Well, first of all, I'm no longer in Managua....Second, although I do occasionally follow happenings there (especially now, with all the post-election violence and instability), I just don't have the time to maintain this blog.
As many of you well know, I'm up to my eyeballs learning Bulgarian. So, my hopes are, in the future, to start a similar site dedicated to Bulgaria, and our future plans in Sofia. So....it's been a fun ride, and I will leave all of this material up for posterity. Likewise, I will link up my new Bulgarian blog in the coming year (once I get my head wrapped around the past-perfect tense and the subjective voice of the Bulgarian langauge!)
Managua will always hold a dear place in my heart. It was the best of times, the worst of times, to paraphrase an English master.
Va pues!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A New Beginning in the US!
Congratulations to Barack Obama and the rest of our country. A change is gonna come! Now we can 'reel in the years' of Bush mismanagement and move forward!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Turtle Man
Since I'm a stone's throw from Kentucky, I'll give you a little taste of the Bluegrass State's own Turtle Man...Enjoy!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Last Post from Managua
Well, I sit here enjoying a little champagne....err, well, Nica-champagne from Pricemart. It's the best I can do, and I guess that's the theme for anyone living in a place like Nicaragua. It's been good, it's been bad, it's been sobering. Ironically, I've spent as little time possible in that state of mind, but it's inevitable that you learn a lot from an experience, such as living here.
Sure, you'll run across people that tell you it's paradise in Nicaragua, but I think they're wrong, at least partly. Before you argue with me, consider....there are beautiful people, places, and things to do here. But, in the end, the heaviness of the poverty trumps everything. I'm confident Africa and other locales are much worse, but for me, right now, I've had enough for a little while. So....I leave tomorrow with a sobering experience...
I wonder what healthy perspective I will have 2 weeks from now, as I dine off of the fat of the land to the north??
Thoughts, comments?? I know that some of you that read this drivel have actually lived here as well. I'd love to hear your final thoughts as you left...and how your memory serves you after returning to a 'normal' Western world....
Sure, you'll run across people that tell you it's paradise in Nicaragua, but I think they're wrong, at least partly. Before you argue with me, consider....there are beautiful people, places, and things to do here. But, in the end, the heaviness of the poverty trumps everything. I'm confident Africa and other locales are much worse, but for me, right now, I've had enough for a little while. So....I leave tomorrow with a sobering experience...
I wonder what healthy perspective I will have 2 weeks from now, as I dine off of the fat of the land to the north??
Thoughts, comments?? I know that some of you that read this drivel have actually lived here as well. I'd love to hear your final thoughts as you left...and how your memory serves you after returning to a 'normal' Western world....
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Mixed Emotions
I'm not the only one......with mixed emotions (so goes the song)[Keith + Mick]
Yep, Managua is almost in the rearview mirror now. There are two prevailing groups of people that we encounter these days, the ones that we've shared our lives with the last two years, and the ones that we're about to reunite with.
As for the latter, this part is easy.... We'll soon be with friends and family, recounting our 2 years apart, catching up and retelling stories, showing our sons the things and people that they've been missing. Filling in the blanks on those that we hold dear....our American roots, the people, places, and things that make up who we are/were/and will be.
The leaving is the hardest part though. On one hand, I feel the excitement of the move, the cleansing of the soul, not to mention all the excess 'stuff' that we've eliminated from our lives. But, as the days wear on, we say goodbye to more and more people, to folks that we've shared our lives with, to those that have merely made it easier. Nicaragua can be a rough place. Aside from all the beaches, cocktail parties, and so forth, I'm leaving behind a country that is much worse off than it was when I arrived. This week, I'll say goodbye to our gardener. You can see the stress in Juan's eyes, as he contemplates his future without ready employment. In a country with over 40% unemployment and booming inflation, he's about to enter an insecure world, free of grass clippings and a steady salary. In truth, there are thousands of Juan's in this country, and after a while, you begin to deaden inside a little bit.
