Tickle Your Ears a Bit

Take a listen to my favorite Minneapolis band, Dark Dark Dark.  And while you're at it, feast your eyes on some bleak Minneapolis corporate parking lot scapes and the beautiful blue sky.  *Missing home.*

Now that's Good Parenting

When my older sisters were little, the family lived on a farm, and of course, they was po'.  Unpleasantly, one weekend it came time to slaughter the chickens.

Apparently Keri and Kim went into school on Monday and shared their experiences with some classmates and got teased pretty bad.  They came home dejected, tears streaming down their faces and told my dad about it.  "The kids at school say they get their chicken from the store!"

My dad's response made their little faces perk right up, proud-like.

He said:
"Girls!  Not everybody can afford to have their own chickens.  Let's not make them feel bad by telling them stories about our life here on the farm."

Beach Walk with Tadashi

This is Tadashi -- he's the dude I came here to visit.  We met in Chile in 2009 and he moved here to Florianopolis Brazil shortly after.  We met after he was finished with work to go to the beach and to dinner. 

A human pyramid is totally possible even with just two people.

This is a gross little creature who scurries after the wave goes out to sea to crawl under the sand. EW!

This is a jellyfish.  Here they call them "Agua Viva" (Water Alive). In Costa Rica they are "Aguas Malas" (Bad Water)

Here are thousands of Agua Vivas laying on the shore.

Trying the national drink, Caipirinha (cay-peer-ee-nya)

A slight variation on the human pyramid.

Taking the bus back home was a hilarious event.

Tadashi and I passed the time on the very long bus-ride by doing very intelligent things, like making numbers.  It was pretty hilarious at the time, especially because the bus was moving and it was hard to hold the poses.  '3' and '0' were impossible, but we got the rest of them pretty good. 

'1'

'2'

'3'

'4'

'5'

'6'

'7', and my favorite

'8'

'9'

'0'

Good times.

It's Educational!

If there's one word to describe this silly little blog, it would be "eductional".  Because my main goal in logging on and posting nearly every day is to open the eyes of the reader to the intellectually stimulating things one finds across the globe.  Actually, we're going to take a quick break from poop and tampons today to share a very interesting podcast from This American Life about how money is really just fiction.  But specifically I wanted to share the section about the state of money in Brazil just a few decades ago.  They were experiencing 80% inflation every MONTH!  For 50 years!  Super interesting show.  If you can't commit to the full hour, just listen to the Brazil bit in Act One.  Do it!

p.s. I don't know what I would do without This American Life. It's gotten me through many a lonely night and scary bus ride.

Friends Don't Let Friends Smoke Tampons?

One of my favorite party tricks is to take out a tampon and hold it up like Groucho Marx's cigar and talk like the Vlassic Pickle Stork and...well, it's HILARIOUS.  In my mind. 

The night I graduated from college (with a 2-year degree that took me 13 years to obtain BOO-YA), some friends and I went out for a little mini celebration afterward.  One particular friend, who I'll call "Alason" (her real name) had probably seen the aforementioned joke one-too-many times, because when I reached into my purse...she knew what was coming.  And then, in an attempt to prevent my humiliation she said, simply, and quietly enough for only me to hear: 

"Kady.  Don't Stoop."

"You know what would be hilarious right now?  A tampon cigar."

"OK!"

Guess what this gesture means in Brazil? 

Like me, you might have assumed it means "OK".  Because that's what it has meant your entire life.  It doesn't.  It doesn't mean that at all.

Actually, here, it means something worse than "asshole".  And somebody finally told me what I've been flashing around at them for eight days.  And as you can imagine, since I am walking around in a country where I CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH ANYBODY, I've been flashing it plenty.  I guess I like to let people know I'm "OK".  Think about all the times you might use it, especially if you didn't speak the language, for example:  'This food is great', 'I can see just fine from here', 'I got a photo', 'thanks for the beer', 'I understand', etc, etc, etc. 

SO.  Here's how to really say, "OK" in Brazil.  You simply turn your asshole on it's side, OK?

Or, just go with another old favorite.  (I wonder what this one really means?)

