Interactive Experience

Interacting with the city and the people is not on short supply. Although, as a result, I'm beginning to feel like a delicate piece of china; men constantly call out to me and yell "preciosa" and "chinita". They also say "adios" and I couldn't understand why they always said goodbye until a guy told me that they might actually be saying "a dios" meaning "to God" as a complement. Each complement is then followed by an incessant stare and I worry that they might crash their car or bike since their eyes follow me down the road as I walk in the opposite direction. I find this interaction all harmless and just part of the machismo attitude in the country. Overall, the people are quite charming and friendly. If I stop and ask for directions, the machismo attitude subsides and I become a real person in their eyes. Either that, or they are shocked that a Chinese looking woman can speak Spanish to them.

Surprisingly, while in Esteli, a few 14 and 15 yr old boys flattered me with a handmade beautiful beaded wooden bracelet. I ventured into a Sandinista bar thinking I might find some old cowboys discussing politics in a corner and instead found kids there and the walls covered with weaponry and old posters urging kids to join the political party. The kids and I took a photo together and soon after they shyly approached me and gave me the bracelet. I thought they wanted me to buy it and in fact they insisted that I take it as a gift from them while not wanting anything in return. They charmed me greatly with their generosity and I plan to send them the photos via email.




Nicas really love their photo taken as I found out today. I wandered into the city center of Leon in search of riots again and instead only found celebrating Nicas. The Sandinista or FSLN members all gathered together to celebrate their win although, earlier in the day, the Liberals staged an organized protest of the elections throughout the country at exactly 2pm. Unfortunately, I was stuck on a bus trying to get back to Leon and missed the protest. From Esteli, I had to wait until a minivan or microbus filled up completely before it would take me back to Leon. I therefore, waited 3 hours for it to finally leave. I didn't mind so much because I spent much of that time talking with a local woman who ended up waiting 4.5 hours for the bus to leave. We enjoyed each other's company and I enjoyed practicing my Spanish. I still find Colombians the friendliest, but Nicas are right up there as well.

When I finally arrived in Leon, everyone in the street wanted their picture taken including the riot police men. I definitely hold no shame in taking photos and so Nicaragua and I are meshing well on the photography front.

Fraudulent Democracy

After watching the Democratic process in the US, I found myself quite impressed with not only the process, but also the results and so was the rest of the world. Suddenly, I feel safer traveling as an American now that Obama is president. Obama's platform of change not only transcends policies, but also physical appearances from the typical white president America has always known; a change that the rest of the world can visibly see. Nicaraguans congratulate me on the election, as does every single traveler I meet. America, overnight, is no longer seen as the bully, but as a country that can implement peace in the world again. Whether Obama lives up to the world expectations or not, I am enjoying the sudden respect America has again in the world's eyes.

Nicaraguans enjoy democracy in their country as well, but it is of the fraudulent kind with the saran wrap cover of democracy labeled on the outside. The right people in power can easily change the content while keeping the same label since Nicaragua relies on the heavy past of corruption in their government to carry it forward in the same manner. Only 2 groups dominate the electoral scene because President Ortega, with the Sandinista party, made a deal with the PLC, the liberal which really means conservative, party that those parties would be the only ones to dominate Congress and even hold positions in the Supreme Court. And in 2006, Ortega managed to win the election with only 38% popular vote since conveniently, a law passed to lower the limit of % needed to win the presidency to 35%. Much of the Sandinista history can be reviewed at the Museum of Revolution that contains worn down photocopies of people and old rocket launchers and grenades. America's constant intervention is also mentioned and their dislike of Reagan because of his support for the Contras known for their brutal killings in Nicaragua, but also mislabeled and misguided as the "Freedom Fighters" in the US. The tour guide is a devout Sandinista and the men who hang out in front of the building appear to be drug addicts with the sign that reads that Bush is an enemy of humanity.

Over the weekend, the entire country held elections for the position of city mayor. Despite the supposedly democratic process in the election, the Liberals are crying fraud. The Sandinistas won major elections in Managua, the capital, and in Leon even though the majority favor the Liberals. I have heard both sides and I am quite fascinated with the passion each side has for their party. Everyone has an opinion and protests continue to occur. I had hoped to run into riots in the streets after the election, but all the police in riot gear probably prevented much of that from happening. The Liberals are claiming that the Sandinistas prevented Liberal watchers from overseeing the vote counting in some areas as well as shutting down polling places early to prevent the Liberals from voting. From Saturday to Monday at 6pm, no alcohol was served and the elections were Sunday with the party Monday night. This is to keep the rowdies from getting out of control.


