Saturday, March 26, 2005
How I got to Nicaragua....again
Link
Ok, so I had this flight, see, at 810 on Monday, March 21st. SO of course, I am crazy to the last minute, and still packing my bags, and get 1 hour of sleep, and Paul only gets 2 because he was helping me SOOOO much, and downloaded all these programs on my computer and stuff. SO if you are anywhere near Paul right now, you should go find him and tell him he is awesome. So he takes me to the airport, but because I am bad with time, especially with no sleep at 5am, we get to the airport 1hr and 35 minutes before my flight, only to find that the ghetto airline Taca closes the line 1 1/2 hour before the flight. So we wait awhile, and I dont get on, but the manager promises me a flight tomorrow (which turns out is something he cannot do, and was not even there the next day), and doesn{t charge me the 100$ to change the flight, which I would never have paid anyway, because thats outrageous. So they tell us to come back Tuesday morning at 3am. Oh, and I also find out, that even though I bought my ticket before March 18th, I need to follow the new luggage restrictions for tickets purchased after March 18th. So I go home, and Paul and I spend the whole day figuring out how much it is to mail all the boxes I left for him to mail (DHL $2,000!!!!, UPS $1700!!!!, USPS $400), so we go with the post office, and frantically try and get everything boxed up and shipped that day. And I have to repack my bags, and get charged $100 extra for the third bag, which is ok because its cheaper than mailing, and even though it will not get here for 6days after my flight, in retrospect, I wish I had done that with everything, because in my sleepless stupor, I mistakenly had some things mailed I need sooner rather than later. But, given the problems with TACA, I was fearful the extra baggage would never get here at all. Well, now I know for next time.
So i go another sleepless night, and Paul too, becuase he is helping me repack again, and takes me to the airport again at 3am, and we wait for 3 hours to see if I get on the flight. Paul is getting upset, and I start to worry about never getting a flight during Semana Santa, but I finally get on 1/2 hour before boarding, which sucks and makes for a very quick goodbye to Paul, and so I leave, sleep like a rock on the plane, and wait in the San jose aiport for 8hours (I could have taken a bus to Nicaragua by then !), and arrive in Esteli very late at night, without my extra bag. I go to the UCA and see people the next day, only to find out everything will be closed Thursday and Friday and Sunday and there wont be any buses either, and some things might be open Saturday if I am lucky.
So all and all things are good, of course I will not get started with work until late next week if I am lucky, but I am finishing up a report for MARENA in Spanish (takes a LONG time) and trying to get organized. With all the travel and lack of sleep I got very sick yesterday, and still dont feel so great today, but at least Thursday I went swimming in the River Esteli in Coyolitos ( acommunity in Miraflor), which was nice, because its crazy hot, and I just came from freezing New York!!!!!
I am now renting a room in the house of a woman who works for UCA, Erika Olivas. Her sister was one of the students who worked with me last time. You can call me there too.
Contact info:
Erika Olivas house: 505 713 6468
UCA Miraflor: 505 713 2971
Mailing address:
Melissa Mark
UCA Miraflor
Apartado Postal 32
Esteli, Nicaragua
If needbe, there is also a DHL office in Esteli where things can be sent for pick up. However, I think they are very expensive.
So below I have posted a list of things that I would love to have if anyone feels inclined to send them to me, and I will keep adding to the list, I am, sure, as time goes on:
Wish List
English language books: especially ones on Nicaragua by Noam Chomsky and ? Kinzer, a New York Times correspondent during the war
powdered gatorade mix
Tea brands[
Yogi Tea: Cocoa Spice, Rejuvenate Green Tea, SleepAid, any others
Traditional Medicines: Breathe Easy Tea, Herbatussin Tea, Stomach Ache Tea
Black teas like Earl grey and Irish breakfast
Energy bars (ones that wont melt), trail mix, dried fruit, instant packages for Nature burgers, falafel, hommos, risotto, babaghanouj, and any other instant mix packages that you just add water and then fry or bake, or just eat. (I think a brand is called Natures Way or Natures Gate that makes many of these things)
Tofu jerky, dried tofu snacks (Asian grocery stores carry these things)
Chocolate good milk chocolate
Anything from Trader joes
natural Peanut butter
Wellness Formula (herbal supplement)
Airborne (herbal supplement)
Celetrial seaonings cough drops.
bras and underwear (email me for details if you really want to send these)
quad ruled notebooks
gel roller pens (Staples makes their own brand, and these are good)
pictures of people I like, real or digital
CDs
Letters, and general updates on your lives:)
Ok, I think thats enough for now
lots of love
Melissa
