Here are displayed a few pieces of some artwork as seen in the guesthouse in Granada.
small and big details of our life in the U.S. after life overseas
Monday, July 27
Tuesday, July 21
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
We had quite the exciting night this past Friday.
For those of you who have lived under a tin roof, you know how loud everything sounds that hits the roof....cats, rain, balls, etc. Trying to have a conversation during a downpour is literally impossible due to the sheer noise.
About 2 am this past Friday, I heard a few thuds on the roof. Sleepily, I thought it was the neighborhood cats fighting across the roofs again. But as the thuds continued, I realized that the cats were either extremely fat, or the noise was created by men. With a start I sat up and listened closer. Then there was shouting and more noise that sounded like lots of people running across our roof, back and forth between our bedroom and the boys. I woke Steve up and he listened as well. Were they teenagers having a party above us? Suddenly flashlights shone above, and more shouting. What was going on, we wondered? We turned the outside light on and continued to listen to all the shouting. I went out to the front door and opened it up to find most of our neighbors, along with several policemen and security guards, out in the street in front of our house.
The scary part is that our bedroom and the boys' bedroom opens up to our little patio (or garden), and we, as well as the police, thought that the teens had jumped off our roof into our patio. From the picture above, you can see the boys' bedroom door on the left, and the patio with the back wall of the house. The teens and police were running on the roof at the left. Our bedroom door is directly to the left of where the picture is taken.
So here is what happened: 3 teenagers were trying to break into one of the houses, either ours or a neighbors, and the night security guard spotted him and gave chase, along with a number of police officers. 1 of the teens feel through our neighbors roof, while the other 2 got away. The police actually shot at the kids...the neighbor showed us the holes in his roof where they shot!
Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep the rest of the night. Zachariah woke up as well, although Nathaniel slept right through it all.
We are glad that we have, almost without fail, locked both of our bedroom doors at night, and have bars on the windows (like all good nicaraguan homes).
We praise God for His protection!
Vacation in Granada
Zach has a week off from school the second week of July (similar to Christmas vacation but this falls in July since the school year runs from February to November), so we took the time for a 3 day vacation to Granada. Granada is an old (one of the oldest cities in Central America, founded in 1524) and beautiful city south of Managua, on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, an immense lake known for it’s size and freshwater sharks. Granada is a big tourist spot and frequented by quite a large number of Americans and Europeans…the sheer number of white faces was a bit of a shock for us, as was hearing English spoken on the street.
We stayed at a guest house instead of a hotel, hoping that it would be a more conducive environment for the boys. The guest house was very nice and mostly empty, which was great. There was a small pool and breakfast made fresh every morning.
The first day we went to the lake, and were hoping to go for a swim, but the beach was very dirty and disgusting, so we opted for the numerous kids parks nearby. On our way back from the beach we spent some time on the scenic route due to a navigational error (or as Pooh would say, a long explore). Then we took a walk down the main street, with all it’s restaurants and brightly colored shops, and ate supper at an intriguing Italian place, which once again, we had all to ourselves. The waiter, like most Nicaraguans, enjoyed our boys and was thoughtful enough to introduce a wooden horse and chair for them to play on so mommy could eat her meal.
After supper we returned to our rooms and went to bed, only to be awakened around 10 pm by the security guard (which is never a good thing). He announced that some kids had broken out a window in our Jeep, which was parked on the street after our host insisted it was perfectly safe to park there. The guard had scared the kids off, fortunately, so the only damage done was the back window. We then parked our Jeep in the garage around the corner for the remaining of the trip.
Here is shown the window that they broke.
The next day we went on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city, complete with complete historical details given by the driver. He was a jolly fellow and after the circuit was willing to take us anywhere we wanted (I think the drizzling rain helped this along).
The day ended with us getting take-out from a Mexican restaurant, only to be stranded in complete darkness on our way back to the guesthouse. Being somewhat used to black-outs here in Nicaragua, we had brought a flashlight, but had left it back in our room. So we stumbled our way back to the guesthouse and ate our dinner by candlelight, next to the pool.
The next morning we had lunch at a waffle house, where they make the best pecan waffles ever!
Across the street is the very old Franciscan convent, build in the early 1500's.
Overall, it was a tiring trip, as most vacations with kids tend to be, but being a history lover, I really enjoyed seeing all the old churches/convents/prisons and getting a tour of the city. Next time, I plan to bring a babysitter!
