Spoiled Rotten

So after a blissful week of delicious food, luxurious accommodations, and the perfect travel companions (my parents), I woke up to cook my breakfast this morning and something wasn’t quite right. I cooked my eggs and beans like I usually do, and prepared them in the tortilla like always, but it didn’t just taste the same. So there I am, sitting in my plastic chair on my porch when it dawns on me just how spoiled I was this past week, and just how good I really had it. And while I’ll touch the week a bit, I’m going to give my folks the opportunity to guest blog. This way you all can see my world through a fresh and different lens.

As one may be able to imagine, this past week has been a bit different than my previous 47 weeks in Nicaragua. I think its best put like this: I have eaten more bacon and taken more hot showers in the past 6 days, than I have in my first almost 10 months here, three and six times respectively each in the past week. I’ve done my fair share of exploring around the country, but that is always based off of my minuscule salary, as well as the few bucks that I had saved up in the months leading up to my departure. While I would travel in comfort, it certainly wasn’t in luxury. So it was quite the refreshing experience to travel without bargaining with hostel owners over if they offer a Peace Corps discount, or not immediately looking at the lowest priced item on the menu at a restaurant.

I would also be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little worried about my parent’s reaction to life down there and the way I live, as I am surrounded by poverty and lack some of the basic amenities that we all take for granted in the states. Or that they didn’t speak a word of Spanish, and I would be there sole guide and translator. But not only were neither of these issues a problem, but I needn’t have worried. My parents were champions and were able to eat street food with no problems, learn some basic Spanish phrases (Un café mas por favor), and even spent a night in my a/c-less, dusty home. We spent the week exploring new beaches and rock formations, hiking to petroglyphs, and wandering through Nicaraguan markets, while always managing to have a few tonas or rum drinks come days end. After not having seen my folks since last May, this trip turned out to be a much needed vacation that I didn’t realize I needed until my folks were here. I needed my momma in my life to baby and take care of me, and my daddeh to give me some fatherly advice, and both were able to satisfy those needs and then some. So to my wonderful parents, thanks for suh a wonderful week, I love you both dearly, and look forward to seeing you and the rest of the family again in just 3 short months. And as the saying goes, love you like lobsters.

So with the thought of another pending visit by the whole fam for Xmas, I took a deep, soothing breath, sat contently back in my chair, and suddenly my eggs and beans tasted just as good as I remembered.

PS. So one of the perks of staying at a money hotel is that I get the opportunity to relax and watch TV in English. Not having a television, it’s rare that I watch TV, let alone in Spanish. To make a long story short, I started watching the show How to Make it in America, a bomb show with a rad opening soundtrack. Check out the show, but listen to the song as well: I Need A Dollar - Aloe Blacc