Monday night, I joined the Sandinistas in celebrating their newly elected mayor. He happily hugged small children shook hands with the men while smiling at the women. The Sandinistas danced proudly in the streets while the Liberals complained loudly and then later marched through the streets ripping up the Sandinista flag. A group of Sandinista guys I met explained that they are proud of their democratic process because the people voted. Well, the government is in the process of deciding if indeed all votes of the people are accounted for, but given Ortega's position in power, I'm sure the Sandinistas will keep their positions. And history repeats itself.

Lonely Planet Writer Dream Crushed

Nicaragua has been on my short-list of countries to see for some time. I have only heard wonderful things about the people and the country and so I finally made my way down. However, my frequent flyer miles could only get me another overnight flight and so when I arrived in Managua, my stomach screamed for food. Instead of taking a shower after arriving at the hotel, I went out to lunch. I soon discovered that my lunch partner, Lucas an Australian, wrote the Guatemala guide for Lonely Planet and founded XelaWho my favorite publication in Xela. Now, he is in the process of writing the Nicaragua guide. I just happen to be one of Lonely Planet's biggest fans, however, for Nicaragua, I am having an affair with the Moon Guide book. Lonely Planet just didn't cut it, which is probably why Lucas is writing the new edition.

For some time, I thought I would enjoy being a travel writer for the Lonely Planet. I love to travel, eat, sleep and party, but after spending the day with one, I have now crossed that off my list. After eating lunch at a nearby seafood restaurant, we compared write-ups on the place. I lacked any adjectives to fairly describe the place and gave up since writing about restaurants in a sentence is really not that fun. We then toured the city together. Interestingly, I didn't realize how differently he sees sites than I because of his job. Often I felt as though we were just trying to check off the boxes and write down the opening and closing times of each place instead of getting a feel for the place and taking in the moment. Or maybe he takes in moments faster than me. After awhile, my filth overwhelmed me, and I left him to take a shower.

We met up later that evening to conquer the nightlife scene. He wanted to just go into each bar and club for a few minutes and leave. I wouldn't let him do it and insisted that we stay and dance at each place and mingle. We still hit quite a few places since many clubs don't close until 9am.

One club looked like a human bumper car scene since fire regulations probably don't apply. Hundreds, packed like sardines, swayed to the wave of music while tired fish sat atop the bar and blocked the thirsty ones from getting any of the all you can drink liquor. Thursdays are Ladies Night at El Chamman where women can drink for free all night long and men sort of subsidize the ladies by paying an $8.50 cover, but then they can drink for free. I thought it was a good deal. Another club appeared to be a teeny bopper hub and another the bump and grind crowd and all had the all you can drink theme for $2.50 for women and $7.50 for men.

Later, I convinced Lucas to play pool with me and he promptly kicked my butt. I thought he might write about the pool hall, but he has a more discriminating eye than I as to what should be in the book and pool halls are not one of them. I honestly don't remember how many clubs and bars we checked out, but I definitely had my fill and my dream crushed.

Managua nightlife is definitely varied and bars and clubs are not the only things to see. We discovered many interesting theatres and music halls as well. The next day, I even went to the circus with Bryce, an American who met his American wife in Iraq while working there and then they left their jobs to live by the beach in Nicaragua. So cool. Back to the circus... it appeared to be a Las Vegas show complete with an 80's aerobics performance, tiger in a cage magic trick, lots of leggy women dancing on stage and lively acrobatics of men dressed in flourescent chicken costumes. Still entertaining.

We timed our evening just perfectly so that we could also see the new Bond movie; we walked in just as the MGM lion roared. The Alhambra VIP theater is fanciest move theater I have ever visited. Inside are over-larged reclining seats onto which I could curl up into a little ball while watching the movie or be almost vertical. By pressing a button located next to the chair, a waiter appears to take the food and drink order. If I wanted, I could order a bottle of wine and a steak sandwich and the waiter would deliver it to my chair. The ticketer allowed me to pick my seats when I bought them and each theater only holds about 26 chairs. Oh, and Bond looked good in the movie!

I'm already behind on Nicaragua with the day activities I will write about later. Oh, and wanted to mention that I just booked an awesome job in Bolivia starting Dec. 30th. I'm trying to figure out logistics now and will write more later. Very excited though!

Home Sweet Home

After returning home for my MBA reunion, I didn't have any interest in updating my blog. I just went back to my normal routine of catching up with the fam and friends. Now that I am in Nicaragua, I feel guilty for letting my blog go unattended for so long. And I hope my readership, that now includes my dad's Japanese senior center community, has not gone through a withdrawal.

My dad recently informed me that he gathers the seniors during their hot meal time and lets them read my blog. I suddenly feel a little exposed and wonder if I have written anything offensive. Although, my friends tell me that I need to write more offensive things and lay down the real dirt. Well, my blog is what it is, and I still have no idea who reads it, but at least I am entertaining my dad's senior center.

