December/January Happenings

It's been a while since I posted...it's been a bit busy here but here are a few notes and happenings from the past month!

December

Natural High (noun): definition: ziplining.

For some reason I have always had a problem with birds. In London, I remember sitting under a tree in a park eating a sandwich with Alyson when out of nowhere a bird gang shows up and tries to steal our lunch. Here in Nicaragua, I was assured, “no our bird never bites anyone! You’re totally safe.” Then he pecked me on the hand with his sharp ugly beak. I think birds are mean. I have to say though, being able to fly is pretty incredible. Ziplining is the closest thing to flying, outside of a plane of course, that I’ll ever do. You get to fly through the jungle at incredibly high speeds overlooking beautiful bays and mountains. We even saw a mama monkey with her baby, just staring down at us strange creatures with our big red helmets. At times I was a bit nervous but instead of breaking and slowing down, I decided to just let go and enjoy it! The place we had our flying adventure is called “Da Flying Monkey Canopy Tour” and they just happen to be looking for a female guide…could it be that my new calling is this? Could I maybe give sex ed classes while ziplining? They’re somewhat related. A helmet is kind of like a condom. If you don’t wear a helmet you get a bump on your head. If you don’t wear a condom you get a bump in your belly. Totally related.

January 5, 2013

Ate my first mango from my very own mango tree. I shared it with two of my neighbors, aged 5 and 10. We ate it lightly salted, as it was still a bit acidic.

January 9^th

“You are an explorer. Your mission is to document and observe the world around you as if you've never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document your findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.”

My exploring days here in Nicaragua are coming to a close. 2 years ago I started this amazing journey and it is 2 months away from being done. It’s so strange. It is something that I had wanted to do for so long and now I've done it. In 2 months I will ring the bell, symbolizing the close of my Peace Corps service and the time to move on to something new. The good thing about life is that although I’m done being in Nicaragua right now, there’s a lot more out there to explore and know.