July 15, 2014

I know that I am blogging more than usual, but I continue to be involved in interesting things that I need to tell you about.
I am terming yesterday my Nica Day. It was filled with known and unknown things that I have learned to identify with Nicaragua.
I woke up anticipating a full day: breakfast, devotions, skype, grocery shopping, Bible study with friend, cooking for dinner guests, teaching an English class, 30 people over for dinner, clean up and back to bed.
I got up, Stephen made breakfast while I tried to get some emails and Duolingo out of the way; then we ate and did devotions. We Skyped with Stephen’s mom at 9 AM, and I planned to pick up a friend at 10:30 for a trip to the grocery store. She called and hung up, which meant that she did not have minutes on her phone and I needed to call her. We had to postpone the time 30 minutes , but I figured that timing would okay for me to meet for my Bible Study at 12:30-recalculating.
I picked up Fatima for shopping, and we headed to the local grocery store where we picked up the ingredients for jalapeno chicken for 30 people. Unfortunately they did not have chicken at the store so on to the “gringo” store where we spend more on chicken than we did on the rest of the ingredients, drinks and supplies-recalculating.
I dropped Fatima off, knowing that she will be coming to my house at 2 to help me cook the dinner (actually I was helping her). I got home and unloaded the groceries knowing that any minute I would hear from Kelsey about our Bible study. She called; she had had a good but challenging week and needs to cancel- recalculating. Now I had some more time for the usual things- house, food, correspondence, etc. I also was home to find out that Daysi (our cleaning lady) had a birthday the day before, so I pulled banana bread out of the freezer for an impromptu celebration.
At 2 Fatima showed up, and we got right to making a Nicaraguan feast. I now know how to make a great jalapeno sauce, delicious sauce for chicken, and tostones (plantains) using a wine bottle. I was hot and sweaty, but had enjoyed good time of conversation, making a great meal, and learning new things.
At 3:30 I was expecting to have my first English lesson with a neighbor woman. She did not show up- recalculating. Actually, I was secretly happy because it took every minute from 2-6 PM to be ready for dinner.
As people arrived I ran upstairs to take a quick shower. In a country where it is hard to look put together because of the heat and humidity, I did the best I could, and then joined the guests downstairs. Our guests were the men is Stephen’s Bible study and their families. It was great to see them enjoy the time together, the meal, and share what they have learned over the past eight weeks. We also got to celebrate an overwhelmed, young mother’s birthday, honoring her in the Nica birthday sing-along.
At the end some left on bikes, but most piled into the pick-up we have been borrowing, and Stephen played taxi driver and drove them home. One couple stayed and helped me clean up and keep me company-recalculating. If they only knew that as an introvert, I was very ready to be alone. I am sure though that for people who live in small homes with multi-generations it is strange to be home alone in a large house.
This is a country where plans change all the time, nothing really starts on time, there is no guarantee that you will get what you are looking for, but the people are thankful, considerate, and gracious. I have a few things to learn from them.