Palíos!

Not much to write about today. We had our usual meeting in the morning, where we went over our goals for the future and thing we had learned in the past four weeks. Then it was a quick break for lunch, and now we’re back in Spanish class. I’ve gotten addicted to these things called Chocobananos, which are frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. They’re sold by Lotti, a  woman who is also the host mom to someone in our program. Lotti is the sweetest, and she also enables my addiction by selling the bananas at the ridiculously low price of five cordobas (which is the equivalent of around 20 cents). Lotti also sells these little baggies of milky gelato in a variety of flavors which you can gradually suck out from a hole made by your teeth. Eating the gelato-thingie is a pretty messy business but totally worth the delicious-ness. 

I also went to the gym last night for the first time. We all received free memberships from Nicaragua Mia, our Spanish school, that enables us to use the weight room and the basic equipment. The gym, called Pure, also offers spa services and a bunch of other classes such as kickboxing and yoga. The gym was deceptively far from my house, and I couldn’t find any work out clothes, so I wore old, sweaty clothes from the day before, my PJ pants, and converse. They didn’t absorb any of my sweat, so I looked like someone had poured a bucket of water on me by the end of my workout. Also, I hate it when you keep switching machines because you don’t like any of the ellipticals, but then end up going back to the first one you tried because you begrudgingly admit to yourself that it was the best of the worst. 

Pure!

My favorite equipment...the ellipticals.

I had to say good bye to Barney today! I hate goodbyes and Barney is a genuinely nice guy. Oh well...all good things come to an end. I guess this is a prelude to how it’s going to be at the end of our eight weeks here, when we have to say good bye to Nicaragua, to our group leaders, to each other...

Barney looking sleepy while playing Rummy. 

Now I’m back at Euro Cafe, my usual haunt, enjoying my cheesecake ahem, my block of lard, because that’s essentially what it is. The highlight of my evening is going to be teaching my homestay family how to use chopsticks. Maria Jose had requested I teach her how to use them the first week that I was in Granada, but hasn’t been able to find any in the three weeks since. Last night as I was getting to bed, I had a brain wave; I could just get chopsticks at the Chinese restaurant that I pass every day on the way to Spanish school! They charged me 20 cordoba, which I maintained was exorbitant and told them so, but they insisted that they weren’t the owners and didn’t make up the rules, so whatever. 20 cordoba in exchange for the lifelong skill of learning how to use chopsticks isn’t half bad.