working with the people in La Chureca and other volunteer work. They asked me how I got there, and I told them I just bought a bike. When they heard I had just learned how to ride two days ago, they busted up laughing, saying, "Este maje tiene huevos, no frege!" which means, quite literally translated, "This dude has balls, no joke!" It was a lot of fun laughing with them, and later playing. When we finished I followed some of them to a little shop for some beers and lunch. I had lunch, they had beers, and we just chilled for a while. I was a little worried about how much the lunch would cost, but when I asked, they said not to worry about it. That was pretty nice of them I thought. I think it only cost about a dollar fifty, but when you only have $6, that's a lot. I said thank you and headed home.

I'm finding myself strangely calm with the fact that I only have $6 to my name (the $1.38 in my bank account I can't touch because it would cost me more than that to take it out of an ATM). There's someone bigger looking out for me, and I know I couldn't be in a better place than where I am right now. So please, just forget I said I was out of money because I'll be just fine. Money isn't everything, and I have some on the way anyway. Just pray that God will hold me close and keep me on the right path. And also for my brother who just had surgery on his knee. You do that, and I know that I'll be fine. Until next time.

Changes

A few of my friends came down from the states this week. Vincent "Vinny" Rosinni, the founder of Frontier Horizon, came down to check up on a few projects he's working on here. Bob and Graham Young, father and son, came down with a group from OrphaNetwork to do some business, including building a big team house on the Casa Bernabe Orphanage land to be used when big teams come down. It should be ready for the big Spring Break trip if everything works out... but it is Nicaragua remember. Vinny got in on Monday and I went with him to a farm project where they have 38 "manzanas" (manzanas are about 1.3 acres of land) of sesame seed plants. We also went around with Abdhie and Keren, the translators, to different places to look for computers to purchase for the internet cafe that Vinny is starting in Vera Cruz, in the house next to Abdhie and Keren. We talked about the project, and I told Vinny that i was looking for a job with him, whatever he had for me. He said that was great because he was looking for someone to run the internet cafe. So, i got a job for $5 an hour, monday through friday from 8 to 12. that'll be about $400 a month, which will allow me to really live well down here. Good thing, too, because that motorcycle just about took all i had. As soon as i got the job with Vinny, I told my english teaching job that i was finished with them. I enjoyed working with them, but i was only working saturdays, and was making half the hourly wage that i'll be making with Vinny. And with my job at the internet cafe, i'll be working with the kids teaching an internet class for school. I can't wait to build relationships with all the kids of Vera Cruz and the Casa Bernabe orphanage (the orphanage has a school on its grounds where all the orphans study as well as kids from the surrounding town Vera Cruz. There is also another school in Vera Cruz called Corazon de Jesus, where many more kids will come from to learn the internet).

On Tuesday, I spent the morning in Vera Cruz, and visited some friends of mine. First i ran into Amanda, a beautiful girl who's only 15 and getting married in December. I've become good friends with her and her family over the course of my trips and it's so sad to see her make that decision. She was doing well in school, but now she just dropped out of her third year of five years of high school. She says she'll start up in February and try to finish, but now she has to repeat her third year that she had almost finished. I don't think she'll finish high school, but she tells me that she and her boyfriend-fiance are serious about school. I said goodbye to her and went to visit my friend Delma, a girl i met last summer and have been hanging out with since i've been here. She's also 15 and beautiful, but don't worry i'm not dating her or anything. She wasn't home, so I just hung out and talked with her mom for a while. it was really good spanish practice. I told her i'd bought a motorcycle, and she said that her son (Oscar is his name) could help me learn to ride it. She said that he also is the captain of a soccer team in Vera Cruz and that i might be able to join his team. He's a really nice guy, about 24 and married. I then went to Amanda's house to hang out with her and her sister Irana, as well as her mom. I helped them sweep their back yard and we waited for Graham to come over, who'd gotten in late Monday night. Graham came over at about eleven, and we hung for a while, then i went back to my house in Managua to wait for Roger. Roger is a friend of mine who lives in the house next to Abdhie, where the internet cafe will be. He came over to my house and drove me on the motorcycle to the police department to get everything squared away. I got everything paid for, but the license plates wouldn't be ready till the next day, and i still had to have it pass inspection before i could have the plates. So, we drove it to Vera Cruz (he drove) and got soaked in the rain on the way. When we finally reached Abdhie's house, we turned into her driveway and Roger didn't know there was a foot brake, and we didn't slow down enough. We barely missed the driveway, came to a stop, but we were turning and off balance, and we fell into the mud. It was pretty funny actually, and there was no harm done. We got a little dirty, but it was such a slow fall that the bike didnt even get a scratch. I changed clothes and went out to dinner with Bob and Graham. At dinner, i got invited to go with them to Montelimar, and even though i had plans to learn to drive the motorcycle, i just couldn't resist spending a day with the kids at the beautiful resort.