My flight home returned me back to LA in time to attend my 5 year MBA reunion. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was surprised to find that everyone looked pretty much the same, but just more successful than when we had graduated. Most people went into the finance sector, but seem to be doing fine despite the many layoffs. I had to tell my classmates that 5 years after my MBA, I am unemployed and vagabonding. Surprisingly, or not, many people told me that I was living their dream. I tried to explain that they could choose the same lifestyle, they just needed to take the risk. But for everyone, there is always a reason why they can't. Now that I have taken the plunge, I just can't imagine ever going back to the real world of working, but don't tell my boss that since my leave of absence supposedly ends in 6 months. Although many might say that I have been vacationing ever since I left on Mother's Day, I really have been running around and working quite a bit despite my blog highlights of the fun stuff. Though, last week, I took a real vacation in Carmel.

A few months earlier, I met Joy at my friend Don's wedding and she invited me to stay at her house in Carmel for a week. She normally rents it out for $2800/week, but she let me stay there for free so that I could truly just relax. She thought that I needed down time. After sleeping on couches, the floor and hard bunk beds for the past few months, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in her wonderfully serene house by the beach.


I invited a few friends down and we cooked, hiked, and chilled together. Don dropped by during the week and a few girlfriends came down for the weekend. I am so thankful for her generosity and feel refreshed to tackle Nicaragua.

While in town, I was fortunate enough to be around to celebrate Glenda, my sister-in-law's birthday, Kristen's birthday, Ali's baby shower, see my fam including my cousins, aunts and uncles, and attend Tobe' and Roger's farewell party. Tobe' and Roger are sailing down to Mexico and plan to sail around the world in the Spring. I had planned to join them in Mexico today, but at the last minute, I remembered how much I dislike boats and water. Sorry guys.

On Election day, I volunteered at the Obama campaign headquarters in SF and called elderly men and women living in Pennsylvania. I encouraged them to vote if they had not already, and they all seemed so excited to be voting for Obama. Pennsylvania went to Obama. Yeah! I also dropped by SF City Hall and cheered on the "No on Prop 8" folks. And that evening, I celebrated Don's birthday at his election party/birthday party in San Mateo. I even had a chance to photo shoot with Barack and J-Mac. I had booked my next flight so that I could catch the election. Now that it is over, I am in Nicaragua and ready to explore again.

A Little Bit of Paradise

Upon arriving on a Sunday afternoon in Taganga, a small fishing village, I immediately felt the urge to leave. Herds of locals crowded the small and dirty beach and music blared from the restaurants on the sand. What I thought might be a quiet ending to my trip proved the opposite. I hopped on a boat the next day and headed to inside Parque Tayrona located on the Northern coast of Colombia.

Parque Tayrona is filled with jungle, beautiful beaches and the ruins of the Tayrona Indians. When my boat hit land, I immediately claimed my hammock, my bed each night located on a small hill overlooking 2 inlet crescent beaches and chilled out. I spent the next couple of days floating around in the water since I really don't like to swim, watching the sunrise and set, reading by candlelight at night, listening to the waves crash below my hammock, and laughing under the full moon with Andries, a South African who oddly managed to see the same shapes in the clouds that I saw. A perfect bit of paradise without the city chaos. Unfortunately, I can only chill for so long and needed to get back to civilization after 2 days.

I returned the same way that I came, but the boat somehow transformed itself into the death boat that jumped across the turbulent ocean back to Taganga. I unwisely chose a front seat and found myself bouncing up and down and nearly off the motor boat. Overall, I survived the boat ride, but my back didn't. Despite my pain, my frugality steered me into buying a 20 hr bus ride instead of a 1.5 hr plane ride back to Bogota. Of course, I later regretted that decision. Thankfully, Victoria let me stay at her place when I returned to Bogota.


On the same night that I met German, the politician, in Cartagena at a bar, I also met a couple of wonderful people working for USAID, a US government agency that provides international development support around the world. I loved chatting with Victoria. Three years ago, at the age of 34, she left the US and decided to live in Colombia where her father was born. She gave up her life as a real estate agent in Manhattan and decided to start over because she was not happy. Now she is totally in love and married to a Colombian, about to start her own bar business and completely happy.

Interestingly, Victoria tells me that Colombians often ask people "estas contenta?" meaning are you content or happy whereas one of the first questions an American will ask is "what do you do for a living?" as though a job completely defines a person and their level of happiness. I think that most Americans would say "no" to the Colombian question because they are so busy trying to keep up with Jones. Being surrounded by poverty during most of my travels, I try to keep my perspective and am thankful that I am at least healthy. I, like many, have lost a ton in the stock market, but it is only money and we do have better opportunities in the US to keep ourselves above the national line of poverty than we would in many other countries. Although the state of the economy may determine when I must return to the US permanently.

