First stepping off the plane into Managua I had no idea what I got myself into to but I slowly realized that everything was going to be okay. We breezed through customs, ate an amazing lunch and got real fruit smoothies all with in the first hour. My first impressions of the country were that it was HOT, there was an insane amount of trash on the sides of the roads, and they sure knew how to cook some yummy food. We did a drive through of Granada in our mini bus while making pit stops at the important places, including my house for the 2 weeks. It was gorgeous with about 20 rocking chairs, a loft (my bedroom), and an open garden in the middle of the white tiled floors. First night, my roommates and I needed to cool down so we sat outside rocking in the chairs trying to piece together the stories out host mom was telling us. The next day we woke up at 6:00 am, dressed up in our doctor gear and hit the ground running at the clinic. Let me just inform you that my first patient was not too thrilled with my blood sugar skills but by the last patient that day I probably only misspelled one letter of their name. That first afternoon we veered through almost 100 little islands and even got to see Monkey Island. Day two: clinic and Spanish class. I quickly learned that my Spanish was enough to live in the country and speak to everyone, but not great enough to not be receiving bug eyed looks when I accidentally say soap instead of ham. Wednesday was another clinic day, but I got to shadow the doctors in the nice comfort of the A/C. Later we got to pretend to be potters while spinning a wheel with what looked like toddler art on it. Thursday was very similar to Tuesday and then we finally got to go to Mombacho on Friday! We got chased by howler monkeys, held tree frogs, saw sloths and had a panoramic view of Nicaragua. We even had the chance to go on 11 zip lines through the volcano. One time we even got to go upside. So far, not only has Nicaragua literally flipped my views upside down but also has figuratively. I have been so happy to experience the Nicaraguan culture so far and improve my Spanish. I can see changes in my understanding and in my confidence as a volunteer in the clinic. I cant wait to see what awaits in this next week, sad to think that its almost over.
