Surfs, Visits and "teta"

We ended up having a fun time in San Juan del Sur. The second hostel we stayed at was a little run-down, but it was good enough for 2 tired beach bums. We tried surfing, but our boards were too long for the very large waves (we got slaughtered!). We asked the rental guy if 7ft would be ideal, but he gave us 7'7 boards when basically everyone out surfing was using a 5 or 6ft board! We still managed to ride a few waves in but we'll know for next time. Food is very cheap in Nicaragua. A big plate of delicious fries at a restraunt right on the beach costs $2.50 and beer that night was $0.75.

We travelled to Managua and stayed in a great hostel while we visited our sponsor kids with Compassion. The first day we met our little boy Norwing and his family. He lives with his mom and sister and his dad left when he was less than one year old. At first he was shy, but by the end of the day he was talking to us and was eager to show us around his home and wanted to know when we would come back. His mom doesn't work much but she sometimes does laundry for a little money. It is really hard to find a job. We took Norwing, his mom and their pastor out for lunch and bought the family some rice, beans, oil and bag of marbles for Norwing. Grant and Norwing played a few games, but Norwing won every time.

Norwing's mother was very excited that we could come. She would cry when she spoke because she was so happy that we were supporting their family and was thanking God that He was taking care of them. Within the few hours we were there, we could tell she was a very loving mother and only wanted what was best for her kids. She bragged about little Norwing for quite some time but it was all true! This little boy is only 5 years old but he is an EXTREMELY bright kid! His mother also informed us that he is in love with every girl that he meets- a ladies man at the age of 5!

In the area Norwing lives in, there are about 120 children that go to the Compassion Project. At the "project" they learn bible stories and memorize verses, they have birthday parties, they get Christmas gifts and receive a backpack with school supplies every January that they are in school, the kids have various evaluations, the Compassion staff visit the houses of the children, and they get medical check-ups.

The next day, we went to visit Maria and her family. Her grandma takes care of Maria and her 11-month-old brother during the day. Maria also has 2 older sisters, a mom and a step dad. Her step dad is a taxi driver and on average makes $3 a day (and supports 7 people on that salary). Maria loves to draw and colour and is very good at it. Maria and her sister sang for us, although Maria was very shy. They have a tiny house made out of some sheet metal and black plastic (it's like vapour barrier). Maria is only 4 years old so she isn't in school yet. We took them to Tip Top for lunch, a fast food restraunt that has fried chicken and a indoor play structure. We climbed around with Maria and her sister and had fun getting stuck on the sweaty slide. We also bought their family some rice, beans, oil, deoderant for the mom and some baby shampoo. In the area Maria lives in, there are about 250 children that are involved with the Compassion project, but not all are sponsored. There are still many kids in the area that need to be sponsored.

At both visits, we were very encouraged to continue our sponsorship. The Compassion worker that took us to both visits said that there are only about 50 sponsor visits a year. She also told us that many sponsors have pulled out due to the recession in the US. The children that lose their sponsor continue to visit the project in their area and the staff try and get them a sponsor as soon as they can. Especially during our visit to Maria's home, it seems like our support is so insignificant because it is only $1 a day. But the kids are very excited just to get letters from their sponsors and if anything we can just pray for them!

On Friday, we left for Matagalpa to visit Grant's friend Ali (named after Muhammed Ali because his grampa liked him). He is an awesome guy who loves music and loves Jesus. His dad is a pastor at their church and his mom makes delicious Nicaraguan food (and gives us lots of it). They are a wonderful family!! Ali has a great sense of humour even though he isn't completely bilingual. On Saturday, there was an ourtreach ministry for about 1000 old people. Some pastors from Puerto Rico are supporting a home to be built for old men and women who don't have families or any way to take care of themselves. (We also have a personal invite to Puerto Rico whenever we want! Yay more travels!) Everyone was served food and watered down Fanta and the old people dragged home a large care-package full of food, treats and toiletries. We had seats with the Special Guests at the front facing everyone and were introduced to the whole crowd. Later in the day, we went into town and bought an English/Spanish dictionary and took Ali out for pizza. Grant and Ali went over the important vocabulary that all guys need to know. Danee calls it the "matrimonio" vocabulary.

This last week, people have been very helpful and expecially in Matagalpa people have been extremely friendly and welcoming! We are treated like royalty at this home!

More adventures

We made it to Nicaragua, after 2 buses and 3 hours at the border. Exiting Costa Rica is the most retarded thing to ever do. There are only a few dudes working at the offices, and even though we waited in line for hours, when we got to the customs building, another 50-100 people got off some buses and pushed in beside us. Everyone in line was pissed!!! There are no signs anywhere of where to go or what you need for the customs officials. None of the border police speak english. We found a tour guide and asked if we needed customs forms and he said "oh, nobody gave you one?!" That was 10 minutes before we went through customs. We walked over to the Nicaragua side where the entry customs official charged us $5 more than he should have (we found out later) then got on "the only bus" for $20 to drive to Rivas. The bus was actually really nice- comfortable seats and a/c. In Rivas, we were planning on taking a bus to San Juan del Sur but again there were "no more buses" even though it was only 3 in the afternoon and the bus from Rivas to SJdS is only 45mins. The taxi driver offered us a ride for $50, but quickly dropped his price to $10...shifty little buggers. Despite the OBVIOUS dishonesty, we took the taxi anyways and found a place to stay for the night. It was $14 with no fan, no a/c, no garbage in the room, shared bathrooms and a little kitchen to use at night. Tonight we are going to another place with a/c, t.v. for $20 a night, we'll see if it is any better.

So we've entered the country of dishonesty...especially when the first 3 people you meet try to rip you off (and succeed at it). Not impressed.

But the past week has been fun. We went to Manuel Antonio for 2 nights and walked around and swam at the national park there. The monkeys and racoons are the biggest threat at the beach because they will steal your bags (almost happened to us!). It was incredibly humid but the ocean was refreshing and lots of fun to swim in! From there we went to Liberia and stayed the night (unfortunately in a very buggy hostel that lost our reservation) because we didn't think we would make the drive in one day. Early the next morning, we bused to Playa Tamarindo and stayed for 2 nights. We were the only people at the hostel we stayed at which wasn't bad-off the main road, a/c and a kitchen. We tried surfing the one day but the waves were inconsistent and would break really close to the beach. Not ideal conditions. We had some delicious, cheap tamales for breakfast and for supper shared a plate of fries, bean dip and a plate of some fried appetizers for only $10! Great deal, we were so full after!

Tomorrow we hope to bus out to a surf beach because although San Juan del Sur is a "surf town," you still have to bus 30-120 minutes away to get to any good waves. We thought we would come here for Christmas, but every hostel we ask doesn't know what the prices are 3 weeks in advance. Quality service. Apparently prices double, but who really knows! Every day is a new advneture...