There is going to be an explosion of the last two months on this blog-as I attempt to catch up!! Unfortunately, that means you will just be seeing photos and you won’t get to enjoy my normal whit and humor along with my delightful storytelling. Okay, more like you will probably enjoy all the photos without my annoying commentary!!

But the writing will be slim, since I have SO much to catch you up on! And you know the sickness I have, I cannot post anything current when I have older stuff that needs to be shared!

 

So enjoy the film show..

We’ll be making some new traditions this year, since this will be the first year we won’t be home for Christmas. This year it started with what is known as, “La Griteria”. It happens every year on December 7th, and people celebrate by lighting fireworks at 6pm at night. I’m talking every single person, in the entire city. Well, at least it sounds that way! And, people set up little alters/tables with the Virgin Mary on them, and walk around to each others house, greeting each other. They also pass out gifts of candy, treats, and small gifts.
Brandon and I just walked around to check things out, and decided to stay indoors for the firework display. Being from the state of California, where fireworks are forbidden, I have therefore developed a fear of fireworks in the hands of just anyone-especially small children and drunk people! But it was interesting nonetheless. (Sorry, I didn’t get any photos!)

I can’t help it. I guess I’m a sucker for cheesy. The day after Thanksgiving is time to set up and decorate for Christmas. Since we moved into our new place on Thanksgiving, I was willing to move Christmas set up back a little. A few days later we were on the hunt for Christmas decorations. Turns out Nicaraguans get pretty into setting up lights, trees, and such things. So finding a few things to make the house feel Christmasy was pretty easy. We didn’t want to pay much for our tree, so we went to the outdoor market. I always enjoy when Brandon negotiates prices for us-something that I hate doing!- and he did pretty good with the Spanish that he knows. They even had lights too, in all different colors! The best part was asking if they had any angles for tree toppers. We didn’t know the word for tree topper, and so asking for an angel for the top of the tree was so silly to them! They put a star on top, duh, and they tried selling us one of those. But I was going to hold out for an angel, as stubborn as I am, and after a week of searching, came up empty handed. A home made bow worked great instead!

 

 

 

 

Check it out. Our first week in Nicaragua, we were out down town at night (I know right, we can go out past dark around here and it’s totally safe!!) and saw this bus thing. It had no roof, and the seats were up top, like a double decker. And, and, it had Christmas lights strung on the top and all around it too. I turned to Brandon and said, ” I have to ride one of those before we leave Nicaragua”.

We did it last night-why waste time? We were having ice cream ( I know right, ice cream shops are on almost every corner!) We were out socializing with the team that is here drilling a well. It’s strange to not be hosting teams, and to just show up here and there to say hello. It’s kinda nice though, because we get to hang out, socialize, and have fun-without having to do any of the planning or logistics! So we stopped by to say hello and meet some LWI staff that was there with the team from Houston. And after they all went back to the hotel, we were sitting there chatting with Les (A staff member) and the bus stopped right there. I looked at Brandon and he knew what I wanted-so we asked Les where it goes and he said just all around the city in a large loop. We jumped up, he said he would join us since he hadn’t been on one since he was nine! Off we went. I felt like like a giddy little girl, loving every minute. They were playing Christmas music and everyone was laughing and having so much fun. I imagined we were Christmas light looking, even though there aren’t too many houses with lights. A lot of people have trees inside their homes, but not too many outdoor lights going on.

The bus is called Bus Pelon (which apparently means Bald Bus). It made a few stops-one being at a fair type thing. Brandon joked asking if I wanted to get off-a joke because I can’t stand carnival rides-they freak me out-so there is no way you could get me on one of those babies in the third world. Nope.

We had a great time, loving the wind blowing in your face and getting a high view of the streets we are just getting to know. Thanks Bus Pelon, for the tour of your quirky, interesting, historical, and fascinating little city called Leon.