So we left around 9 then next morning, and arrived at 11. We spent the day swimming in the pools, as well as driving four-wheelers on the beach. I had an 11-year-old girl riding on mine with me, and I let her do some of the driving. They weren't very fast, but she had a ball. The lunch was excellent at the resort, but we left just before dinner (an unexpected letdown). I then went with Abdhie to dinner with Vinny. We presented him and some of the people visiting with him with the new Frontier Horizon shirts that I had designed and had made in Granada, about an hour away. He liked the shirt, new logo, and everything, but they weren't very well printed. The good thing was that the shirts were a grand total of about 4 bucks a piece.

I got invited to go to Montelimar again with Vinny, but i really wanted to learn to ride the bike. So, i stayed at my house Wednesday night and left for Vera Cruz around noon. I left with Esmir, because he wanted to learn too, and we decided to take a bus to the market and get lunch first. We ate, and he remembered that he had class in the afternoon that he couldn't miss. So he left for the house, and I was on my own to Vera Cruz. I bought a new type of Churros on the bus ride, which might be my new favorite style. I forget if i've explained what churros are, but they are essentially fried bread with cheese inside. These ones had sugar on the outside, and were much like those fried sugar donuts that everybody likes, except with a slight cheese flavor. It seems like an unlikely combination, but it's amazing. I also like Pico, which is a big triangle instead of a fried stick of bread. It's also filled with cheese, but also with a sugary syrup. It can have sugar or some sprinkled cheese on the outside. Delicious, all of it. Anyways, i got to Vera Cruz, and Roger was building a new cememt driveway for Keren and Abdhie's house. He had plenty of time though, as the cement was setting, and he started her up. He showed me how to put it in first, and said "Go ahead." So i got on and slowly eased off the clutch as i accelerated. It wasn't the smoothest first ride, but i did a short circle and came back to Roger. He hopped on the back and said, "Let's go!" I was a little unprepared, but we went, and he explained as we drove. I shifted into second more smoothly, and then we ventured out into the less busy side of Vera Cruz. I got her up to about 45 km/hr on the good parts of the road, but was constantly slowing down and downshifting due to "policias acostados," or "sleeping police." They have more speed bumps than they know what to do with here in Nicaragua. It was a blast driving. I could feel every bump in the road and felt the texture changes from cement to gravel to dirt. We did a couple loops of the town, and then he took me to a dirt road with car-sized pot holes and puddles. "All-terrain," he explained, was good to practice on. So i took it slow, weaving the puddles and bumps. After that we hit the highway for just about a kilometer or so and went back to the house. I then took it out on my own for a while, and got a phone call...

"Brad, are you coming to the meeting today?" said my buddy Isaias from High School Musical. It turns out we had another meeting for newspaper photos. I said, "Yeah i think i can make it there in an hour." I turned the bike around and sped back to Vera Cruz. I grabbed my backpack and helmet and asked for a prayer from Abdhie's mom. I made it safely back to my house in downtown Managua without stalling once. A success. I took a taxi to the photoshoot, and then hit the sack. I was exhausted.

Now i'm just about ready to take the bike out for some more practice. The police transit is closed today due to a holiday "the day of the dead," not sure what it's about. I'll go in monday for my plates and license. Can't wait.

