Welcome to Canada

Welcome to Canada ladies and gentleman! After Michigan and Chicago, I hopped on a plane and flew to Edmonton, Alberta where my parents met me and my sister and her family. After a 2 hour car ride we finally made it to Neerlandia, which really isn't near anything.

After hanging out for a day or two we hopped in the car again for a 4 hour car ride west to the Canadian Rockies and a little town called Jasper. It was beautiful!

We saw lots of elk.....
.... and awesome rivers and mountians. The water looks blue/green because of rock flour. The glaciers grind up the rocks into a find powder and it acts like a prism, but only reflects blues and greens. Its pretty cool.

Like I said, georgous.

We saw a few water falls as well. They weren't super high, but very powerful and of course they had an amazing back drop.

We took a tram ride up to the top of one of the mountains (2277 meters up) and hiked a bit to the very top so we could have a 360 view of the mountain range. The picture below is me and my sister Sarah. We don't really look alike, do we?

It was absolutely breath taking! I love Nicaragua and its beauty, but there is something about mountains and the fresh, crisp air that makes me stand in awe.

This is my brother-in-law Dan walking back down. You can see the town of Jasper down in the valley along side a river. I could have looked at it for hours.

And we found snow! I walked through it and just about fell on my butt - not very graceful. I am going to have to re-learn how to handle that kind of precipitation.

Rebecca was priceless. She had way too much energy and loved pointing out the window at the mountains as we drove by. I think we all had fun. Maybe I'll go back and work there - that would be a fun adventure.

Now it is back to relaxing at the parents house and making a trip to the Edmonton mall - the largest mall in North America. I am going to try and not have a panic attack.

The Oak Forest variety

Thanks to the Pontiers (the Oak Forest variety) I have survived the first leg of my North American Tour Summer '09. They took me to a Japanese resturaunt tonight and I now have gas. But the chef was cool.

Joshua provided some good after dinner entertainment dancing (with the help of his crazy aunt Ponch).

Thanks Dave and Andrea for being wonderful hosts. I hope to return to your humble abode and take advantage of your hospitality again!

Michiganders

So here I am in Chicago, minding my own business, when two chaps by the name of Joel come knocking on my door. What was I supposed to do? They dragged me - kicking and screaming, mind you - to that horrible state called 'Michigan' (to be said while spitting). Needless to say, I was not looking forward to it.

Our first stop was Dave Stienstra's house. It was terrible! All they had to offer was a wide deck that looked over a smooth lake, a floating dock that I was tricked into jumping off of and a boat that I was dragged behind. At least they had cold beverages to offer.

They made me stand on this floating dock and then threw a frisbee at me. I didn't even want to try and catch it but one of the Joel's pushed me. It was very embarassing.

Dave was driving the boat and before they dragged me they tricked one of the Joel's to strap on this wakeboard thingy. The thing was a death trap. It literally took two grown men and a bottle of dish soap to get the thing on his feet and then again to get it off.

I was smiling, but its fake. I had little to no fun what-so-ever.

Oh and then I realized that a former roommate of mine lived in little town nearby. I felt it was my duty to go and see them. At least they bought my drink. And the coffee wasn't too bad. I think I might be forced to hang out with them agian.

One of the Joel's had to show me around his dinky little town called Holland and I pretended to be interested. I mean, its no Orange City, but then again, not much is. And their windmill is quite puny.

Again, at least the beverage was cold.

All in all the weekend was sort of a bust.

I hope I don't have to go back.....ever......again.

(note: this blog was full of sarcasm. basically don't take anything seriously. in fact, just switch it all to the opposite of what is said.)

chili, cinnamon rolls and strawberry pie

Being back in the States has not been easy. Its wierd, but I find myself missing Nicaragua, and not just the people. I had a good life there and I miss the routines of life and the place.

However, having my first meal back in the States being Chili and Cinnamon rolls makes things a bit easier.

My friends and I had this on going debate about the "Chili and Cinnamon roll" meal. Most people that it was the wierdest combination they had ever heard of. Where a select few (me and Joni, basically) thought it was a perfectly logical combination. Try it. Tell me what you think.

When people ask me what I foods I miss from the States my answer usually consists of 1. my mom's cooking and 2. berries. We don't have good berries in Nicaragua. Strawberrys are imported and cost an arm and both legs. Lucky for me David and Andrea went Strawberry picking right before I came. We have finsihed one pie and this one will be gone tonight I am sure. Such a hard life :)

Speaking of rolls......Joshua has a lot of them. This kids is such a chub! He has several chins and kind of reminds me of Jabba the Hut (in a good way of course). He is so cute and I am enjoying my time with him. Next stop on the North American Tour.....Michigan.

in search of great and mighty things

Jer. 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."

