Haha, i bet you are loving the emails, keeps you knowing we are alive. I was sick yesterday and for most of the morning, but i seem to be recovering at the moment(knocks on wood). I agree that the trip to managua is a must, as does hilary so i don’t think that is a problem. We are meeting some wonderful people , such as this couple from the states. They are abagados and have been living down here for the last year, working with organizations. Humanitarians they seem, and are awfully helpful. Tomorrow is not only my birthday, but the revolution celebrations. I am thinking it is going to be a very interesting day. As for today, i am sitting in this internet cafe, looking out the window at a portion of the street that has been blocked off. They are playing music and volleyball and other games. I have no idea why or if it is even a celebration. But it is all very interesting to watch. As to where i am sleeping, no it is not a closet, in fact the room is fairly large. As is their house. They own a new izuzu rodeo and a four wheeler, and i wake up one morning and it turns out they also use the kitchen as a garage. As you will see from the pictures. I think today is going to be our first day of volunteer work at the schooll. If i feel well enough to go. Everything is going great, and as for the connection…. i think it may be a DSL type thing, because it goes faster then dial up… but we are in central america and it still isn’t what i would call fast. 21 days left according to hil.. anyway
much love
mateo

At Johnís non surprise birthday party, Flo mentioned how she had been bitterly disappointed at not having a bathtub at Concord Park. But her spirits had brightened, she continued, when one of the residents told her that indeed there was a common tub, but that it was located in the basement. Cheered by the prospect of soaking her aching bones, Flo had sought out Nancy, the executive director, to ask where in the basement the tub was. Nancy replied, ìNot only do we not have a tub, but we donít have a basement.î

Bob Lewis, Johnís father, was at that party and told me later that he enjoyed Floís story so much heís now passed it on to , ìAbout a half dozen people. But gosh,î he continued, ìsome people donít get it. They look at me like they are waiting for the next line.î

I’ve been calling Chris my right hand man, but he amends it to, “My right index finger.”
Here we are hiding from the rain in what nearby condo owners are referring to as our home away from home.

Dan Downing
In case others have started to wonder, as I have…

Closest Linda and I have gotten is Costa Rica’s northwestern border, to see the giant turtles laying their eggs on the deserted, sandy beaches on the Carribean.

And here are pictures of the school Matt and Hil are attending.

Hello parents and friends, since there is a limited amount of time that we are able to use the computers, i think i am just going to write one email to all of you at the moment, sorry. lol. Well, my family is possibly the best thing to happen yet on this trip. There are ten of them living with me in my house. The grandmother, mother, father, three brothers, one brothers wife, two children of the brother, one child of the brother’s wife, and another kid whose mother is living in north carolina with two more brothers. The way we have figured it out, they start popping kids out when they are about twenty, and do so every two years for a very long time. The house is actually very nice, and yes there is a shower. However no hot water, but there isn’t any anywhere in Esteli. Today was the first chance i got to take a shower, and it was not as bad as you would think. Any amount of cleaning is very looked forward to by me. God does my hair feel great today. The father is a pastor, the mother is a teacher, and the oldest brother owns a store with his wife. I’m not really sure about any ages, except that the two youngest brothers are 19 and 21, and both of them are currently attending a university. The four smallest children are wonderful, they are the grandchildren or the great grandchildren, depending on how you look at it. The five year old girl, who up until today would not talk to me, is awesome, and turns out she speaks better English then me. She speaks better spanish than any nicaraguan i have met so far, except for bertha. Yes, we have one teacher per child, and we study for three and a half hours every day. It is pretty intense but we are learning a lot, and are getting pretty good at basic communication. Me and hil visited a very poor school yesterday, It really makes you think. Three hundred and twenty students attend, and there are four classrooms. Me and hilary are going to be doing some volunteer work there, once or twice a week. The camera was such a good idea, and you are going to love the pictures that i bring back. Everyone is welcome to write me by email, or snail mail, depending on what you prefer. I would love to get emails from all of you.

This is such a beautiful country, but it doesn’t keep me from missing all of you.
Have a wonderful day.
Always,
Matt

abstudent16@hotmail.com

Hey,
Well, we have finally found an internet cafe that we can use and understand….. kinda.
We made it safe and sound to Esteli and we happened to meet the president of Nicaragua in the airport and again on the plane. It was a very intresting experience. We made a new friend, her name is Bertha and we met her in the airport. She is Nicaraguan and lives in Managua. She was traveling back from a vacation with her family and they seem very nice, I know that you did not want us traveling to Managua but they have offered to let us stay in their house and show us around. They also have a house in San Juan Del Sur that they might take us too. If we go to Managua we would go on our second or third weekend. Second if it is up to me, third if it is up to Hilary. I love the family I am staying with, it is huge. There are ten of them. 11 including me. They are very nice and both me and Hilary really enjoy talking to them….. if you can call it talking. ClassÂ¥s are going very well, although they are a pain in the ass. Our Spanish is improving rapidly but we still have no idea what we are doing. Esteli is a very nice little city, and aside from the daily harassment Hilary receives, it is going very well. Much much love, and I will talk to you soon. As I said phones are few and far between, but you may be able to call my house. If you want to , you should try to call around 8 or 9 ur time. Hilary would like to say something so…
love matt

