I need a ladder to kiss you

A few weeks ago C.J. and I were joined by 4 new volunteers from University of Dayton, Ohio: Pete, Matt, Dan, and Anna. The Dayton kids decided that they were going to take a trip to Granada this weekend and we figured it was a good opportunity to go, since Granada is a must see tourist spot in Nicaragua and we enjoy our travels 10 times more if we have other people to hang out with besides ourselves. Even for our honeymoon, we made sure we went to a resort with lots of young, fun people (mostly other honeymooners) to hang out with. So, we headed off to Granada on Friday afternoon, picking up Vince, another Dayton guy, in Managua on the way.

We got in to our hostel at about six on Friday, and fortunately there was a private room available for me and C.J. - it even has a bathroom (without a shower, but hey... better than nothing). I am just not a fan of the dorm living, we´ve done it twice so far, and I am definately more than willing to pay the extra cash to not have to change in the shower and to be able to wear whatever I want to bed. I think it was like $4 bucks more, so really a no brainer. Our hostel is actually quite nice, after all it is called Oasis. They have free internet, free coffee and tea, a cool little pool, and lots of seating areas and hammocks in the courtyard. There are also tons of young people around to chat with if you feel inclinded. Those college boys like to take advantage of this feature, but I haven´t really. This is partially due to the fact that I started a cold on Friday and my voice is all scratchy. I just don´t like the sound of it, so I´ve been keeping it to myself.

Yesturday, Saturday, we took a bike tour of the city. Granada is right on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, so we rode through the park and along the lake which made for a quite scenic and idealic ride. We took lots of breaks for cervesa and mojitos and just enjoyed how awesome the weather is. Well, it was actually a little too hot, but I would trade that for rainy anyday. We had a few bike problems, namely C.J.´s chain kept falling off, so Matt, C.J., and I headed back a little early. That part was the most grueling because C.J. couldn´t stop pedaling or his chain would fall off and he was on a pretty hard gear. All three of us were drenched in sweat when we finally stopped for tropical fruit smoothies. Those were quite tasty.

As we were heading to the bike shop we noticed a cute little shop that sells cigars, hand made in Granada, and.... CUBA. We were pretty excited for the prospect of smoking Cubans, so we picked up a few for the evening. Strangly, the cigar shop did not sell lighters or cutters, so we went in search for those around the city. We found a really cool lighter that flashes red and blue lights whenever you use it, but we couldn´t find a cutter. As a result, when it came to cutting the cigars I mutulated mine in a way that is too disrespectful to the anyone who loves cigars that I can not even mention it in the blog. And then, since the tobacco was then spilling out the poorly cut end, I just decided to smoke it backwards. This was working for a while, but then at some point my cigar went out and could not be relit. I realized the magnitude of my error when I smoked some ofMatt´s and discoverd how much smoother it is when you actually smoke it right. So basically, my first attempt at cigar smoking was somewhat botched, but still fun and flavorful... after all, it was a Cuban.

After a late night of Flor de Caña and Cubans, the group rallyed for a mornining trip to the tobacco farms for a canopy tour. Since I´ve already done the canopy thing twice, I decided to just chill here and do a little shopping. I was in the market for a new shirt since I always feel like I have no cool clothes. Pretty much all I have are boring t-shirts and polos, because as C.J. told me when we were packing for Nicaragua "It´s not like we´re going to be going out." This has of course proven to be completely untrue. Unfortunately, I am a really bad shopper. This problem is enhanced by the fact that the shop owners in Nicaragua hover and stare the entire time you´re in their store. This, I cannot stand. The other problem today was that I was so sweaty from walking around in the heat that I couldn´t imagine trying anything on, if they even had a changing room, which is unlikely. So, I came back empty handed, which is typical. I have yet to buy a single article of clothing in this country.

The walking around was nice though. There are a lot of markets open, and in central park I stopped to pet some cute little kittens. The woman tried to sell them to me, but I quickly explained that I already have FOUR cats a home, and therefore do not need any more. Speaking of which, our kittens are getting cuter every day and have started running around and playing this past week. Anyway, walking around Nicaragua alone makes me an easy target to all sorts of cat calls and harassments. Depending on how they´re said, they can be amusing or infuriating. Normally, I think the stuff guys says is funny, though I have to pretend I don´t hear or understand what they say, because looking, smiling, or laughing just encourages their behavior, which to be honest is quite disrespectful. I guess I´m too light hearted because I get a kick out of it sometimes, especially when someone says something creative. I´m kind of used to the "mi amor" (my love), "muñeca" (doll), "chela" (fair skinned girl), "mi corazon, preciosa, bonita, guapa..." (my heart, precious, pretty, beautiful), but today I got one that really made me laugh (on the inside of course) -"Una escalara necesito besarte" which means "I need a ladder to kiss you". I´m sure he thought I wouldn´t understand, but 11 months has taught me a little español and I couldn´t help but crack a smile. Ah, well, I never did have much of a poker face.