Below is a picture of the cathedral Guadalupe. You would never believe how beautiful the inside of the church is...the driver of the carriage told us the Nicaraguans refuse to renovate the outside, however. Who knows why?
Below is the old hospital....rumors are someone plans to turn it into a 5 star hotel.
The sign above is located on the wall of the church, seen below. It says, the Xalteva church was reconstructed after the 1890 earthquake, and finished reconstruction in 1895.
And below is the best place to stay, according to our carriage driver, complete with chocolate shop. The Hotel Dario.
We stayed at a guest house instead of a hotel, hoping that it would be a more conducive environment for the boys. The guest house was very nice and mostly empty, which was great. There was a small pool and breakfast made fresh every morning.
The first day we went to the lake, and were hoping to go for a swim, but the beach was very dirty and disgusting, so we opted for the numerous kids parks nearby. On our way back from the beach we spent some time on the scenic route due to a navigational error (or as Pooh would say, a long explore). Then we took a walk down the main street, with all it’s restaurants and brightly colored shops, and ate supper at an intriguing Italian place, which once again, we had all to ourselves. The waiter, like most Nicaraguans, enjoyed our boys and was thoughtful enough to introduce a wooden horse and chair for them to play on so mommy could eat her meal.
After supper we returned to our rooms and went to bed, only to be awakened around 10 pm by the security guard (which is never a good thing). He announced that some kids had broken out a window in our Jeep, which was parked on the street after our host insisted it was perfectly safe to park there. The guard had scared the kids off, fortunately, so the only damage done was the back window. We then parked our Jeep in the garage around the corner for the remaining of the trip.
Here is shown the window that they broke.
The next day we went on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city, complete with complete historical details given by the driver. He was a jolly fellow and after the circuit was willing to take us anywhere we wanted (I think the drizzling rain helped this along).
The day ended with us getting take-out from a Mexican restaurant, only to be stranded in complete darkness on our way back to the guesthouse. Being somewhat used to black-outs here in Nicaragua, we had brought a flashlight, but had left it back in our room. So we stumbled our way back to the guesthouse and ate our dinner by candlelight, next to the pool.
The next morning we had lunch at a waffle house, where they make the best pecan waffles ever!
Across the street is the very old Franciscan convent, build in the early 1500's.
Overall, it was a tiring trip, as most vacations with kids tend to be, but being a history lover, I really enjoyed seeing all the old churches/convents/prisons and getting a tour of the city. Next time, I plan to bring a babysitter!
Below is a picture of the cathedral Guadalupe. You would never believe how beautiful the inside of the church is...the driver of the carriage told us the Nicaraguans refuse to renovate the outside, however. Who knows why?
Below is the old hospital....rumors are someone plans to turn it into a 5 star hotel.
The sign above is located on the wall of the church, seen below. It says, the Xalteva church was reconstructed after the 1890 earthquake, and finished reconstruction in 1895.
And below is the best place to stay, according to our carriage driver, complete with chocolate shop. The Hotel Dario.
Monday, July 6
Honduras
If you haven't heard about the dangerous situation in Honduras, you need to find out!
Here is a link to a website detailing what has happened and how to help.
www.helphondurasnow.com
Please....do not think that you cannot do anything! Praying for peace is good, but acting for peace is even better!
Here is a link to a website detailing what has happened and how to help.
www.helphondurasnow.com
Please....do not think that you cannot do anything! Praying for peace is good, but acting for peace is even better!
What color am I?
As Steve and I were driving to the grocery store today, I noticed a few white guys standing on the sidewalk.
I pointed to them and said to Steve, Hey, look at those white guys! They sure stand out, don't they? (we don't see very many white people here) and then suddenly it hit me....
That is how WE look when we are out and about, walking to the park, doing our grocery shopping or just going for a stroll. I had become so comfortable here, so at home, that I forgot how different we actually look. I had actually forgotten that I was white!
I pointed to them and said to Steve, Hey, look at those white guys! They sure stand out, don't they? (we don't see very many white people here) and then suddenly it hit me....
That is how WE look when we are out and about, walking to the park, doing our grocery shopping or just going for a stroll. I had become so comfortable here, so at home, that I forgot how different we actually look. I had actually forgotten that I was white!
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