it is about ready to pour pour and pour some more here in Granada and since i am not inclined to get caught in the rain anywhere in the world i stopped into the closest place to pass the next 1-2 hours...an internet cafe. No i will not be online for that long, even if it is relatively cheap here to spend time online, that is just a bit excessive. also, while you can get online many places here in Granada the connection is not so consistent. there is a very high probability that at some point during this storm the internet connection is going to be lost AND there is a pretty good chance that the power will go out as well. heck, the phones went out already once today, of course it was when i was on the phone...my first call to The Pregnant One since i left the states. as i mentioned yesterday, i am ecstatic to find that there is a relatively fast internet connection and locations to make international calls. of course i found out yesterday that the Skype connection that was promised is good by the headsets are not. well 2 out of 3 isn´t bad and considering i haven´t been able to make international calls since Mexico it is a really good sign!right, so this might be the time to mention that while internet and phones and other such things are available they are still a luxury in this part of the world. yesterday i mispoke though, Nicaragua isn´t the poorest country in CA, it is the second poorest. still, internet, phones, electricity...not so consistent or reliable. we all know about the water and sewage...indeed there is still much work to be done, but considering the infrastructure and political situations in CA i think Nicaragua is doing fairly well. granted, it is all relative and i have admitedly fallen in love with Granada so my opinion is certainly biased.
coming from Costa Rica to Nicaragua was indeed a shock to the system. the differences are striking and from the moment i reached the border, there was no doubt i was entering a Central American country. i wish i could find the words to describe this sentiment. let me first clarify that this is not meant to be disparaging or judgemental, there is just something that binds many of these countries together and also sets them apart that is hard to describe. the fact that the country and it´s people are poor (approximately 50% of the population live below the poverty line and on average people live on $2 a day) is not really an adequate description or explanation. there is a feeling, an attitude, a history and a sense of pride that cannot be captured in any photos or books or movies...or even words.
for me, i know i am here, in a Central American country when i feel a sense of discomfort and a sense of familiarty at the same time. there is always a moment when a little voice says, "you should not be here, this is too much for you" and immediately following is the strong sense that in fact i should be exactly where i am and nowhere else.
so i find myself seated at a computer a block off of the Parque Central- the center of the city where old men linger, venders sell hot dogs, cashews and plaintain chips while teenagers hawk bracelets and ceramics to the few tourists walking by. Granada is a beautiful colonial city that has some of the most astounding architecture i have seen this trip, and it is falling into disrepair; the heyday of this city was many many generations ago. but there are up-and-coming artists, chefs and writers and, there are children begging on the streets and riding into the ´city´ on sadly pathetic horses.
welcome to Granada.
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