Nicaragua

Hello again! I know you are all shocked I am writing again so soon. I am hanging out in a small town in Nicaragua and there is not much to do on a Sunday night so I thought I would write and just let you know how I am doing and all that jazz. After being in Central America for about two weeks, I have to say that I liked South America a lot better. Maybe I haven't given it enough time or experienced enough cities, but the atmosphere up here is just less pleasant. Bianca and I have both found that people are less friendly, there is less to do in the cities and overall their seems to be less of a culture here. In Peru and Bolivia, even in the capital cities, there were people dressed in traditional clothing everywhere we went (including our favorite South American accesory, the top hat for women). Big glittery skirts and sweaters abounded. In Central America there seems to be a lot less tradition. Instead there are a lot of young people who look like they could be going out to clubs in America all day, even on Sunday morning. People don't say hello as they walk past you here, which was a constant in South America. Guys are much creepier here as well. The local way to get someone's attention in both El Salvador and Nicaragua is to make a "chchch" noise. Our friend Sam who is in the Peace Corps does it all the time. He keeps joking that when he goes back to the US and "chch's" a waitress he is going to get slapped. Funny, but probably not far from the truth. We tried to explain to a cab driver that in the US that would be offensive and he asked what we do instead. When we said we just say excuse me, he laughed for a good minute then told us that was a waste of time. Classy, Central America.

We are going to a lake tomorrow to stay in a hostel that over looks the lake and is in an area populated by howler monkeys and other jungle wildlife. We're planning to rent kayaks and innertubes and float around the lake for a while. I am hoping this fun beachy experience will help me develop a love for Central America like I have for South America. After the lake we are heading down to a beach town on the Pacific coast called San Juan del Sur. It is supposed to be beautiful white sand beaches so I am looking forward to that as well. I'll let you know how all those travels go! Hope you are all doing well. It's crazy to think I only have a month left of my trip. The only reason I am not dreading leaving the beautiful beaches down here is knowing I will get to come home to all of you at Christmas, where we can sing carols, have snowball fights and make cookies (I think I am going to bring back the knot-head babies this year) and spend lots of time together. Love you all!