Central American update

Many of you have likely heard about the delicate political situation developing in Honduras. Today Nicaragua is hosting a meeting of Central and South American leaders, including the ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

For an informed perspective on the Honduran political crisis, check out our friends' blog (Andrew and Amanda, MCCers in Honduras).

Fresh Fruit

One thing we love about Nicaragua is the fresh fruit that's readily available. Some sort of yummy, healthy fruit is available during every season of the year. Granted, the Nicaraguan climate means that some of our favorite fruits don't grow here (like peaches, strawberries, and blueberries). But there's more than enough other flavors to make up for it.

One of our favorite fruit creations is a papaya fruit smoothie. We put papaya, bananas, the juice from 2 or 3 oranges, and plain yogurt into a blender and enjoy a delicious and healthy snack for only about $0.35 a serving. Sure beats the $4.00 smoothies that you can buy in the US!

Money, Money, Money

Nicaragua has new money! About a month ago the Central Bank released new bills into circulation that are supposed to resist wear and tear longer than the old ones. Old bills were your typical paper money...the new ones are plastic in nifty colors and sizes. They've also changed the amounts a little, too. We used to see old bills of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 Cordobas (examples are on the left in the photo). Now, there are bills of 10, 20, 100, and 200 (examples are on the right...we have yet to see new bills of 50 or 500). The current exchange rate is about C$20 to the dollar. Here's a list of common things we buy and the prices in Cordobas, to give you an idea of how we use these bills:

- 1 liter of milk: C$16

- 1 bus fare anywhere within Managua: C$2.50

- 1 taxi ride from our house to the airport: C$80

- 1 dozen bananas: C$12

- 1 newspaper: C$7

- 1 Big Mac Combo at McDonald's: C$84

- 1 plate of food at a local cafeteria that Alan buys for lunch: C$40

- 1 papaya that weighs about 8 lbs.: C$35

- 1 large avacado: C$8

Garden

We were amazed at how quickly our garden sprung up during our 3 weeks away. The rains and intense sunshine apparently are working wonders for our papaya tree, basil plant, and two cantaloupe plants. We're still waiting to see if we'll actually get any cantaloupes...there are flowers but no little melons yet. We've also had bad luck with papayas, so we'll see. At least we are enjoying the basil leaves. :-)

Wedding, Graduation, and Family Time

From mid-May through June 5 we were with the Claassens and the Thrushes in KS and CA. We attended Peter's graduation from Greenville College in Greenville, IL. We also celebrated the wedding of Andrew and Brie in McPherson, KS. A short trip to Chino, CA, gave us time with family and friends from SoCal, including a baby shower at Gateway. The trip was fast and fun...we ate good food, stayed up late with family, and enjoyed passing Simon around. :-) Here are some photos from the wedding and our time in general.

A Common Place - Nicaragua feature

For a glimpse of some of the great work of one of our partner organizations.

http://mcc.org/gallery/09_05/

Team Meeting and Volcano Fun Day

On Monday we had MCC Nicaragua team meetings in Managua. Thirteen of us plus Simon gathered at the MCC office for a toasty day of sharing about our work, as well as hearing updates on budgets and various MCC projects. Simon enjoyed the meetings, provided he was held by someone.

On Tuesday we had a team fun day. We traveled about 60 kilometers south of Managua to the Mombacho volcano where we enjoyed a day of hiking, spectacular views, and cooler temperatures. Simon tagged along in his sling and was most interested in napping.

Here are some pictures from our two days.