La Chureca, some thoughts

It’s Hell on Earth, but not for the obvious reasons. Sure, there’s fire everywhere, caused by spontaneous combustion that occurs when the intense sunlight heats mixtures of dangerous chemicals, which creates a dense smoke that makes it hard to breath; there’s the putrid stench of rotting rot, which makes you not want to breath even if you could and wanted to; there’s an abundance of hazards, due to the shattered remains of old appliances, out of order machines, empty bottles, and the like, as well as to dangerous chemicals from batteries, house cleaners, paints, glues, etc.; and there’s rampant disease (in spite of extremely high immune systems) as a result of the poor living conditions such as polluted water, unhealthy diets, the lack of showers and toilets, and overpopulated homes. These reasons would suffice to make someone see why this place is a living Hell. But they are not the real reasons.
As bad, and valid, as the conditions in La Chureca are, the people can, and do, live with them. Granted, it’s not a glamorous life by any means, but the physical conditions are not the most deteriorating thing that one can find slinking and crawling in the shadows of La Chureca. No, for that one must look into the lives—neigh, the hearts (believe it or not, they have every bit as much a heart as you or I if not more)—of the people living there. Most of these have two sides, some more, some only one (those with one-sided hearts are usually young, and are yet to grasp what is going on around them). The two sides are, for lack of better one-word definitions, public and private, or inward and outward, open and personal. Outwardly, the children are usually very lively, running around, playing and laughing, or teasing. But inwardly, these kids have some of the biggest wounds this world can dish out. They are victims of their parents’ decisions, which are as follows: 1. The decision to move to La Chureca in the first place. People come from all over the country to work in La Chureca, where the girls come easy and the drugs come cheap. 2. The decision to drink, smoke, and use other drugs (glue sniffing is the favorite). 3. Finally, the decision to use their kids as sources of income, punching bags, and sex objects.
The parents are victims of their own decisions, we cannot forget, but these children are born or brought into this Hell without a say in the matter. By the age of ten, maybe twelve, these children have been through it all. For the girls that carries a little more weight. While the boys do experience physical abuse, the girls are faced with rape and other forms of sexual abuse from their fathers or from other men in La Chureca. Prostitution is a plague that these girls are pushed into by their own families. From a young age, girls here learn that the only way to interact with men is to try to please their lustful eyes and hearts. What we would call normal relationships almost do not exist between men and girls in La Chureca. For the boys, they go to work as soon as physically able, often before the age of eight. Drilled into their minds is the belief that they will never be anybody, but rather will continue in the lives of their fathers before them, without a shred of self-esteem or value. They learn how to cope, often through the use of drugs and alcohol. There is a shame in this, but it is not strong enough to stop it. Their hunger, pain, and feeling of abandonment and worthlessness are seemingly insuperable.
I guess that in light of all of this, my goal is simply to pour value into these youthful hearts. Value and hope. It starts with value and hope because I still don’t know enough Spanish to really communicate the Gospel in a deep enough way. All I can do at this time is demonstrate His love for them through spending time with all of them. I just started to take kids out of La Chureca on my own, even if just for a brief moment. I don’t really know what my goal is in doing that, but it gives me some time to get to know them better and it gives them time away from all of the mess that they call home. That in itself justifies it I suppose. To me it’s just fun… I almost do it out of selfishness. I want so badly to see these kids change their futures, to see them grab hold of the life that Christ is calling them to, and to accept the love He has for them, which is so often hard to receive.
For me it’s a little easier to realize—I mean the whole world that I come from tells me I’m valuable. I have a loving family, friends, and church; I live in one of the wealthiest places on the planet, where marketing schemes constantly tell me that I’m the only one that matters; and I have everything I need and more as far as living goes. Then I look at these kids, who have broken if not shattered families, who are constantly told that they don’t matter, and who can’t afford even a bite to eat or a new pair of sandals to replace the ones they broke last month. How can God possibly love them? Better yet, how can He love them and let this place exist?
Well, why does Hell exist? It is for the same reason that La Chureca exists—La Chureca, in the sense of the community of people living there, not the trash dump itself. The reason, the real reason, is Sin. And Sin sucks. It ruins everything. Luckily, God has it on a leash, but even so, it has a potency that leaves quite a scar. Living in the thick of it for too long can really do some damage to a human soul. I’m not sure I believe that the damage is irreversible, but it can be pretty darn close. While nothing is impossible for God, nothing is possible without Him. And His ways are not our ways, so I must remember that, even though I may try with every ounce of my strength to change things, the result is ultimately in His hands. And even though it’s often hard to understand how they work, like the question of why do the La Churecas of this world exist, those hands are capable of unbelievably more than I could ever dream up, much less do on my own. Thus, for now I am living with the hope that something wild will happen here, something for which the credit can only be given to Him who reigns over all that is, and was, and ever will be.