Book Review - Anna Karenina

So sorry, cousin Jacqui, but it's time once again for your favorite feature of my blog, the book review.  The only book I can review right now is Anna Karenina because it has taken me 3.5 months to read it.  Some friends of mine put out a facebook invite for a 'nonpretentious' bookclub and that the first book would be Anna Karenina.  They planned to have an amazing Russian-themed dinner party back home in Minnesota... (I thought that choosing what some think is the single best novel ever written a teensy bit pretentious, HA).  Anyway, I'm traveling and couldn't make it.  I was so jealous and sad and felt left out so I decided to participate anyways.  Then I started posting photos of myself reading the book on the beach, knowing how much snow my friends back home were getting.

I started by getting an 'email a day' from DailyLit.com, but found myself wanting more each evening.  Then, I just happened to see a copy at Cafe Cafe, my little coffee break place and decided to buy it.  Way too much money.  $18!  Not to mention the sheer size and weight of this thing.  Bad idea for the backpack.  GOSH.  Anyways, I decided it was worth it at the time as long as I finished it before leaving Costa Rica (which I didn't) and proceeded to bring that book to the beach with me and then not read it because I was too busy beach-ing.

This book is so...zzzzzzzz...interesting...*hic*

So, my review.  I don't really feel like reviewing the book.  I'm just going to give you some tips and some favorite parts and quotes.  Sue me.

TIPS:

This book is long.  It's a commitment to read it.  Do it in the winter when there's nothing else going on and you have to snuggle up in front of the fireplace anyways.  I had the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.  They did a great job translating in my opinion.  I had heard others in the book group complain that their translation was crappy so it's important to get a good one.  Don't be afraid to skim entire chapters about boring old Russian politics, if you're like me and extremely uninterested.  Tolstoy was a brilliant man, and I...am not.  The jist of it is obvious, the details, very tedious.

FAVORITE PART:

My favorite part is the names of some of the main characters include my name.  Que narcissistic!  AKA Stephan Ar'kady'ich. And Anna Ar'kady'evna.  I smiled every time I came across it, which was often.  And that just proves how I have no business belonging to a bookclub that would choose Anna Karenina for it's first pick. 

FAVORITE QUOTES:

On gossip:
"The conversation had begun nicely, but precisely because it was much too nice, it stopped again.  They had to resort to that sure, never failing remedy - malicious gossip."

On me, in an argument:
"Sergei Ivanovich [the other person] always defeated his brother, [me] precisely because Sergei Ivanovich [the other person] had definite notions about [insert whatever subject here];...whereas Konstantin Levin [me] had no definite and unchanging notions, so that in these arguments Konstantin [me] was always caught contradicting himself."
"it most often happens that you argue hotly only because you can't understand what precisely your opponent wants to prove."

On having a crush:
"At first Anna sincerely believed that she was displeased with him for allowing himself to pursue her; but...having gone to a soiree where she thought she would meet him, and finding that he was not there, she clearly understood from the sadness which came over her that she was deceiving herself, that his pursuit not only was not unpleasant for her but constituted the entire interest of her life."

"She studied his face to make up for the time in which she had not seen him.  As at every meeting, she was bringing together her imaginary idea of him (an imcomparably better one, impossible in reality) with him as he was."

On marriage:
"'You see, it's true,' said Sergei Ivanovich.  'And from now on it's good-bye to bear hunting - your wife won't allow it!'  Levin smiled.  The idea of his wife not allowing him pleased him so much that he was ready to renounce forever the pleasure of seeing bears."

On respect:
"'Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.'"

On love:
"'...I've always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you'd like them to be.'"


IN SUMMARY:
Yes.  Good.  Sad.  Depressing.  Smart.  Heavy.  Literally.  Takes up too much space in backpack.  Glad to be finished.

Crazy Travel Story

I just chatted with a friend and got this insane travel story:

FRIEND:
I went to Italy...well, didn't quite make it.  Got to Paris and then got stopped by the border police because some of my papers weren't alright.  So they decided to interrogate me while I was crying and not understanding French and then I spent the next 3 hours in a cell with some Nigerians.

ME:
hahahaHAAAAA!!!  (I am a very supportive and understanding friend).

FRIEND:
It smelled like pee and I swear it was poop on the walls.  THEN I started vomiting cause I had a terrible migraine and I banged on the prison door asking for help.  So the guy comes to the door and just yells "no English, no English!"   Then a little later I got on a flight back home and was just happy to be in my own bed.

ME:
OMG - this is not real?  This is a movie right?