On a more personal note, last night we said goodbye to perhaps our closest friends here in Managua....a family with which we've shared the good times, along with the bad. It didn't hit me until last night as we were leaving....this is a tough life that we are leading, traipsing through the world, making friends, saying goodbye...a cruel cycle for the sentimental. So it goes.... I'm not good at saying 'goodbye', because there's a sense of finality that I believe only comes with death. For that reason, I refuse to succumb to the idea that I'll never see them again. Indeed, we've already began preliminary plans to reunite in either Bulgaria or the United Arab Emirates (their probable destination). Not burdened (too much) by our Spanish language deficiencies, we've spent many a hazy Sunday sitting on their porch, sharing our life experiences, while watching our children grow up, literally. I can remember our sons, as they first met, marveling at a grasshopper toy that they both coveted, and the subsequent 'meeting/evaluation of the parents' that followed. An essential guide to Managua social life for expat parents, socializing through our children necessitates finding adults that you enjoy being around. In some ways, I felt more akin to them than some of my own compatriots here. Today, they leave for their native Spain. They will be sorely missed.
So it goes....in a bit, I'm heading out to say farewells at Brodie's preschool, a despidida, as they say here. There will be cake, songs, a celebration, and other fanfare. But, at the end of the day, it will yet another 'goodbye'. Our son has finally begun to show signs that the move is affecting him as well. He hasn't been himself the last couple days, and we suspect that the heaviness of knowing that he won't see his friends is weighing him down. Sure, he'll enjoy the cake and festivities, but I know, deep down, his heart is heavy. For that, mine is too...
Yep, Managua is almost in the rearview mirror now. There are two prevailing groups of people that we encounter these days, the ones that we've shared our lives with the last two years, and the ones that we're about to reunite with.
As for the latter, this part is easy.... We'll soon be with friends and family, recounting our 2 years apart, catching up and retelling stories, showing our sons the things and people that they've been missing. Filling in the blanks on those that we hold dear....our American roots, the people, places, and things that make up who we are/were/and will be.
The leaving is the hardest part though. On one hand, I feel the excitement of the move, the cleansing of the soul, not to mention all the excess 'stuff' that we've eliminated from our lives. But, as the days wear on, we say goodbye to more and more people, to folks that we've shared our lives with, to those that have merely made it easier. Nicaragua can be a rough place. Aside from all the beaches, cocktail parties, and so forth, I'm leaving behind a country that is much worse off than it was when I arrived. This week, I'll say goodbye to our gardener. You can see the stress in Juan's eyes, as he contemplates his future without ready employment. In a country with over 40% unemployment and booming inflation, he's about to enter an insecure world, free of grass clippings and a steady salary. In truth, there are thousands of Juan's in this country, and after a while, you begin to deaden inside a little bit.
On a more personal note, last night we said goodbye to perhaps our closest friends here in Managua....a family with which we've shared the good times, along with the bad. It didn't hit me until last night as we were leaving....this is a tough life that we are leading, traipsing through the world, making friends, saying goodbye...a cruel cycle for the sentimental. So it goes.... I'm not good at saying 'goodbye', because there's a sense of finality that I believe only comes with death. For that reason, I refuse to succumb to the idea that I'll never see them again. Indeed, we've already began preliminary plans to reunite in either Bulgaria or the United Arab Emirates (their probable destination). Not burdened (too much) by our Spanish language deficiencies, we've spent many a hazy Sunday sitting on their porch, sharing our life experiences, while watching our children grow up, literally. I can remember our sons, as they first met, marveling at a grasshopper toy that they both coveted, and the subsequent 'meeting/evaluation of the parents' that followed. An essential guide to Managua social life for expat parents, socializing through our children necessitates finding adults that you enjoy being around. In some ways, I felt more akin to them than some of my own compatriots here. Today, they leave for their native Spain. They will be sorely missed.
So it goes....in a bit, I'm heading out to say farewells at Brodie's preschool, a despidida, as they say here. There will be cake, songs, a celebration, and other fanfare. But, at the end of the day, it will yet another 'goodbye'. Our son has finally begun to show signs that the move is affecting him as well. He hasn't been himself the last couple days, and we suspect that the heaviness of knowing that he won't see his friends is weighing him down. Sure, he'll enjoy the cake and festivities, but I know, deep down, his heart is heavy. For that, mine is too...
Monday, June 9, 2008
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