I´m Here!!

I made it here safely after a couple bumps on the way. They wouldnt let us into Nicaragua without an address here and of course with Intercordia we are given no information whatsover' so i had to be escorted by security guards (all wearing swine flu masks) to the outside of the airport where I had to frantically search an Intercordia sign and beg them for an address to return to the customs desk with. After that we had a two and a half hour bus ride to Esteli, the mountains were huge black silhouettes and ominous at best. Very very vast valleys and dry lightning and thunder. The air is thick here and I always feel very grimy. Benny and Marissa live with eachother for orientation week, so do Meghan from Friedrichton and Maljinda from Saskatoon. Jessica and I are the only ones by ourselves with a family for this week. Yesterday night I hardly got to meet with them as it was 2 30 Canada time when I arrived and I was very disoriented and overwhelmed with fatigue. They helped me lift my 66 kilo bag up this very trecherous spiral iron staircase and said goodnight. I sleep alone in the only attick room upstaird under a tin roof that amplifies the sound of the terrential down pours that come each night in the rain season. I actually really enjoy listening to it. The view from my window is amazing. And the nights are not too too hot to sleep in. For breakfast I had coffee and a simple sandwich. Tamara, the sister of Samaria (who I live with) spilt my coffee mug all over me by accident so I started the morning of the first day tending to boiling water burns on my stomach and thighs. They made me a new coffee and i washed my outfit (including my drenched coffee stained underwear.) Tamara has a little boy, Ali, who is two years old and the most mature little boy I´ve ever met. He is my favourite thing about Nicaragua so far. We are inseperable. Tamara and Ali and their Abolita dont live in this house though, they live far away and will be returning home on saturday. I will live with Samaria and her brother William (about 13-14) and their cleaning girl Sayda (who is 18, she is very nice we get along very well but she speaks no english.) Samaria knows some english so we can understand one another. Samaria and Williams mother, Lupa, and older brother, Denis, live in Managua by week and here in Esteli by weekend.
Meghan, one of our intercordians, never got her baggage yesterday night. It was really tragic as she was already having a really hard time coping being by far the most homesick on the flights over. The airport really convinced her she´d get the luggage back though so I have full confidence she will. Today I get to know my family and then get picked up with the other intercordians to attend spanish lessons and initiation exercises.
My host family does have internet and a computer so i will be in touch. My cell phone still works here for texts as well and I´m planning on buying a twenty dollar one as soon as possible for emergency circumstances. Here is very very different from anything I´ve ever seen. I started feeling as though I was living outside of Rome like I did one summer but Rome doesnt have half as much barbed wire as here or as many tin rooves. So many paintings and bright murals around the city though. I´m excited to go exploring with my family.

Talk to you all again soon. They dont get any postal service so I´ll find out the address of the post office and get your letters and mail from there.

XO

S