Straight Chillin'

Actually, straight photo opping, but same thing.

So this is me in my new home, the Hostal Cerro Negro. It's a pretty nice place with some hammocks, a television, a kitchen, a garden, a lobby, and a bunch of rooms. It's actually owned by my friend Luis from CIDS (the epidemiology center where I work) and his brother. It's got a good location and the staff who work there are great. I'll post some more pictures in the future.

Toilet Terror

Lemon scented deodorizer

Caribbean Island

Taken on the return flight from Managua to Miami back in November.

Laundering Clothes Not Money

Remember that guy who gets to college and doesn't know how to operate a washing machine, and it's kind of shameful. Well, here in Nicaragua, I am that guy.

Yesterday I did a little experiment in clothes washing with the help of one of the hostel employees. I had never had to wash my clothes by hand before, so I asked for some help. Everyone is like "what?! you've never washed clothes before?!" in that same voice they use in America when they encounter the guy who has never used a washing machine. With some embarrassment, I explained that I never had to because I had washing machines in America.

One of the employees was very helpful in instructing me on how to properly wash clothes. Here is a picture of me in action.
So, if you ever find yourself with me on a deserted island with nothing but some Tide and a bag of dirty clothes to wash, well, we'll at least have that problem handled.

Well, I'm mostly just kidding because I'm still really bad at washing clothes by hand and this picture doesn't let you know just how bad I am. After a while, one of the employees helped me out to get it done a little faster.

The Situation Room

Wolf Blitzer not included.

This is a photo from our trip to Jinotega in a health center. Jinotega is the area shaded in red that isn't text. Those blue regions are lakes Mangua (the smaller one) and Nicaragua.

Signs at the Miami Airport

I felt awkward (big surprise) taking this photo, mostly because I was worried some security guards would come and stop me and confiscate my camera or worse. So I took this without a flash in order to be less conspicuous. As a result, it is a little bit blurry, but not too bad.

So, what is that sign? Further investigation reveals that it is actually the "Duty Free Miami" sign. Turns out the Barack Obama sign has the red and blue switched up.

Fake Champions Sighting!

Okay, I'm probably the only one who actually finds this sort of thing fascinating, but yesterday while in Jinotega, Edgar, Luis, and I stopped to ask a gentleman directions to a nearby health center. The guy was wearing a 2003 Oklahoma Sooners Championship hat. I instantly began mentally scrambling to determine who won the BCS championship that year, but I wasn't really sure. Meredith later confirmed my suspicions and found out that it was in fact LSU who won in 2003, defeating Oklahoma. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture due to the brevity of the encounter. One thing that surprised me is that although the hat was 4 years old, it looked brand new. Nothing in Nicaragua seems to stay new-looking for very long, so I wonder if the NCAA waits a while before distributing some championship gear. That way, by the time it is being used, there is probably less black market demand for it and most people, even sports fanatics, can't quite remember who won so it goes unnoticed. Just a guess.

Anyway, I'm glad to finally have a fake championship sighting! I'll be on the lookout for more.

Zambia Recap Video

There is a Zambia recap video with pictures, soundtrack, and homemade movies available here:
http://www.connect2orange.org/zoe.html

It's in Quicktime format and about 15 minutes long.

It's a blast, so check it out!

Nicaragua and the Superbowl

Sports championship games always have a winner and a loser, but they always make championship apparel for both teams so that the winner can be decked out in merchandise as soon as the game is over. There is still the championship apparel for the team that just lost, which most leagues donate to developing countries.

I've been keenly aware of this fact as I've traveled around the world lately; however, I haven't seen any Buffalo Bills Superbowl Champions hats or anything of the sort yet. Apparently, last year the Chicago Bears Superbowl gear was donated to many countries including Zambia and Zimbabwe, but I didn't see any while I was there.

This year, the losing gear will be donated to...Nicaragua! (Romania too, but I'm not going there). The sponsoring organization is called World Vision. I checked their website and probably will not visit any of the locations where they usually send donations (Nicaragua is large), but if I see anything, I'll be sure to let you know and I'll try to take a picture if possible. Don't get your hopes up too much though; it's pretty unlikely that I'll find any Patriots 19-0 shirts, and by blogging about it, I've completely jinxed that possibility. However, there's always a chance...

Return to Nicaragua

As you know, I went to Zambia in January. The best way to get information on that trip is to check out the OUMC Zambia blog. That covers most of the trip, so there isn't much need for me to write about it here. I had a great time and posted some of the photos on facebook.
The other big news is that I'm returning to Nicaragua on February 20. I'm looking forward to getting back!