My summer in Nicaragua

   So life is going pretty swell for me.  I did not travel this weekend, which was nice to take a break.  I instead went to one of the biggest markets in all of central america on Sunday to do some shopping.  One of my coworkers took me, which was fun.    

    But this market, called market oriental probably takes up 20 blocks in Managua, it is just huge.  And theres an expression here that if you cant find it at the oriental market then you wont find it anywhere else in Nicaragua.  Needlesstosay, the place is completely swarming with people, food, all kinds of good and bad smells, and noise.  There are places that are open, but a lot of it is located in this man made kind of structure that does not seem to have too much of a format and feels very much like a maze.  I just really had completely no sence of direction in there because we kept switching directions.  People are always tugging at your arms and there are vendors moving through the very tight space with shopping carts filled with food and drinks as well as other merchandise thats being moved through the space.  But this place has vegetables, clothes, toys, electrical appliances, kitchen supplies, I think everything one can imagine and its all at pretty cheap prices.  Therefore its customary for people to come on the weekends and get loaded up on food and anything else for the week.  My host mom for example goes to this market about 2 or 3 times a week because she says it has the best prices.  I wish we had markets like this in the states.  When I went to this market a couple of weeks ago with my mom, it was just really charming that she has formed relationships with so many of the vendors, and also she ran into a couple of people she knew.  It just feels like a place that has a strong sence of community and is rich in culture.  Im going to make sure I make it back before I leave.

   Other than that all is going well.  This coming Wednesday is a national holiday, so I will have the day off and am planning on going to Masaya for an artesenal fair and then this weekend I am off to an island down south know for its precolumbian artifacts and great hikes.  Ill try and send an update on how all my travels go next week.  Hope all is going well with everyone!