SURF'S UP

Here are the long-promised photos from my weekend in San Juan del Sur.  Please just click on the photo above and it will take you to the Picasa photo stream.  Let me know if you have any problems viewing this.

ONE INJERA, TWO INJERA, THREE INJERA, PHO!

I just got back from a much needed US visit on Sunday.  Apart from the friends and family, I'm sad to say the food was my next highlight.  To my credit, Latins in general do not eat outside their food box so to speak.  I live in a country where spaghetti sauce is considered exotic, you know?  Therefore, a great variety in food is hard to find because the basic ingredients either don't exist here or are super expensive.  I have always been a great lover of ethnic food, and it's something I really miss here, so I LOVED going back and eating my way around the world.  Now, my skirts didn't like the trip so much; they're putting up some protest...

Shout out to the friends who made me home-cooked ethnic food like the Gores/Flecks with their smokin' ribs (literally), the Barrons with their curry (thanks for the recipe!), and Bro.Corea who gave us down-home Mexican in his very own restaurant.

So if you're a food lover like me, you've totally caught on to the title of this blog and will enjoy the Picasa photo stream I've included.  Just click on my brother-in-law, TJ's, head above :)

SAN JUAN DEL SUR

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, Krystina Tanjoco (she's the one sitting next to me), organized a group for her going away party.  Since September she's been serving in San Marcos but left last week to go home to Hawaii. About 15 of us met from different areas of Nicaragua and converged in San Juan del Sur for 3 days.  San Juan del Sur is on the southwest coast of Nicaragua and is the most well-known city here.  It has some of the best surfing in the world and has a large Jesus on a hill much like Rio de Janeiro.

We stayed at a hotel called El Pacifico owned by a German couple and just relaxed a few days.  I know that to most people this is not a big deal but to us these are luxury items very seldom seen or experienced that the hotel had:
1.  a pool
2.  hot water (note: I haven't had a hot shower since January)
3.  AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!!!!!!
4.  free breakfast that wasn't rice & beans
5.  two fat and sassy dogs

 It was really nice getting to know new friends and a new vacation spot.  We went to a beach called Las Maderas one day.  I've NEVER IN MY LIFE seen waves so big.  It's generally my goal to skip surfing beaches because I'm more of a swimmer but that's basically all that's available in SJDS.  It was insane!!  I'd see this massive wave coming and be in awe and then just when it folded over there's be an even BIGGER one behind it!  The waves are so strong they wash up really high on the beach so they touch a rock outcropping far out.  It was neat to explore it because thanks to the salt water there were sand dollars, barnacles, crabs, and a million other things I don't know the name for but had a great time messing with.

I'm going to post more pictures soon but for now I want to leave you with a clip from a new friend I made on the journey:

 http://youtu.be/A9wSRaxO_S4

BBQ

Last Friday I got invited to my 1st Nicaraguan bbq. I wasn't sure what to expect but it actually turned out really good and fun. I also rode on a motorcycle for my first time here. Loved it! I felt truly Nica because my friend Roberto gave me a ride while his 3 year old son sat in front and I had 2 big containers in my hand. Sooooo Nican!

Anyway, it was Roberto with his wife Martha and son Samuel, Richard with his wife Leila and son Richard, Ezekiel with his wife Diana, Shelina, and I. We did it at Ezekiel and Diana's house.

I'd have to say it was really normal. Heavy on the meats but dessert was missing! Nica libres running freely (that's a Cuba libre which is rum and coke plus a splash of lime; but we make it with Nican rum). The best part is when we were all done eating and stuffed like pigs the general consensus was to dance off our bbq. Now, at first I thought this was a bad idea and would just result in the kids barfing everywhere but it turned out to be the best idea! We shook our money makers and Leila showed me some new salsa moves I can't wait to try out.