En donde nacio ud? the US
Y su padre? also in the US
Y su madre? also in the US
Long pause and then, "are there a lot of planes in the US?" yes there are quite a few planes.
"Do you have bicycles there too and what kind?" Yes we have bicycles! of all shapes and colors, from mountain to road, to cruisers and trick bikes.
"i saw a motorcycle wreck the other day that happened like this...."
"do you watch movies?" yes i watch movies
"i'm going to let you borrow one of my movies -the expendables- later on today, i think you might like it" thanks Franco
That was a bit of a conversation I had this morning with my friend Franco, the 8 year bicycle enthusiast whose dad works down the street.
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7:00 a.m.
Ring Ring, "yosh I am about to knock on your door, I want to leave something at your house." ok.
"Here are a few flowers for you to plant in your garden, this, that, and Hibiscus." Fantastic! i'll get right on it.
"Adios." Adios.
For the past 9 months I have been rekindling the flame that was my agrarian birthright in the 500 sq. ft. of garden that is at my house. Mirna, the lady who brought me plants at 7 in the a.m., knows that and is one of the people who gives me regular advice on how to make that happen. The past handful of of people who have walked in the house have all commented "hey the garden here is nice" I smiled everytime.
Being acknowledged for something your proud of feels better than the caffeine of 10 pots of coffee running through your system.
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Chris, the current intern, and I have been canvassing the town for the past month in hopes of setting up a new program at Casa-Nica. It is a not so long story whose seed was planted only a few months ago and that has been watered like crazy during the month of July. The last victory came about 5 days ago, I walked into the office of the director of the branch of the national health care office in Masaya. It was my second visit there. The first one nearly ended before it began when the director found out that I was there to ask for a something instead of give something. He had said "I don't have time for this today." My friend who had gone out on a limb to get the introduction for me went out another step and broke through his lack of time. What a friend!
I was given a little over 3 minutes to make our case. It went well.
The second visit I did alone. I walked in with my letter of intent in hand, part of the formal rigamarole that has to be followed in working with institutions in Nicaragua, and went to drop it off with the secretary. I had hoped for a second audience with the director but knew that getting into his office a second time was not likely to happen. I gave her the letter, dropped my 20 questions that she didn't have the answer to, and then waited. She had to go and consult the boss. I had heard him in the next room having a meeting with a number of people. She walked out of his office followed by director. He had stopped his meeting to quickly answer my questions, shake my hand, and let me know that he would be waiting for our next bit of news to continue with the programming.
I left the building shaking the hands of everyone that had made eye contact with me on my way in and thanked them for their time. I kept my composure all the way around corner when I gave a fist pump of success then followed with a clicking of my heels in the air.