FRIEND:
I think it would have been a better movie than the ones I saw on the plane back.  I think this can be added to worst travel experiences.  At least I flew economy plus back with some extra leg room and a view of first class!
 
 
 
What was your worst travel experience? 

I think mine was the Vietnamese bus ride. 
 
Click here to read my travel buddy Summer's version of my worst travel experience.
 
Warning # 1:  I'm not proud of the way I behaved on this bus.
Warning # 2:  The story is quite long, but worth it.

A Few Notes on Brazil

I have crawled inside of my own brain in Brazil.  They're all talking a funny code that I can't understand.  To me, Portuguese sounds like Italian, Russian, French, Spanish, Swedish all rolled into one.  I have two friends who speak English, and the rest speak Spanish, so I can communicate a TINY bit with them, but for the most part I just zone out or focus on people's blackheads.  So far I have learned how to say:

Bom dia (bom jee-ah) "Good Day"
Ou no se falla Portuguese "I don't speak Portuguese"
Ah tay "Uh-oh"

That's it.  Otherwise I am attempting to speak Spanish to Portuguese people.  Hilarious!  And I'm not a novelty here.  For the first time in a while, there are blonde ladies running all over the place and so people assume I can speak Portuguese.  Which is why I learned the second phrase.  It doesn't stop me from trying some times to make jokes.  For instance, on the bus the other day, I was sitting next to a lady, and we passed the military office in Florianopolis.  There were six soldiers outside.  One was sweeping and 5 were like, watching him sweep.  So I made a hilarious pantomime joke about "how many soldiers does it take to sweep?"  She laughed, and I congratulated myself.  I guess some things are just universally hilarious.

Here instead of Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., they have "Saturday and Sunday" as normal (and the same as Spanish = Sabado and Domingo) but then Monday - Friday are 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.  Segunda, Terca, Quarta, Quinta, and Sexta.  If I am not spelling them right, sue me.

So Wednesday the 4th becomes Quarta la Quarta.  Also sometimes for Friday they just say Sex.  HAAAAAAhahaahaa  Crazy Brazilians!

The 60-hour Trip

From Brandi and Grady's house to Managua:  (5.5 hours)

Brandi and Grady drive us to end of their 45-minute bumpy gravel road at about 7:30 in the morning on Thursday, where we met our taxi drivers.
Taxi drivers bring us from Leon to Managua where I had my last Nicaraguan meal at Tip Top, which is Nicaraguan fine cuisine just like KFC.  You really can't leave Nicaragua without eating Tip Top!  Unless you're Josette, who had orange juice and did not get diarhhea.  I think.

From Managua to San Jose, Costa Rica:  (9 hours 45 minutes)

Central American buses give you a seat number, kind of like they have on flights.  And this is awesome, when they overfill the bus.  It means you have a seat.  But jeez, people, when the bus is empty, you really can sit where you want.  I have had women go and 'tell on me' with the bus driver because I was in their seat, had the stinky fat man next to me NOT move across to the row next to us when it emptied (even though I begged and begged him inside my mind), etc.  Well on this bus I was seated next to a woman but all the rows behind us were taken, so I moved one row back to have two seats to myself.  I fell asleep.  Enter a stupid schoolkid, who WAKES ME UP from sleeping to show me I'm in his seat.  Irritated, I grab my crap, noisily move a row back giving him a look, like "ooh you're a big man. Why don't you just take any of these thousands of empty seats?!"  No worries, I'm snoring again in seconds.
Then a poor poor poor grandma gets on the bus, with her daughter and granddaughter and it takes a half hour because she BROKE HER LEG and was trying to get to a hospital in Costa Rica.  I mistakenly thought she was just extremely obese because of a jerky American sitting in front of me saying, "whoa she is really big. What were they thinking letting her on this bus?"  She wasn't really that fat actually, she just couldn't move because her LEG WAS BROKEN.  I had a panic attack on her behalf because somewhere during the 9 hour bus ride when she couldn't even get off the bus to go through the border with the rest of us, she tried to go to the bathroom but then gave up after making it only like three rows back.  Stupid American man tries to tell her daughter that the bathroom is too small for her.  So she had to go back to her seat where I imagined her peeing or pooping right there on the seat.  Later towels would be changed and I was sure it was for peeing or pooping but it wasn't, they were just propping up her leg.  I will never know how she made that whole trip without going to the bathroom, Pobrecita.

