Decompressing

On Friday I went into school and S.L. actually told me he thought I needed some time to decompress. This, coming from S.L.? He said he thought a vacation might do me some good. Unfortunately, I didn’t get this in writing, so he may deny it all later. But realistically I don’t think a vacation is in the cards for me right now. What I’d rather do is train for and run the Dallas White Rock Marathon in December :) We’ll see.

It seems to me that the time for this blog is coming to a close. Certain readers (including but not limited to my mom) have encouraged me to continue, and there is a big part of me that is addicted to this blogging thing and would like to keep going. Honestly though, the excitement of my daily adventures back in the US is going to be pale in comparison to life in the jungles of Nicaragua. So, if there are people out there reading this, what do you think? Would you continue to read if I kept going? Please let me know if you have an opinion, either way. Its time for me to make a decision.

Well, now that I’ve had a little time to gather my thoughts about this year-long, action-packed Nicaraguan adventure, I’ve compiled some final observations about the whole experience. What follows is a listing of some major points and nuggets of wisdom that I have been collecting throughout the year.

First, here’s the final count for number of ticks removed: 68

And now, the things I learned:

• There’s always a way through barbed wire.
• It will be better in the morning.
• Hospitals are free, but bring your own toilet paper.
• Wear socks to sleep.
• You can’t be too careful with a load cell.
• Always say I love you first.
• Little ants bite the worst.
• “I woke up and there was a tick on my eyeball.” (Melissa)
• “The @#$%-ing rat bit me.” (Rob)
• This is a nation of people who have a lot of phlegm.
• You’d be surprised at how many things in the forest taste like garlic.
• If you smell something gross in your room, look for a gecko in the doorjamb.
• Those aren’t gunshots, its just the 4am fireworks.
• “The rat has outsmarted me.” (Rob)
• Barbed wire is just a suggestion. The rock wall, now that has meaning.
• “I don’t know why they call them sandals, they’re not very good in sand.” (Rob).
• A surprising amount of people say “Right on!”
• Beware of Nicaraguan Death Cheese.
• Avoid the big rocks with your front tire.
• “Don’t make yourself sick on chismol.” (Melissa, to Rob)
• Try oiling the columns and central thread.
• “Oh God, we’ve finally caught what they all have.” (Melissa, to Rob, after he hacked up a bolus of phlegm).
• “Ay, el hijo de Melissa me mordió!” (Daraysi, after being bitten by the baby monkey).
• There are likely to be live bees in the honey jar and live ants in the sugar bowl.
• If it can be built, it can be built out of concrete.
• Always keep the Toughness Tester battery charged.
• “I think Dalila just called me a blockhead.” (Melissa)
• “Tienes muchas cosas bonitas.” (Eduardo).
• “I am not welcome at TelePizza” (Alvaro).
• “The squirrel just jumped on me” (Rob).
• “Don’t make yourself sick on cabbage” (Melissa, to Rob).
• Costa Rican dogs have thick necks.
• “I’m so hungry I could eat at Papa John’s” (Rob)
• Papa Johns: Mejor ingredientes, mejor pizza.
• Always bring a pen with you when trying to cross the border.
• Don’t try to cross the border on a Saturday afternoon in June.
• “Thank goodness I brought my traveling spoon.” (Melissa)
• “At least the muffins got done and nobody got hurt.” (Melissa’s mom. Actually this has nothing to do with Nicaragua, but I thought it was really funny).
• Nicaraguans are a bracelet-loving people.
• “Chicho is soaking wet because of you” (Rob, when Chicho went to get lettuce for me in the rain).
• Be sure to check your salad for tiny snails.
• “That’s the second time there’s been a snail in my salad” (Melissa).
• “That thing is not going to live in our room.” (Rob, when I wanted to keep a pet snail. That I had found in my salad).
• “I ran into a baby cow.” (Rob, after returning from a bike ride around the entire island).
• “Jesús wasn’t at home, so I left a note under an avocado pit on the table outside his house” (Melissa).
• “My God, I never thought in my entire life that I would be so desperate for M&M’s” (Rob).
• “Dang, I should not have drank the tap water,” (Melissa).

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you’d be interested in reading the non-Nicaraguan adventures of an almost-PhD grad student who may be attempting to train for marathon #6.