"It's actually pretty normal here."

The evening of my first Saturday in Jinotepe, I was feeling a little freaked out. I was running on almost no sleep and I was struggling with a little claustrophobia; I hadn’t been able to go outside much because I couldn’t find my way around or talk to anyone, but what I had seen was overwhelming and scary, especially because of the festival. The lights in the house were too dim, my Internet wasn’t working, it was pouring rain and I was worried that I was going to feel trapped and scared for two months. Culture shock at its finest! But José came to tell us that his best friend was and best friend’s American wife (she’s our age) were going out to a restaurant/pub to see some live music and we were welcome to join. When we walked into Café Negro with Eve and Gabriel, I immediately felt better. I had been scared, honestly, that I would feel dirty for two months, that I’d be questioning food safety for two months, that I would see nothing but heartbreaking poverty for two months. While Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (after Haiti), there are still plenty of buildings that are in good shape and restaurants where it’s safe to eat - I just hadn’t seen them yet. Now I get it, but then, when I explained how I felt to Jenny at the end of the night, it was a big deal to hear her say “Yeah, it’s actually pretty normal here.”

I think that’s why I’ve been having some trouble with writer’s block this week – things are pretty normal! I feel like I’ve settled in and we’ve got a good routine going, so I can’t think of any wild and exciting stories to tell. That, or my brain is so exhausted from all the learning I’ve been doing that I can’t come up with anything worthwhile. There are adventures planned for tomorrow and Sunday, but for those days when I can’t think of anything, I’m requesting your input: What do you want to hear about?