Costa Rica to Mexico City: (13 hours)

Arrive at airport at 9:45pm.  Ready to just sleep in airport.  Figure I have tons of internet time, since my flight doesn't leave until 7am.  WRONG.  No available wi-fi.  Good LORD.  I don't even know what airline I'm flying.  I just know I'm going to end up in Miami at some point.  Brush teeth, pinch every zit on my face, put on sweatshirt and fleece, take out towel and use it for blanket (always bring a towel when traveling).  First time sleeping in an airport, that I can remember.  Well, it sucks.  I can't sleep, there were no chairs so I'm on a full-on tile floor, worrying too much about getting ripped off.  Finally the morning comes, I figure out I must be flying to Mexico City to get to Miami eventually, change into jeans, get in the correct line, pay my $25 exit fee (ugh) and depart Costa Rica. 

Mexico City to Miami: (5 hours)

There was a Starbucks in the airport at Mexico City! STARBUCKS!  I was so excited I dropped $4.50 on a mocha!  And took a photo!

I don't know if I've ever been this happy to see a Starbucks before!

People ran past me and made such a ruckus that I followed.  Somebody told me it was Itati Cantoral, a famous Mexican actress.  Usually it's me the paprazzi is after, so I was glad to get a reprieve for once.

 

Pathetic far-away shot of famous celebrity being chased by paparazzi.

Miami to Santiago, Chile: (15 hours)

Arrive in the United States!  Kiss soil, as I have not seen the US for five months.  Pinch every zit on my face, brush teeth, wash armpits, read magazines! When you're out of the country, English smut magazines are a luxury only the very lucky can find and the very rich can afford.  Oh, the magazines!
Brad and Angelina are so happy! Jen Aniston has fungus fingernails.  Suri is given explicit toys to play with!  She's RIPPED from her bed at 1am for crazy dinners that Katie prepares.
Then an old lady fell down on the moving escalator.  But I was on the one running next to it.  I jumped! over to the one she was on and ran and ran to help her but by that time her stupid husband finally figured it out and slowly helped her up. 
Flight delayed 4 hours due to weird fire on tarmack and we have to stop in Cancun Mexico to get GAS.  haha.  I pop a Xanex for just such an emergency as flying and wake up in Santiago.  Amaze-balls!  10 hours went by!  I must have been tired after all that Celebrity News!

Santiago Chile to Sao Paulo Brazil: (8.5 hours)

Boring.  But check out the Andes!  Super gorgeous to fly over.  And I got my own row of three seats! Sleepy time!!!

I finally finished Anna Karenina too!  Spoiler Alert: she dies.

Sao Paolo Brazil to Florianopolis Brazil: (2 hours)

I figure out my connection was screwed up because of the delay out of Miami, and they slowly take their time at the connection place to get me on the flight and I waited there for 40 minutes while a girl tried to ask each person what to do.  I am patient, infinitely patient, but I have somebody picking me up in Floripa, so I want to make this flight!  It's leaving in 20 minutes, people!  Finally they print me a boarding pass and tell me to run.  Which irritates me.  So I sort of jog.  I make it with plenty of time, and get picked up in Floripa by my fabulous friends Tadashi, Fabiano, Luciana and Maria.  60 or so hours.  To get from stupid Nicaragua to stupid Brazil.  But the flight was cheap man. 

And now I'm here!  In Brazil!!!!


By the numbers:
6 flights (including stop in Cancun)
2 Xanex
1 bus
6 passport stamps
2 old lady emergencies
3 times getting a row all to myself
1 book
1 underwear change
0 showers
3 days
1 overpriced coffee

Happy Retirement, Mom!

I'm so happy for you!

I should have found a more flattering photo of your mustache.  Sorry.

