Kittens and touring schools

This is Elise.  It is a different world here.  Going from a place where people buy organic treats for their pets to a place where people don't have money for an $8 flea and tick bath is an adjustment and it will take time.  The lady we got the kittens from lived in an incomplete house, missing some windows and nearly all of the finishings one would expect for a home.  She was feeding these very young and tiny kittens hard, dry adult dog food and they don't have the teeth to chew.  They were covered in ticks and fleas and had worms.  We can't find any kitten food but we are giving them canned food and treating them for parasites.  A far cry from the animal shelter in Austin where the strays are well cared for.  Sierra is worried that her kitten isn't that cute but I assured her it would get cuter as it gets healthier and its coat fills in and gets shiny.  The smiles on both the girls faces as they went to sleep last night makes it all worthwhile.

Tikka, Sierra's kitten

Tibbs, Zoe's kitten

We toured two private schools yesterday, one urban and one rural and liked them both. The rural school doesn't have any girls in 4th grade for Sierra which was a bummer since we liked it more. Good news is both private schools have small class sizes with a lot of personal attention. We are going to drive south to San Juan del Sur in the next few days to check the schools there as well. We want to be sure the place we pick is without regrets.

In town school

Rural school
 

Granada's slower pace

This is Mike...

This produce was delivered to our house for $3.80

It's difficult to convey the differences between "Big cities" anywhere, and colonial towns. Our children feel the energy in the streets, hear the obnoxiously loud music, and smell the aroma of spices and cooked food wafting in the air. Our children also watch out for potholes in the sidewalk, the occasional passed-out pissed-on drunkard, and other similar nuisances while walking. This isn't a warmer version of Kansas, this is somewhere totally different. Most businesses here have zero internet marketing and yet still connected to WiFi. This is a land of beer deliveries, produce deliveries, anything deliveries. As long as a human can do it, it will be done for a fair price, meaning they can feed their families and you get a good deal. No droids, bots, drone deliveries, needed here.

Beer Deliveries made easy.

Eggs taste so different here, that it makes me wonder why there is such a difference with our eggs in the states. Zoe had some pineapple yesterday and said, "Oh my gosh, it tastes better than sugar. Nothing is better than this Pina!"  This is why flying here versus driving here is more of a shock to your system. Your body doesn't have that gradual build up of smells, tastes, and images. It is as if you overload the senses right away. 

 
   On a different note, we left huge traffic jams back home for adorable horse jams here. No joke, horse jams! Any level of urgency is not visible to the newcomer's eye. Yeah, it's true, the power goes out on occasion. In fact, water stops working for hours at a time, and fairly frequently too. We experienced these things last year and survived. We remarked back then, that it was amazing how little one needs, when not in a rush.
   The kids are slowly starting to snap out of their sadness funk, which is nice for us as parents to see. Talk of a new school and kittens helps, but so does swimming in the pool all day long, at our rental. Exercise and a change of scenery helps them to clear their minds. We will still give our kids lots of space and support to adjust with the move though.

Horse drawn veggie cart en-route to the market

Horse jam at its finest. 

Horse and buggy taxis are still widely used by locals and visitors alike.

Cacao oil massage in Granada

This is Mike...
Today, I was massaged by a linebacker with fingers the size of Bratwurst and thumbs twice the width. The massage started out kinda funny with me being completely disrobed, except for my ponytail holder, laying there vulnerably on my stomach. I relaxed there for a while before the masseur came in and the very moment the bamboo door closed I heard that distinctive bzzz sound of a drill. I looked up, thinking what the heck, and then I heard the sound again. As it turned out, the staff were hanging a couple pieces of art on the other side of the bamboo wall.
   As for the massage, he adjusted my back and neck first, then lubed me up with cacao oil and then went to town. Lest one would think I smelled like a "Snicker's Bar" on a massage table, allow me to set the record straight and clarify that the oil was odorless.  He dug into my muscles with his fingers or elbows until the tips of my fingers and toes tingled. I ordered a deep tissue treatment and for the first time in my life got the massage I ordered. The masseur periodically checked on me to see if I was OK, and I kept grunting, "Si, si, mas." I was barely lucid by the time the hour passed me by. Yes, for those wondering, I will be going back, and at $28 for the second best hourly activity money can buy, why not?

The hotel where massage dreams come true.

The cacao museum and curios.

First day challenges

This is Mike...
Challenges are as much a part of life, as water is to rain. First day challenges are extra special though. First day in school, first date, first whatevers, all have those butterflies in the belly feeling. Today was no different for us. Someone knocked on our front door and said, "There is a rat in the house!" I replied, "Rat, huh? Where is it?" and the man urgently replied, "It ran under the door and in your house, somewhere!" I thanked him and ran upstairs to make sure it did not scurry into my wife's undergarments, currently residing in a suitcase on the bedroom floor. As I ran up the stairs and around the corner at mach 5, the rat was in the hallway staring me down like the shoot out at the O.K. Corral was going to happen. I freaked, it shrieked and we both ran down the stairs. The rodent finally hid behind the trash can, whereby I tilted the can to trap it. OK, now I got a pissed off rat under a trash can, now what in the heck do I do? I searched the house for a stick and the only thing I could find was the broom. Zoe kept screaming and yelling at me to "Save the rat!" Sierra was talking but nothing could be deciphered due to Zoe's shrilling orders of animal protection. As the rat's head popped out from under the trash can with his steaming mad eyes of fury, I whacked it with the end of the broom. There it was, a dead freaking rat. Zoe screamed, "Did you kill it? Did you?" I replied, "Yes, I did" with that exhale of fatherly victory. Zoe lit into me saying, "I can't believe you killed that rat like a caterpillar!" I said, "Huh, what? What does that mean?" She said there are mean boys at her school that step on them and I am no different. I said, "Zoe, its better you're mad at me than mommy, and if that rat went in her bras I would be the one fixing the problem, not you." Sierra agreed and we were all glad Elise was out doing Yoga ($7 a class) than back home adding to the commotion.

