I'm trying not to drool thinking about this

The following comestibles are hard or impossible to find, super expensive, or just plain not as good in Nicaragua. I want to eat them.

- Smores

- Pizza

- Cheese that is not Nica queso, cuajada, quesillo, or other locally made varieties (not that those aren't good, but they're not the same)

- Thai food

- Indian food

- Mexican food (La Tolteca... Te quiero...)

- Apple pie

- Pumpkin pie

- Cheesecake (oh God...)

- Buffalo wings (Hard Times Cafe anyone?)

- Starbucks pumpkin spice latte

- Starbucks peppermint mocha

- Wawa's chicken salad sandwich with bacon

- Bacon (English style, none of that thin sliced American stuff. But that's better than nothing.)

- Whipped cream

- Taco Bell

- Dill pickles

- Krispy Kreme, chocolate-frosted, creme-filled, and other kinds of donuts

- Salt and vinegar potato chips

- Cadbury creme eggs

- Ribs dripping with BBQ sauce

- Salads

Okay that's enough of that. There's more, of course, but it's making me hungry and depressed thinking about them. Let's move on to something that I can have.

The following comestibles are widely available in Nicaragua, and are delicious. I want to eat them.

- Gallo pinto

- Pollo asado/carne asada

- Salpicón

- Crema

- Cuajada

- Tostones

- Tajadas

- Maduros fritos

- Sopa de frijoles and other forms of beans

- Huevos rancheros and other forms of eggs

- Fried rice (I can even make it Asian-style!)

- Spaghetti (NOT with ketchup and mayonnaise with grated cheese on top like they eat it here. I have to make it for it to be good, but it is fairly cheap and available)

- Ceviche (though it's expensive, mostly because I wouldn't trust it from anywhere but expensive restaurants)

...and plenty more. It's not so bad here food-wise, especially now that I'm cooking everything for myself. Yeah there's plenty you can't get, but there's lots of good stuff to fill your stomach too.

I moved!

My first week in my new house. I moved in on Sunday, after stressing myself into a cold on Friday. I'm still not better yet, and it's Wednesday. But that's not that important. The important things are as follows:

• It's HUGE. And it's ALL MINE. I don't know how I'll be able to feel crowded in the space, especially after my last room. I have TWO rooms, plus a really nice bathroom. The bedroom alone is at least twice the size of my last room. And then there's the kitchen/living room as well. Super fancy.
• There's no internet :( I'm taking my computer to school with me every day to connect there, as now both of my schools have internet. But I can't connect at home. It's ok though, I did way too much internetting before. I will miss being able to download whatever I want however. After my doctor's appointment next week I'll see about buying myself an internet stick. I'll make do.
• Batman is getting used to things. Sunday he didn't come out from under the bed until well after dark, refused to eat anything, and cried the whole night while trying to claw his way out the window. Monday he stayed under the bed most of the day but came out when I started making dinner, and bit my face the whole night when he wasn't playing with his toys. Tuesday he followed me around in the morning as I got ready for school, came out to see me when I got home, and played by himself a bit more at night. He'll be fine, he's already getting better. He really wants to go outside I think, but I'm not quite ready to let him out. My new host mom says I should tie him up outside for a while, but he's never been tied up and he's not used to it. I don't know how he'd handle that. Maybe this afternoon I'll ask her to help me do it, but I'll have to watch him very carefully.
• My new host family really seems like they're going to take care of me. They've already made a bunch of improvements to the house, like adding shelves in the kitchen and a mirror with a tiny medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and they're having a wardrobe built. Sunday my host mom gave me some of the bean soup she made, and yesterday she gave me some of her pollo asado. She keeps asking me how Batman is doing, and trying to make sure we're okay. I like the family a lot, even though it's not my old host family. No one is quite like Don Pedro...

This weekend Nica60 is taking a trip to Leon to celebrate our one year anniversary in Nicaragua. Then the following Tuesday I have to go to Managua for my mid-service medical appointment. Then the following week I believe I'll have a small group of trainees from the new group visiting me for a few days. I am looking forward to hosting them! I hope I am chosen as a host! Hopefully I'll find out soon so I can start making preparations. Also, the English volunteer in Rivas said she thinks my site applied to have an English volunteer. I hope she's right; I'd love a sitemate!

Hasta la próxima