A Sunburned Country

So, I've finally passed the one week mark of being in Nicaragua. It has been such a crazy week that it feels more like lots and lots of weeks piled into one. Saying goodbye to my parents in the airport felt like years ago (well, it was 2008) and I can't believe it's already the 10th.Nicaragua is, for lack of a better word, amazing. I'm still in the adjustment phase where nothing seems easy and everything seems foreign, but I've been told that's normal. Today, I went over to Maddie's house. She's the other volunteer here and she's staying in a town called Sabana Grande, which lies just on the outskirts of Managua. There's a lot to do here. On our walk from the bus stop today we stopped at Eskimo Ice Cream and I got a jumbo cone because I have been deprived of ice cream since Christmas. It tasted a little different, but ice cream is ice cream right? I may have to stop and get another cone on my way back to Tipitapa tomorrow.
The food here is pretty good. Rice and beans are a staple at almost every meal, and they also have plantains. Plantains look like bananas but don't taste anything like bananas. They are pretty good, though. They grow a lot of foods here. Bananas. Plantains. Pineapple. Watermelon. Peanuts. All the good stuff. I have to admit that I've been craving some American food, like pizza. Mac and cheese. Even yogurt. Things I took for granted in the States.
Anyway, I'll report more here later this week and I promise I'll write about more than just the food and weather. I'm also hoping to download some pictures on here pretty soon. Until then....