December 27, 2010

Monday evening. Only one more week here in Nic. It doesn't seem possible. It feels strange to think about leaving. These last weeks have felt like we live here fulltime and have felt just right. This is the last night with just me and Mary here. Hmmm...

We got up this morning and headed to the bus stop just down the road. We always get there early, since we don't know exactly what time they will actually come by. They do a pretty good job of being on schedule - give or take 15-20 minutes... Anyway, we sit on the curb outside a tiny store and listen for the bus to come rumbling by. They usually blast their horn a few times as they are coming down our road. Then we stand by the road and they stop for us. We like to catch them as they are arriving, so that we can get a seat before too many people from Poneloya get on at the end of the road. But this morning, they didn't announce their arrival with the horn and the bus was quieter than some of the more run down ones, so we didn't get to the road in time to flag them down. So we just sat back down and waited about 30 minutes until they came back down the street.

As we were getting on the bus, which was full, there was a family of 5, who were spread out over 2 seats, one seat on the left of the bus, and one seat on the right. The man and 2 little kids jumped up from the left seat and moved them all over to squish into the seat on the right side with the rest of his family. We thanked him profusely, thinking that he was wanting to give us a place to sit down. As I was scooting into the seat, I noticed something semi-liquid running down the floor towards the back of the bus. It seems the little girl in the seat in front of us had just thrown up her pink candy. The mom, sick child and sister got off at the next stop, with the little girl still clutching the rest of her big wad of pink candy in her hand. And no one moved to sit in that seat, needless to say... Thank goodness that the windows were down on the bus! We just tried to keep our shoes out of it as much as possible. That was our excitement for the last bus trip going into town.

At the bus stop in León, we found a taxi right away (a legal one) and he took us to La Unión grocery store. We use that as a good dropping off place for taxis since it is well known and close to a lot of what we want to do downtown. Our first order of business was to go to the little shopping area next door, where Tip Top Chicken restaurant is located, to use the public restrooms. They aren't great, but better than most choices in town. They were locked up, but when one of the guys from Tip Top saw us (they recognize us from eating so much), he got the key and opened them up for us. When we were through, he locked them back up again, until the regular opening time. It's nice to have friends in the right places...

We walked around looking in stores, walked to the park and shopped a little at the vendors tents, and just had a nice time. Mary found a ring with the Lord's Prayers in Spanish on it that she had been looking for (I had gotten one back in March) to wear on a chain. I found some more of the woven little bags that I'm finding tons of uses for. There were a couple of murals on walls that I was wanting to get pictures of, so we walked around a few blocks.

We started to get hungry and decided to eat at Tip Top (of course) and headed that way. German was wanting to meet up with us to give us the printed copy of the team schedule, so he found us at Tip Top. We had him go to a little kiosk close by and pick up some churros like he had gotten before. They were yummy! That was our dessert! On the way to Tip Top, we stopped at La Unión grocery store to buy a package of crackers to eat with our salads at Tip Top. The guard at the door is very friendly to us and always tries to find us a table. We sat inside today, by a window. The waiter, who knows us by now, too, asked if the sun coming in the window was bothering us. There were no shades that he could pull, and we didn't see anything he could do about it, so we just said no. But then he moved one of their big floor signs (about 6' tall and 4' wide) to cover the window and shade us. How nice! We always try to tip him well. It pays off!

We enjoyed our lunch and then stopped at the kiosk and got more churros to bring home. Then we set out to find a taxi to take us to the bus stop. It's pretty easy to find a taxi in the busy areas. And sometimes we end up sharing one, because the drivers like to have all the seats of their tiny cars filled at all times. We rode with a lady who was getting out at a part of the market area that we had not been to before, so it was fun to see it. Then we made it to the bus stop. Actually, the driver whizzed past it and I think he was going to take us all the way to Poneloya instead to the bus. We had him turn around and drop us at the bus.

Our ride home on the bus was memorable, since we rode standing up the whole way. The best process for getting a seat on a bus going out of the town is to arrive at least 30 minutes early and sit on the bus as it fills up. Today, we rode standing and it seemed like a little longer than the usual 35 minute ride home. With all the starting and stopping and with all the people standing in the aisle, it was making me carsick. Luckily, we made it close to the house and we got off. It was a nice day for a ride and as always, the breeze coming in through the open windows was nice. Most importantly, we were on a totally different bus than the puke bus, which was probably still riding back and forth with nastiness baking in the sun. :)

We got home a little before 2pm and I laid down to read and take a nap, one of my last here. Mary read in her rocking chair. For dinner, Mary finished off her left over salad and I had some soup and crackers. We enjoyed our time of quiet this evening.

It's hard to believe that the team will be here late tomorrow afternoon. It's been just the 2 of us for about 5 weeks now. We'll feed the team sandwiches and chips for dinner, sort through the supplies they bring, get everything ready for Fiestas for the week, get to know them and help them get settled in. Jasmina (the cook) will be here bright and early (5am) starting on Wed to prepare our meals. We'll be back to the normal routine again. Then, way too quickly, it will be time to leave.

My friends, the Caubbles, left today for the long, long flight to Dubai, where they will be living and serving as Missionaries for the next 2 years. I'll be going over to work with them a little this next year. It will be great to see them. I know they are excited to finally be on their way. I pray for safe travel, healthy bodies, no jet lag and many, many blessings.

Some of my friends in NYC have posted pictures of the huge amounts of snow that they received over the last few days. My friend Jenny, made snow angels. How fun! I don't think I have ever been as cold as the winters in NYC. Probably because I was out on the streets as part of life there. I remember Jenny used to think my big puffy coat was funny. But it sure was warm! When I left there, I gave that coat to a friend who worked at one of the soup kitchen/shelters that I volunteered at. I hope it is still keeping her just as warm.

My friends, the Janes, made a cute little video for me and posted it on facebook. Elizabeth is playing the piano and Will is playing the violin. It is precious! I love that family soooo much! I can't wait to get back and see them. Phillip is crawling now. And there are 2 new pets in the family. What fun I will have visiting them!

I guess I should go to sleep now. How thankful I am that God allows me to be in this place at this time. I love the busy times and I love the quiet times. I've enjoyed getting to relax and study these past weeks. And also, so serve others a few days a week and to have time to fellowship with our VOH family. I've been so blessed. And I will fall asleep a happy woman. Thank You Lord.