After a nice evening of conversation, Victoria invited me and Lucy, the Brit, over for breakfast the next morning at her Dad's place overlooking the city. I loved the views from the top of the building! Victoria and I met up again in Bogota and spent an evening attending an opening of a new fashion store, salsa dancing at a nearby club and drinking up at Mark's, another USAIDer, gorgeous flat. Fun times indeed.

My time in Colombia has now come to an end, but at least I have met some extraordinary people, learned a little more about this phenomenal country and people, and created friendships I know will last. I am now back in LA for my 5 year MBA reunion.

Romancing the Stone

Cartagena is the jewel of Colombia for its cobblestone streets, old Spanish style homes painted in various colors and the massive wall that entrenches the beauty of the city. Cartagena often saw its city attacked by pirates and therefore the Spanish built forts and walls to protect their land. The beauty and timelessness of the city still stands and the city is now listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

I spent an entire day getting lost in the narrow streets while enjoying the romanticism the city exudes. At night, I even took a horse drawn carriage with Lucy, a Brit at my hostel. Although, often my enjoyment would be interrupted by a tout trying to sell me something. Cartagena is different from most Colombian cities in that tourism has flourished and the authenticity of the city has taken a toll. Hat, sunglass, CD sellers crowd the streets and bother tourists all day long. I'd close my eyes and imagine what the city must have been like before the touts took over and during the 16th century in its heyday. I then drift away in my imagination only to return to find I am being followed by a line of different sellers.

To escape the touts, I went to visit the Volcan de Lodo El Totumo where the crater is filled with mud that is suppose to provide health benefits for the skin due to the numerous minerals. I walked up a steep set of stairs to get to the top of the crater in order to jump into my waiting mud bath. Due to the consistency of the mud, I floated in the bath along with numerous others crammed into a jacuzzi sized crater. All my numerous mosquito bites stung from the mud and I am still waiting to see the health benefits in action.

The next day, I went out to what I thought would be a hole in the wall bar near my hostel in the poor area of town outside the city walls. Strangely enough, a beauty queen with title sash, the recent ex soccer coach for Colombia, and German Varga Lleras who might very well be Colombia's next President showed up at different points in the night. Of course, I had to meet German and he insisted on a cheek to cheek picture, which I happily obliged. ;-)

German is the grandson of a former Colombian president, popular with the people and is second to the President in the government as I am told.
Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have a bodyguard with him even though an assassination attempt was made on his life last year. People tell me that he is the only person to stand up to President Uribe who is known to take down his enemies. I always had a positive image of Uribe, but locals tell me that he is corrupt and hopes that German will run for President. German seemed very personable and during the night, locals often went up to him to tell them what they thought of the government and German easily engaged in conversation and made time for everyone. I can't imagine this same scene in the US.

saying goodbye

After volunteering for the last month with the daycare center, I finally had to say goodbye to the kids and just when I had learned almost all their names. 60 kids gave me big kisses and hugs on my last day. They even made me a cute thank you card with their thumb prints, while the teachers gave me a bracelet and earrings as my farewell present. I had a difficult time leaving them all since they have all meant so much to me. I have to admit though that I had my favorites like Orlando with his ever running nose, Kevin the bully who is also the most conscientious worker and loves to help clean up, Wendy with her quirky and constant smile, Sophia who is just a darling, Diego who has some social difficulties but is the sweetest child ever, Daniella the super star singer, and Juan who always gave me a kiss hello each morning. I miss them already. I also miss the teachers and cleaning staff who always kept the place so clean; they even washed the teddy bears and hung them to dry.

Sadly, I could not take any photos of the children at the orphanage due to privacy issues. However, I will remember each of them and I'm glad to know that a few of them are headed to happy homes shortly. I found teaching English a challenge, and at the same time so rewarding when I felt like I had made breakthroughs with the kids. Another guy is continuing the teaching and I hope the kids continue to learn. They all gave me hugs goodbye and didn't want me to leave. I so enjoyed learning from them.

I could not leave Medellin without saying goodbye to Virginia's family as well. I dropped by and dropped off some photos I took of the family. They are all so kind and hospitable and Virginia's grandmother spent some time giving me a Spanish lesson on the different words in Spanish for "great". Afterwards, I dropped by the hostel to say goodbye to Max as well as a couple others. Finally, I said goodbye to Luisa and thanked her for her hospitality with flowers. The night before, we went out to my new favorite hole in the wall salsa bar to celebrate my last day in Medellin. I crashed and burned on the dance floor again, but still had fun. I finally created a wonderful social group only to leave the next day.

If I had to chose a place to stay put for awhile, Medellin would be at the top of the list for the sincere and friendly people, great weather, excellent transportation, and fun nightlife. I must move forward though and so now I am in the North on the coast.