Super Sunday, Super Week

How Bout them Giants Baby, 2012 Super Bowl champs!

After a two week vacation with some of my best friends from home, I didn’t think I was going to be leaving site anytime soon. After speaking too much English and spending more money than I probably should’ve, at least logically I should have cooled the jets. But the problem with thinking logically, is that it sometimes means you miss out on the more spontaneous, memorable events life has to offer. But when asked by a Peace Corps buddy if I was going to Leon to watch the game, and realizing that my long lost friend T-Bone (or should I now say King Kobra) was in that area, despite what past logic said, the answer seemed like a no-brainer: Of course I am.

What followed upon arriving in Leon was non-stop fun. A fun part of meeting up with the Kobra, is that he has no fun, so we had to do it the old fashion way: set up a time and a place, and hope that nothing bad happens to us en route. While that was a large part of my childhood, that was probably the last time I used this technique, so it was with a little apprehension that I got to the Plaza, and luckily found him there (which makes up for partially losing him later that night). After a quick stop at a cyber to check in on the progress of a Richmond tradition that went viral for the first time this year, we headed to the bar to meet up with what was suppose to a small gathering of about 7-8 people. So when we got there, it was surprising to see a larger number than that. It turns out that many small groups had independently made plans to watch the game at the same place in Leon, and Kobra and I stepped into a regular bacanal (nica slang for big party). It was an interesting setting to watch the game, because I was one of the only 3-4 people watching the game the entire time, while this fiesta was raging around me. So while trying to honor the G-Men and their dominance, I kept finding myself distracted, talking with friends I haven’t seen in months and trying to keep up with the pace of everyone else. The fun side effect of this was that the majority of the bar didn’t care who won the game, so everyone celebrated and cheered for the winners, the New York Football Giants. It had the feel of being in NYc in a giants bar which was pretty rad. And to make the celebration that much sweeter, the party never really stopped, it just kept going, continuing on late into the night. May or may have not lost Terrence by the end of the night, so it was comforting to wake up the next morning and see him walking around the hostel. Phewww.

            And already being in Leon, it didn’t take a whole lot of persuasion by Terrence to head out to Poneloya the next day to surf and enjoy some day time beers. Now I thought the day was fun, but that night we were graced with a particularly bright full moon, and a rising tide. So we did what any two guys in their early 20’s would do: grab a litro or two, our surfboards, and head out past the breakers to shoot the breeze, and of course, grab a wae or two on the way in back to sure. What a unique experience that was for sure, seeing the wae materialize only ten feet away, scrambling to catch it, and (with my minor luck) bombing down it into relative darkness.

But what may be possibly more exiting than all of this spontaneous fun, is that as of today, well tonight really, I officially moved into my own place down here in Nicaland. After nine months of living with two different host families and being babied around the house (I almost never had to cook for myself), I will become a real person again, living on his own. And for the first time in my life, I am the proud owner of my own house. Granted it’s rented, but since starting college, I’ve lived in a serious of low level apartments, so this is big baby! Got my own front porch, closed in backyard/garden, right on the main street, and the possibilities are endless. Plus as I just found I somehow have internet access. Booyah. More to come on the house, when I’m fully settled it!

These last couple weeks of school vacation sure made up for the lack of activity I had during the beginning of the break, that’s for sure.