Good News, bad news

I'd like to save the good news for the end, but the bad news only makes sense after the good news. I made up my mind to buy the motorcycle, and I went in on Wednesday to check out the prices and see what all would be involved, since i never did receive the call. I decided on the 4-speed, 125cc mensajera, which was the smallest and cheapest they had aside from a little moped which was only $100 less. I made the purchase, also got a helmet, and rode it home while an employee named Rolando drove. I set up a practice time with him, and he said he'd be able to teach me saturday afternoon (today) for a few hours. Well, just like last time, he didn't show up either. So now I have a bike at my house, but I don't know how to drive it. That's the good news and the bad, but now i have some separate happenings that push things towards the happy side.

I had a great time on Tuesday with Christain, the boy from La Chureca. We went to my house, and I introduced him to everyone, and then we went with Esmir to eat lunch. We ate outside a university, and afterwards just walked around and checked out different parts of the school. We saw some judo classes going on, and also visited a reptile farm where there were hundreds of iguanas and turtles. I think it was the perfect place to take him, because he saw where he could go if he kept up with school. He's way behind, 16 years old in just the second grade, but next year they are starting an accelerated program at the school, Lord willing, which is designed to catch kids up rapidly. If he keeps attending and working hard, he'll be able to graduate in four or five years, which would put him just a couple years behind his peers in the rest of Managua. The difficult thing is to help the kids believe that they are valuable and that they were not made for a life in the trash.

On Thursday I took a huge group of kids (seven) from La Chureca to my house. It might have been a mistake, but it was a pretty good experience. We walked about a half hour to the bus stop, and then took the bus for 20 minutes to La Universidad Centro America and from there walked to my house. I told them to all bring clothes to swim in, as well as towels, but none had swimming suits, and only one had a towel, so they just brought changes of clothes. They changed in my room and then we took a bus to Dylan's house. We missed the bus stop and got off late, so we had to walk another 20 minutes. But when we got there, everyone was excited. More good news gone bad. I tell the security guard there that we're just going to use the pool, and he says ok. Just as everyone gets in the pool, he tells us that we can't swim because the pool is being cleaned and the chemicals are too strong. So i get everyone out and dry, and we take the bus to a place for lunch instead. We played for a few minutes in a park, and then took the bus back to La Chureca. It was a fun time, but boy was it hectic. The kids go crazy on the busses, and are so noisy that everyone stares at us... a gringo with a bunch of poor, unbehaved kids, what is going on?

I hope to do more of that type of thing, but this week i probably won't be able to because there are some friends of mine coming down for a week, including Graham and his dad Bob again, who came down during my first week here. I look forward to spending some time with them, but i'll also be busy with HSM dance class and hitting the weights, not to mention figuring out how to get started with my motorcycle.

Adios!

Local Celebrity

I was in the newspapers today! I bought myself a copy and flipped through it without seeing anything, so i didn't buy more copies, thinking i would be in tomorrow's paper. i got home and looked more thouroughly, and there i was on the back page of the sports section with a rather lengthy article to boot. I still can't believe it. The website for the article is
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2007/octubre/22/noticias/revista/222620.shtml. It blatently lies about us, though, saying that there was a two-month audition with a hundred kids trying out and that we were the selected few. That's totally a lie--as you remember, i was recruited off the street. If there was such an audition none of us would have been selected haha.

I finally went to the motorcycle dealership, and asked if there was someone there who could teach me to drive (i figured that for one, this is nicaragua, and secondly, they probably really want to sell their products). Yes was the answer, and they said that a guy would call me in the next day or two. it's now been three days without a call, so i'm going tomorrow to check up on that. hopefully i can get the bike this week.

Esmir and I went out with Dylan on Saturday to TGI Fridays to watch the ball game and get some american food. i got a jack daniel's burger with bacon, and it was the best i've ever had. It wasn't much of a game, but it took care of that little bit of homesickness we were feeling. We met a guy who loves american football, and he says there are leagues we can play in so we're going to look into that for sure. I'd absolutely love to play football again.

Tomorrow i'm taking a friend of mine from the school in la chureca out to lunch and then to my house to hang out. He's 16 years old and a really nice guy. i would like to take a different kid/group of kids out every week or so to give them a time outside the dump and get to know them. their parents pretty much give them permission for whatever, so hopefully i'll be able to do some of that. Dylan and Lauren's apartment complex has a public pool, so i'd love to take the kids there. they can't swim, but it's a pretty shallow pool.

That's pretty much all that's going on... still working hard on that spanish