Bittersweet victory, Zoe was scolding me silly while Sierra took this picture.

       

Arriving in Managua

This is Mike...
   We flew on two very full planes, both to Miami and then on to Managua. We were charged a fee for extra baggage which we richly deserved, considering we had 10 large pieces with us. Flying here in a few hours is sooo different than driving here in three months like the first time around. The airport was clean and as Elise mentioned earlier, the staff at immigration and customs were friendly an made fun of our luggage-zilla monster as we pushed it through the airport. We weren't bothered by immigration about not having return tickets, as some on Face Book had mentioned could happen. Basically, traveling with a family is a golden ticket in Latin America. Just as in our last trip, my kids horsing around are passports to easy times, which we so needed today. We have already been invited to people's houses next week and our first night is still young.
   The temperature is sultry at 96 degrees and the people here are begging for rain. We arrived to a terrible drought with many food crops failing. Fruit and vegetable prices are spiking but still very cheap by our standards. We are getting excited about visiting some schools next week for the kids, and of course we will keep everyone posted on the details, expenses, etc.

Last year at this time Mombacho volcano was wrapped with clouds every afternoon.

The grasses are kindling material at this point.

My girls are getting all grown up reading books at the airport, while tuning out the world with their headphones.

The lakes are receding and wildfires on the move.

Flying over Managua.

Droughts are costly events for farmers and ranchers alike.

Leaving Home

This is Mike... We had a hectic time packing right up to the end, but we did it! In the last few days I was so tired that I slept everywhere I sat down for more than 30 seconds. We were all pooped from our emotions, physical work and mental exhaustion of planning and re-planning.
   Our neighbors helped us a ton, from moving furniture, prepping meals for us to eat, to outright invites for dinners and cocktails. The help our neighbors gave us will never be forgotten. Having said that, few things in life are as uniquely difficult as saying good bye to loved ones. We were so blessed to have had neighbors whose doors were wide open, both literally and figuratively. To you we say, "Nuestra casa es su casa."

All dressed up for the airport ride at 430am. The Anderson's made our last night and trip to the airport worry free.

 This is Elise.  We made it to Granada safely after a long day of travel.  I was worried that I would have second thoughts when we got here.  It's not as clean and pretty as Steiner Ranch but for some reason, I really like it here.  Even the guy at immigration was nice.  I had no trouble changing some money and going grocery shopping.  I can walk everywhere here. I did take a cab back from the grocery store because the bags were heavy.  It cost 10 Cordobas for the taxi ride (at 28 Cordobas to the dollar.)  It's hot but the plunge pool cooled me right down then I swayed in the hammock with my wet bathing suit.  So relaxing.

Final details before flying to Managua

This is Mike...
We either sold or packed up nearly everything and are now in the final few days before signing the closing documents and boarding the plane for Managua. We booked a temporary place to stay in Granada for the first month. Having a temporary base allows us focus on schools, cheaper longer term rentals, and to test out the community. We chose one of the many on-line resources for booking homes abroad. The rental is more expensive but does include utilities and thus minimizing our hassles for the first few weeks.

Our rental property in Grenada.

   Because of the ungodly amounts of luggage we are taking, we pre-arranged a minivan to pick us up at the airport in Managua. Part of our agreement with the kids for going abroad was they can take their most prized possessions with them on our journey. Unknown to us was just how much of their stuff was "Prized". Either way, as parents, we are happy to accommodate them on this difficult transition of losses and new beginnings.
   We are currently living, shopping and planning our days based on checklists. With so many whirling parts, checklists are the only way to know if you are actually accomplishing anything. Forwarding the mail, notifying the school, packing, and on, and on. I hate to admit it, at present, we are more "Warriors" conquering individual tasks rather than people living in the moment.

Our empty living room of many beautiful memories.

Upstairs was a kid's wonderland and is all cleaned out now.

Our kitchen was our hang out spot and is the last place to we will pack.

Our back deck that was once filled with our neighbors and friendly cheer is now empty as well.

        As for enrolling the kids in school, we scheduled a meeting with the private school administrators 4 days after arriving in Grenada. We could do homeschooling again but have decided against it, so that our kids could meet other children as quickly as possible. A few blog followers asked if we will enroll our kids in public school down there. We checked into all the options, including public schools, but they are simply bursting at the seams. In fact, public elementary classes of 50 to 60 students and only half them receiving desks is not uncommon. This is why charities like www.eduplusnicaragua.org which we visited and supported last year are so important for the tiny tykes. For our school charity post from last year, visit our blog post dated, 5/14/2015 Casa de los suenos, a great charity.

Staff prepping for the lunch rush that so many of the students truly need for their daily nutrition.

Great school changing the world through deed.