Tang, Chickens, and other thoughts

1. People here LOVE tang. They spice it up with corn and ginger, but really they love tang.
2. As much as I gripe about the pigs, I really do love watching them interact. I love watching them be mean to each other. I love watching them snuggle up to each other when they fall asleep in the midday sun. I love watching the power plays come up when they are eating--who is the top pig, who is the passive pig?
3. Two hour naps to avoid talking. Period. Sometimes I get sick of talking and it is really nice to just sit and enjoy some peace and quiet of my own mind. Thank you.
4. Getting rides up to the lodge to use the Internet from one of the other co-owners, John, and his family. We talked about how I liked Totoco and learned a bit more about their organization. He said that their mission was to make themselves obsolete because in the end a place like Totoco should be run by local managers. This is something I totally admire and completely stand behind. A the end of it all, it is the people here who should be making the choices about how to develop tourism here in Balgue. 
5. Meeting other travelers is one of the greatest joys of traveling at all. I have met a couple from the UK who had traveled and worked in Africa for a micro-financing project to help farmers with agricultural businesses. I have met a couple who owned a flower plantation in California, near Santa Barbara, who had a avocado orchard and heritage turkeys on the side. Talking to these people inspire me to keep dreaming big. While I may not want to raise turkeys or fund hybrid seeds, I will settle for expanding my realm of what I thought my life could be. I thank these people for listening to my ramblings and opinions.
6. The sunsets here truly never get old. 
7. Realizing that this is the happiest I have been since I started university. Even if I have to shovel pig shit, at the end of the day I am much happier here than I was back home. While I miss my family, friends and local community back home, I finally feel a sort of freedom I never felt in my hometown. I no longer feel like I have to defend myself, my opinions, or my views on the world. While I am surely in better place to have discussions with like minded people, I am enjoying this time away from the status quo which tells us all to go get jobs and have children. I am enjoying my time with Peter Pan while it lasts.
8. A few days ago I was walking back down from the lodge after talking to my family. The sweet fresh air of the fruit trees all around me was intoxicating. The way that the clouds and trees seemed to form a sort of intricate lacework over the bright lights from the nearly full moon. Something about this walk home was magical and not something I would have  stopped to appreciate back home.
9. My Grandparents continually surprise me with their warmth and love. 
10. Ojo de Agua in Isla de Ometepe is worth the $2 entrance fee. Go, spend an afternoon in the water and sunbathing next to the pool. Enjoy the bliss that is being a tourist with money. 
11. Finally seeing a real chicken on a chicken bus.
12. Walking from Ojo de Agua to Santa Domingo in the pre-sundown light is extraordinary.
13. Watching the moon slowly become more prominent in the evening sky in Santa Domingo is a memory I will cherish. Even if it was while I waited for a bus for 45 minutes to return me to my temporary home. 
14. Having conversations with Pablo about why life in Balgue is so great--no gangs, no violence, and no stabbings. Clearly this is Heaven on Earth. 
15. Realizing that it is so difficult for those in the lower classes of society to catch a break. And the heart break that comes when talking to a mother who wants to send her child to university for a better life and realizing that both of you know how difficult that hurdle is. 
16. Wishing that you could really do something to change the lives of people here. The wage of a farm hand should not be $3 a day, when a beer here costs $0.88.