highlights- drank three gallons of fanta, bat flew into my bedroom(i put on my raincoat and ran for brad), saw a bug that has glow in the dark eyes, started a small documentary for Opportunity International(check them out!), had my videos crituqued by three teenage girls who do not even understand the narrative but was my best crit in grad school, made beens- fried plantines- rice(enough for me and brad to eat for a month), had a mango picked from a tree just for me, took four showers so far(one more to go), rode in a taxi with 6 very sweaty people, got drugs in a paper envolop to make my feet shrink, and still only one bug bite!!!

Death of a Cyclist

Today we met with members of Opportunity International, they are a company that helps organize Nicaraguans on a grassroots level through loans and connections with domestic and foreign markets.  Right now they're working with a group that makes art out of melted down aluminum cans.  There's also a group of yucca farmers that they've helped build a processing plant to coat their yucca in paraffin wax so they can export to Miami and make 5 times the money they used to.  ($1000 a year vs $200) tomorrow we're going to the farm tomorrow to shoot some footage of their harvest.  

Met with our Advanced class.  There's four of them, Marta, Jaclin, Nadiyesca y Alex.  We're going to be making an informative film about pollution in the lake.  People shit in the lake and drink from it the same day.  Nobody makes the connection, I guess that's what the film's for.  

Amanda and I fried plantains and made enough beans and rice to last us the week.  Now I'm at the hostel next door called Hotel con Corazon, it has a bar open to the public so I'm drinking a citrusy mojito and listening to a backpacker sing at open mic night.  (she's covered so far: Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow, Blind Melon....and Neil Young.)  

There was a parade down our street today.  There's a Saint's day practically every day here apparently.   They set off fireworks at all hours of the night, and the day, I've seen many an ambitious mortar shell rise only to have their fiery glory bleached out by the sun and disappear in a wisp of smoke.  Good job.  

People are really into sharing bicycles here.  One person will pedal, another on the handlebars, another on pegs on the back wheel, sometimes holding a baby.  There are lizards all over the walls here.  A bat visited our apartment for a second while we were watching a movie tonight.

This movie:

inside- Church San Fransisco(don't ask)

outside- Church San Fransisco

"Take that door!" (yes the lock to our front door is similar to that used for a gym locker)

Arrival of the fittest

Woke up at 2:30 am to make my 5:30am flight. I made to Nicaragua! Had an amazing dinner at Thalia’s casa. Juligo cooked the best pollo! I asked for water but they realized they had none. So beer it was. When Brad arrived it was like Christmas.