posada maria la gorda (flaca??)

Estoy quedando en un hotel buenisimo con Shannon y el grupo desde Jinotepe, y es mas facil para escribir espanol, que extrana!! Hoy es nuestro ultimo noche en Nicaragua y estamos llorando llorando lloorrando!! :(( Porque hemos conocido a muchas muchas personas muy amables y chivas y que tienen mucho hospitalidad.. en serioso, en total los regalos que nos daron son mas de se damos. haha! Este hotel esta muy cerca al aeropuerto y tiene mucho caracter - muchos colores y pintados y somos los solomentes clientes - tratando especial!! Hay una television nueva, aire condicional, wireless internet!! (es nuestro primero vez en Nicaragua que no necesitamos hacer cosas muy rapido en un cyber), y por supuesto, DUCHAS!! wow! Los otros grupos veniremos pronto para cenar. LLOORRAANDOOOO

nicanica!

The one block we walk to the hospital (the green building in back). Peaceful, no? :)

Bicycle taxis in our town

The festival for 4 town saints, including ours, San Sebastian!

Granada

Bride, Groom and Granada

Ominous Omotepe

I gotta say... Nicaragua's more real than Costa Rica is. More itself, less untouched. I love it. The only things these two countries share are a border, and gallo pinto (rice and beans). Spanish is even different here, though I've definitely improved (while my English and Chinese have gone to poo). Nicaragua is the poorest Central American (second poorest in the Western hemisphere) country, while Costa Rica is the richest. Shannon and I went to Managua last Friday for parts and by some miracle of God, had no idea where to go but found our way to the small medical store in the middle of the huge capital city by purely asking people on the bus and streets for directions. And they happened to have every single item we needed, which all ended up costing exactly the amount we had withdrawn earlier. Ask me to tell you the full story sometime, it was ridiculously awesome. Afterwards, we found our way to a mall 'cause I was looking for a place to exchange my traveler's checks; we walked in and were literally in amazement. I had to whip out my camera. There was this kiosk called American Donuts and we shared a heavenly guava doughnut. Wow, that was the nicest place we'd been to in a while. We're in for quite the reverse culture shock.

We installed those parts today, and everything WORKED!! We finally put that Olidef baby incubator back into commission with the help of Harold, the head (and pretty much only) tech. They now have a grand total of 2 incubators in the neonatal ward (where we had cleaned and painted the walls of fungus last week - woot!) Now they don't have to squeeze 4 babies into that other one! It's so amazing how they manage.. I really admire all these inspiring people we've met. Anyways, today we also scrubbed in to see a Cesarean (C) section - olymoly, that was crazy. And fast! The baby just kinda popped out crying and squirted stuff everywhere, and our host mother Dra Fernandez caught him. que chivaaa

I've made more friends and attachments here than I expected given my experience in Costa Rica, and almost cried this morning thinking about how much I will miss them. Veronica, the receptionist that took us out to Eskimo (the ice cream company with a monopoly on the country). Lilliam, the gym owner who works us to death. Martita, the crazy nurse that only wants to learn bad words in English. Maria Feliz and the whole host family - Dra Fernandez and Julisa the power pair, and Grandma with her power yawn. Family and family friends, everyone so nice and sad when we tell them we're leaving soon, insisting that we should pretend that we're sick and stay longer, that we're nicaraguenses now. I think I've gotten to know myself better this month as well, since it's been just me and Shannon. We've also obviously gotten to know each other very well too. I don't think it was coincidence that we were partners, and hope we'll stay in each other's lives. We also have no idea what to do for our "nontraditional presentation," that is, anything BUT powerpoint.. telling stories about the random old people party we crashed, danced and drank at? Putting on a puppet show showcasing the 4 (out of 6!) ultrasonic pocket doppler problem children that we were unable to fix? Interviewing hospital staff a la Extreme Home Makeover style? Mimicking the singing and dancing that we saw at the festival of Saints? We'll come up with something gooood. Tomorrow will be busy. Lots of running around tying up loose ends, and hopefully sometime in the midst of it all, I will make my apple crumb pie again. :) That'll be the mark I leave in every country I visit, until the whole world knows about the wonderfulnessss that is apple crumbb pie!!!