God has proven faithful in showing me great and mighty things the past 4 years. Now I am stepping out in faith and I am confident that He will continue to show me amazing things throughout the next 4 years. God doesn't just work in Nicaragua and it is my prayer that I will continue to grow and be challenged where ever I end up.

Thanks to all those who have read this blog and enjoyed the stories and pictures from my time here. I will continue to post and share with you the great and mighty things that God is showing me in the coming years.

Adios y Dios te bendiga.

Girls in Granada

Sometimes you need to get away and spend less that $40 for an overnight stay in a old, colonial, Latin American city. That's right, less than $40 bucks later I rented a sweet house with pool and my own queen size bed ($16 a person), went to 4 resturaunts, walked around a great city and had some awesome conversations - all for less that $40. Beat that Rachel Ray.

Joni, Esther, Amy, Lori and I spent the night in Granada - one of the tourist heavy cities of Nicaragua. I had been to Granada before, but always went to the same places and never stayed long enough to appreciate the beauty. So this trip was really cool.
We got to go to the top of the bell tower which had an awesome view of the whole city and Mombacho Volcano.

The city is a great mix of remodeled, old un-touched colonial and everyday Latin buildings. The rainy season has started and so even the places where trash is abundant and the homes are humble - it all looks green and colorful.

We had a great time - thanks girls.

"I bid you all a very fond farewell"

Where to begin? I have approximately 2 weeks left ( or 10 days) in Nicaragua and the days are going to go absurdly fast. I mean, it seems like yesterday that Diana was telling me that she wanted to come and visit and now she has already come and gone! Crazy.

And yes, we have the same swimsuit. What can I say? Great minds think a like.

Diana came at the end of the school year so we didn't get a chance to travel and do all the "touristy" stuff that we normally do with visitors. But we did make it to the beach one morning and she finally found someone she could really connect with. Of course he wasn't connected to much else, but that didn't seem to matter to her.

All in all, I think she has a good time, especially when she was the subject of my blossoming photography skills. She kept turning around and saying "Are you done yet?" Hey, you can't rush art.

Thanks for coming Diana and proving to my friends here that I actually do have friends and that you are all not simply figments of my imagination to help me look cooler than I actually am.

Brother Jon came as well. He only stayed for 3 days and 4 nights and was basically my mule. No, he didn't cart my illeagal drugs back to the states, just all my junk that I need to take back. He tried to work on his tan, but all the sunscreen and hats made that a bit difficult. Hey, at least we didn't get robbed this time.

Both Jon and Diana were here for graduation, which is a big deal for NCA. Since we don't have prom or homecoming, graduation is the time when they rent the nice hotel and get all decked out. Its a lot of fun for the kids, but it gets a bit late for the adults. We get to the hotel at 9:30pm and we eat at about 10:30 and then the kids all dance and we sit back and watch, pretending we know the songs that are playing (the only one I knew was Ice Ice Baby. After that I was totally lost).

Its sad to think that these faces won't be a part of my regualr routine anymore. I grown very fond of all my colleagues. I wish they could come with me.
But prehaps I'll come back, if only for a visit.

Yep, they will definately be missed.

In my time in Nicaragua I have had the priviledge of being served by 2 wonderful women. They joke that they are our Nicaraguan Moms, since our own moms aren't here to cook and clean for us. Chilo was my first maid ( she is in the pink next to me) and Leo (pronounced Lay-o, she is in the brown shirt on the other side of me) has been my maid for the last 3 years. They are incredibly giving and generous with their time and very hard working. I think I have mentioned how much I love them in the past - well let me say it again, I LOVE THEM!! They wanted to show much they loved us as well and so they invited us over for supper to say goodbye. It was great fun.

And now the summer adventure begins! On June 19 I am off to Chicago to see my brother and sister-in-law their their new baby. Then it is off to Neerlandia to finally see my parents 'new' place and then back to Iowa.

I'll keep posting. Thanks for tuning in.

Adios.

so much.....

So much has happened in the past month, that to try and do it justice would be futile. But I think this picture pretty much sums it up - friends. Since I know the end is near I have been trying to spend as much quality time with friends as I can. The picture above is us shooting our TV pose (you know that shows that have the whole cast sitting there looking casual, but totally posed? That is us).
I have less than a month left and things are winding down so fast. Its been a great 4 years, and I hope it won't be my last 4 years in Nicaragua.
More to come....