Volcanic Eruptions (or lack thereof)

Hi everyone! Here's a little update on things...

Yesterday (Saturday) was spent exploring Volcán Masaya National Park with Jessica. The volcano was said by the Spaniards to be "the gateway to hell" and the Lonely Planet guidebook describes it as follows: "There's always lava bubbling at the bottom and a column of sulfurous gases rising above; in 2001 an eruption hurled heated rocks 500m into the air, damaging cars and narrowly missing people. The brochure explains that this is 'adventure tourism'... But you have to go."

So, we went. (And I mean, honestly, with a reputation like that, how could we not?) It was a long hike to the top in the Nicaragua heat (as my favorite Nicaraguan expression goes, I was sweating oceans), but absolutely worth it. From the top, we had a beautiful view of Lake Managua, the smell of sulfurous gases (who doesn't love that), and we didn't even get hit by an explosion of heated rocks. Slightly less eventful than I had expected, but all in all, a successful and wonderful experience.

The view...



Lava rocks from the 1700s (slightly impressive, right?)...



As for Managua life, things continue to go well. I made a new friend this past week... He is 70 years old and lives a few doors down from me. He spends nearly every hour of every day sitting in a plastic chair in front of his door. Just sitting, nothing more. But always with a smile on his face. The other day, I walked by and said "Buenas!" as I always do, and he asked me what time it was. And thus began our friendship. Now, every time I walk by, we talk about the weather, what we did that day (I usually have more to say on this subject), and other things that friends talk about. I don't know what his name is (that's this week's goal), but he is quickly becoming my favorite Nicaraguan (especially because my former favorite Nicaraguan, my four year old brother, recently discovered that the bathroom door locks from the inside AND the outside, and has since started playing a game where he locks me in the bathroom every time I use it).

As for the language factor, I've recently found myself having conversations that I would normally care nothing about, but because they're in Spanish, I get completely wrapped up in them. It's almost as if Spanish has become a game to me... it doesn't matter who I'm talking to or what I'm talking about. The only important thing is that I'm talking. (The other day, for example, I got really into a conversation about boxing with my Nicaraguan uncle, and had to stop midway and wonder: who was this girl that suddenly cared so much about boxing?)

Rat update: Yup, they're real. Not just my imagination. In addition to seeing one last week, I also found an empty plastic bag in my room that used to be filled with the Muddy Buddies that Claire sent (Claire: Jason and I ate the first half of it as a reward for surviving the Campo, and we were saving the second half for later, and now it's gone. Discovering that empty bag was probably the most devastating experience of my life.) Prayers that the rats would die are encouraged.

The food: certainly an aspect of life that keeps things interesting here. From the beginning of this abroad experience, I've really tried to embrace all Nicaraguan food and just eat whatever is put in front of me. Though (as you all know) this doesn't come totally naturally to me, I'm not going to lie: I've done a pretty solid job. Only on a few occasions have I not been able to choke something down (last night was one of those times... Doña María Inés brought out hard-boiled eggs mashed with guacamole. Yikes.) In fact, I've done SUCH a good job that this past week, Armando (my four year old brother) said, in admiration, "Kendall, eres una comedora!" (You're an eater!) And my host mom, nodding enthusiastically, added something about being thrilled that I'm not as picky as her students in the past. I forced a smile, but actually felt like someone had just played a big fat joke on me. Had I known all along that I wasn't expected to eat/"like" everything...

Meanwhile, as promised, I finally took some pictures of my street/house to give you all a sense of where I live. Here's a quick tour...

The andén:



The house (it's the middle one with the white gate):



My bedroom:





Our back yard/porch:



This is called the "pila" and it's where we wash dishes and clothes:



Alright, that's all for now! Life here is good. I'm really just trying to soak up the richness of every minute and every experience. I'll update more before I leave for El Salvador this week. Miss and love you all.