Whoa - a little overwhelming and new

Okay, So i'm a little shell-shocked, but all is well, read below:

this place is very much like i expected except that everything is much more intense and extreme than i aniticipated. The poverty i've seen in only 2 days is like poverty i have never witnessed before....and i really thought i had seen poverty. this is like inescapable, have nothing, know nothing but....poverty. i saw a whole giant city park filled with tents made of trash bags, kids in the highway (litterally, didging cars) selling whatever they can, lean-to's all along the roads.

So far, my homestay is surely one of the most interesting experiences of my life. The house is owned by the nicest lady named Medina, and her mother Luisa and her brother Ronal also live there. None of them speak spanish. Medina says her brother works as a driver (taxi?) but I haven't seen him work....havn't seen a car or uniform, etc. he is the exact image of how i imagined the macho nicaraguan man....he struts, bosses the other women in the house around, really only comes around to eat (didn't even sleep here last night, stays at his novias i guess), and does nothing to help in the house at all (he hasn't really even acknowledged my presence and I prefer it that way). from what i can tell all the household income comes from Medina offering her spare room to people like me (I am her 9th homestay). I am trying by best to just understand what they are all saying, though it is very difficult and most of it goes over my head. There are 4 kids that are always running in and out, i think they are Medina's nieces and nephews, and i can't understand them either....its actually even more difficult since they talk so fast. All in all, they are all very friendly people and i feel fairly welcome.

The house has a small front room and attached living space, a small cement kitchen area behind ....but all the water and cooking instruments (stove) are outside in the back. the toilet and the shower are also in the back, outside in wooden stalls. the bedrooms are a row of concrete rooms that open off the back area next to the stalls. My room has all concrete walls and floor with a bed that is higher on all 4 corners than it is in the center and also has 2 shelves along the walls. I have a fan i can use if its too hot and if the electricity is working. Last night there was a blackout that began about 4pm and did not end until after i went to bed at 9pm. i studied spanish by candlelight, had a dinner of smashed & friend plantains and beans. I tried my best to listen to the family talking for a couple hours, but I couldn't really understand much and mostly felt like i was intruding by even being there. (though, they were very polite and understanding...they can't really understand me either).

Sleep hasn't really happened yet, though i really hope tonight will be better. I think it is all a little too shocking right now and i am not nearly comfortable enough in any sense to let my guard down enough to really rest. i had set my alarm to get up this morning, but was pleasantly surprised when i didn't need it since the rooster crowed to wake me up....until i realized it was only 4:30 am and i was already wide awake....well, more awake than i had been before. The rooster did his thing for a while and then when he finally stopped the dogs began...lots of them, and then some cats chimed in and after that the chickens started clucking....the house i am staying in has no animals at all...so they are all animals at the neigbors' homes, or just in the neighborhood.

this morning i got dressed and went straight to studying for class (i am trying to take these spanish classes very seriously)....i chose not to shower as i am not quite ready to brave the stall....
For breakfast Medina made me some scrambled eggs with onions and a plain hotdog bun. odd, but not terrible. coffee so far is of the instant variety, but i can handle that for now.

This weekend is a huge national holiday in Nicaragua...the independence day from Spain. There is a big parade I will hopefully be able to see, and in preparation there are tons of people drumming and practicing on their loudspeakers in the street. its all very loud and a little unsettling since i can't understand a word they're yelling.

Spanish school is great, the school is nice and the teachers and other students are great. it is next door to my homestay....i kind of wish it wasn't so i'd be forced to find my way there and maybe encounter something cool on the way....as it is i don't know where to go or what to do during my down time.

okay, a novel i now.
i'm sure there's plenty i'm leaving out too.
what a place this is.
i'm a little overwhelmed. at the same time, i have so much dead time during these days that i'm bored. I'm not really confident enough to explore managua on my own yet, but maybe in a couple days. I wish I had a friend here. Things will change in 2 weeks when I go to Cusmapa where I will have an American friend and a whole community of people to get to know.


well, hasta,
for now,
L.