My memories of your working life:
When I was a little kid, you always worked at home managing the apartment complex where we lived.  I loved typing on your typewriter and your 10-key machine and pretending to collect money in the pouch with the zipper that you used to deposit everybody's rent! 
When I was like 11 or 12, you got that job at UHC processing insurance claims.  You had to work nights for a really long time.  In fact, when I got my drivers' license, if I wanted to use the car, I would have to pick you up, and sometimes fell asleep in the car waiting because you would always work late.  So dedicated!
At times, you needed to vent and complain about "the office" and I knew it was important to let you get things off your chest...but I had no idea what you were talking about and so I would just nod and express my complete agreement.
But then finally you got on the day shift, and after I graduated high school Nikki Werdier and I got hired too and we all worked together!  I used to run out to the car at 5:57am practically still in my pajamas so we could make it to work by 6am.  (It was at some point during this time that some honest person clued me into the fact that I have a greasy spot in my hair where it parts halfway down the back of my head if I don't wash it.)  Sometimes we'd go to lunch at Fast Eddies.  And I always came to your desk for coffee break.
One day, we had a record cold of -90 degrees Fahrenheit with windchill.  We got up, got the car unstuck from the driveway and drove all the way to the office only to find that it was closed. 

I can't believe you have worked there for over 20 years!

Now both you and dad are retired!!  All the better to take care of me when I live with you this summer.  And if you do a really really good job, I might consider staying longer.

Here's hoping you and dad don't kill each other with all this extra time spent together.  LOVE YOU!

Ode to Kerrie Louise

Josette wanted to visit both Brandi and me in Central America, so we all agreed that she would fly into Managua, and I would take a bus up from Costa Rica and meet her there.  Together we went up to Leon to visit Brandi.  Kerrie, our mutual friend from Minneapolis couldn't make it, but sent a little gift for the three of us, along with a card with a photo of three ladies from the 40's in jail with their booze.  It said, "The trouble with trouble is it starts out fun".  So Cute.

Here we are, about to open the present:

I had no idea what it would be, but it ended up being the BEST. GIFT. EVER.  Leather passport holders!  Adorable functional, creamy leather passport holders!  Mine had "ALRN" sewn into it, for "A Lady Reveals Nothing".  Isn't that so so so so so so awesome!!??!!!??  And Josette and Brandi got neat-o designs on theirs too!

I gave my stupid old passport holder to Grady, who actually didn't think it was stupid or old. 

Here's a close-up:

If you're interested in purchasing an adorably awesome passport holder for yourself or the traveler in your life, send me an email at krazykady@hotmail.com and I'll put you in contact with Kerrie!!

Hoo-Ray!!

I just reached 60,000 hits!  Remember just three months ago I was at 50,000?  That's roughly 12 million hits per day.

*Photo credit to http://www.photoshopessentials.com/*

In just 2.5 years, this blog has been clicked 60,000 times.  (Probably 58,497 times by yours truly.)

Seriously, thanks thanks thanks for your continued readership.  Especially in times like these, when I'm on the road all by myself and feeling super lonely, it makes me SO happy to see that people are reading.  And remember I LOVE comments.  You don't even have to have a blogger account!

It's easy!  Just click on the comments section under the post, and type something fabulous.  Next, under "Choose an identity" click on Name.  Type in your name or a funny false one and then submit!  VOILA!!

Hal Hexum, a Real Prince

After my dad had his cancerous prostate gland removed, he had to have a pee bag for a couple weeks.  It was my job as Favorite Daughter (take THAT, Kelly) to empty his pee bag a couple times a day, and also to change it to the 'day bag' in the morning and the 'night bag' at night.  It was the highlight of my Summer, 2010 let me tell you.  And for those of you who might be uber grossed out, I'll assure you that the pee bag was attached to his lower leg, near his foot and so there were pants on and everything.  Little valves and such prevented pee from getting anywhere except where it needed to be.  So the process of emptying the bag went a little like this:

Dad and I enter the bathroom.

Dad slowly, painfully, carefully puts foot up on the toilet rim.

I move the valve to 'open' position, pointing it towards and squirting all pee into toilet.

I swab valve with alcohol to clean any remaining pee drips from valve.

I wash my hands.

So one time we're walking out of the bathroom and I said, irritated:

"How come we go in the bathroom so you can take a leak, then you LEAVE, and I'm the one washing my hands?"

See?  You couldn't even see it.  Hey Kelly, where were you at pee-bag time?

(I think my dad considered this 'peeing and somebody else washing' to be the lap of luxury.  You should have seen him strutting around like some kind of prince after I said that.)

Quite a Shock

Josette and I used a taxi service for all of our taxi-ing needs while in Granada.  One day I stupidly took coffee into the poor guys car and of course spilled it.  He said, "no problem, there is a rag under the seat."  So I dug around and had my hand under the seat, and it felt the rag and then I pulled it out.