HEYA! just to reiterate what Matt said, weÂ¥re doing just dandy. His family is really, really sweet, and one of them speaks pretty good English so it’s a) easy to talk with him and b) we learn a lot because he can say a word in English if we don’t understand it in Spanish.
I’m trying to get Matt to go to MIRAFLOR this weekend, LEON AND MASAYA next weekend, and MANAGUA the third weekend. Bertha and her family are really nice, and they tried to slip us past customs, but the Presidents bodyguards wouldn’t let us cuz we had too many bags. Deeply amusing. and when we were confused in the airport in Managua and couldn’t find our driver (because we are stupid and blind) the President helped us out.
We aren’t getting into trouble, so no worries.
Matt is learning a ridiculous amount of Spanish tambien.
adios, much love, and tell everyone we say hi (you could post this in the blog if you wish)
love and Light, Hilary

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Photos from yesterdayís American Repertory Theatre and the Minneapolis based Theatre de la Jeune Luneís presentation of MoliËre’s, The Miser. The best play weíve seen since Amadeus. Sorry Molly. Globe Review

9:30 PM
Diane did the math and decided that Matt and Hil would be calling between 8 and 9 PM. She went upstairs earlier to wait under the covers and I just ran up to say something like, ìWell! Itís 9:30 and they havenít called. Arenít you worried?î And I would have, but sheís snoring too loudly to hear me.
11:30 AM
Fun facts we now know about Esteli, the town Matt and Hil will be spending most of their time. For the home stay families this can be their only income so they are quite grateful for having boarders. They donít have hot water – Matt will miss his lengthy showers – and the families do all the laundry on wash boards. Taxis in Esteli to any other part of Esteli costs thirty-five cents.

Earlier when I wrote about how we were going to the airport, I didnít mean me. Diane and Lou took the kids, stood in line, and waved an early security proscribed goodbye. Diane reports they both appeared happy and confident, and that their leg to Miami arrived an hour early. Matt has strict instructions to call from Esteli tonight, and tomorrow night and at least once a week after that. If he wants to check-in more often, fine, but those are my bare minimum demands.

This turned out to be much harder for both of us that I could have imagined. Diane didnít sleep and when she returned chose the couch in the living room rather than be reminded of her fitful night in our bed. The couch didnít help and now weíre both wondering when our next sound sleep will come. My guess is after his second call when he tells us heís okay, and his voice confirms it.

Outside Hil’s house before the ride to the airport.

Matt’s surprise going away/birthday party was a surprise and from the parent-in-a-corner’s view, a rollicking good time. Now, however, it is 4:30 AM and we’re off to the airport. What a fine, stomach in knots, sleepless night I had. I suspect Diane’s was not much better.

I was working at one of the condominiums when this hummingbird knocked himself silly flying into a glass sliding door. He sat dazed long enough for me to snap his pic from about three inches. When I finished he flew away. The nail heads gives good size perspective.

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Groggy
View from above

I wander the aisles at Idylwilde looking for the tomatoiest tasting tomato. Is it the vine ripened one from Holland, or the hothouse tomato from nearby Bolton Farms or the hard as a marble, pink one from California? I know Iíll be fondling, smelling, bouncing those things for three more weeks before the first native grown tomato is on the market. In the meantime, shinydome, living two degrees further north, has again – how many years in a row is this, twenty? – produced a fully vine ripened one on the 4th of July.
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For those who, like me, thought that rakkity had retired to a life of leisure, fear not, he is back. His Superman and Another Lilly comments have me hoping weíll soon read about his fights with amorous goats and hiking trails even he found daunting.

Wondering where yesterdayís post went? I got so much flack from so many fronts about how I had violated Joeís sacred trust, or humiliated Jen, or just been a downright stupid , uncaring person, I decided to remove it.

And the lilly, well, I didnít think it was my best and then I received this email:
I’m not going out on a limb so you’ll listen harder to my usually gushing praise after my offering purported evidence of having a real ability to critique. Well, okay, some, but not foremost………. But hear me out — the thumb (and thus overall composition) is a blob, the underside glary, the DOF not adequate (or the forms not supportive of the lack thereof), and the clever inclusion of a bud with a blossom reads more like an alien spermatozoa, or a botanical molester or pickpocket sneaking in as positioned. Sorry to be so negative so early, but I didn’t want to be either harsh or mendacious in public on the blog……. Refute me, please………

Looking out Flo’s window.