I screamed!  It was UNDERWEAR!  I threw them to the floor.  The driver died laughing.  He was laughing so hard that he cried.  And so did we.  He goes, "don't worry.  They're old!"  Which made me feel worse.

EW.  But don't worry.  They're old.

I'm Featured on "So...What Else?" Today!!!

Click here to read some funny crap.

Thanks Sarah!

And, totally bookmark Sarah's blog, cuz she's hilarious.

The Most Dangerous Thing I Ever Did While Traveling, AKA I Wouldn't Want to Hurt His Feelings, Vol. 2

I am about to be featured on my favorite Blogger's site as an interview, and one of the questions she asked me was, "What is the most dangerous thing you ever did while traveling/not traveling?"...and I realized I hadn't blogged the story yet. 

I don't even know if I ever told my big sister Kim this story.  But it's been 11 years ago now, so hopefully she'll forgive me...here goes:

On a trip to London, I broke from Kim and our two other friends for some alone time.  We agreed to meet back at 5pm in front of the British Museum.  I got my hair cut, bought some jewelry, and then found an Internet Cafe where I checked my email, and surfed around.  The man sitting next to me asked if I was an American.  "Why yes", I told him and then we got into a conversation about a new game that he was working on. He really wanted to break it into the American market. It was an internet based game, but he would love to show me the mocked-up literal version, and would I like to join him for some coffee?  "Why yes", I told him.  He was probably mid-fifties, from Austria, and spoke in the coolest thick Arnold-Schwarzeneggar-accented English.

I finished up on the Internet, and then followed him out onto the street. We walked a couple of blocks down the busy street past shops and then down a side street. I kept on-a-following him even into the alley off the side street. No coffee shops anywhere. No shops anywhere. Keep in mind that this was back in the days before International calling plans, and so I didn’t have a phone with me. Soon we arrived at an unmarked door, which led into a stairwell. A stairwell under construction. There were plastic sheets hanging from the ceiling, draped in the way. I kept on-a-following him right on up, contorting myself to avoid the scaffolding. It wasn’t until the second story that the self-preserving thought popped into my head: "this doesn’t feel right." Did I turn and run? NO! I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings! Just then, he opened another door, and there we were, in the coffee shop. Where he bought me a coffee and showed me his game.  Then we shook hands and parted ways and I safely met Kim at 5pm.  In front of the British Museum.  As planned.

Trip to the Pharmacy

While Josette and I were in Nicaragua visiting Brandi, we all dropped into the pharmacy to pick up Vitamin B injectables. They're only available in the States with a prescription, and in Nicaragua you can get them pretty cheap without. Don't ask me what they do, I really don't know. Brandi convinced Josette to get one for general health, so we went there for her. Then Brandi decided to get one too, and then I decided to go for it. Why not? Brandi has a friend who is a doctor and he was out with us, and he agreed to do the injections. Problem was, his grandma doesn't like him doing any doctoring around the house and so we had to find an alternate location for the injection. We decided on a dirty bathroom behind the Pupusa Shop. And then Josette decided that dirty bathroom injections aren't for her. Smart girl. 

Here's the Vitamin B injection.  Gwyneth Paltrow takes them!  (According to my source.)

The doctor.  And Brandi.  With her Band-Aid.

I'm happy. 

I mean scared.

OW!

Monkey Band-Aids make everything feel better.

I'll let you know if I notice any positive effects.  Nothing so far. 


Hey, while we're on the subject of pharmacies, check out this marketing ploy for a product we saw there:

Josette had to point this out to me.  It's a Cork.  The mascot for an anti-diarrheal medication.

Saying Goodbye to Costa Rica

All my crap and the bags it had to fit in.  STRESS. 

Veronica and I traveled together to Nicaragua by bus -- I insisted we wear the shirts and hats we happened to have had in common.  Nobody noticed.

I Didn't Die...

...I just didn't have internet for a week.  I met Josette in Nicaragua for an amazingly relaxing 7 days.  We had a ton of fun, doing stuff like this:

Jumping into Laguna de Apoyo

Swimming at Laguna Asososca

Hammocking at the "Rancho" outside Brandi and Grady's house

Parting - but only until May