Photo Montage of America

Week One: Minnesota:

Ate cheese curds at the Dam Festival with friends:




At my dad’s family reunion with my cousins:


Family reunion potluck = the best food in Minnesota:





Visiting friends:




Visited a winery, I never even knew there were wineries in Minnesota!


Last Three Days: Washington, DC:

At happy hour:


Wandering the city:


A night out with the girls:


More quality time with the girls:



The visit was waaaaay too short, but I had a fantastic time and I miss everyone terribly. I didn’t get hit by culture shock too badly, but here is my Top Ten Weird Things About America list:

1)You can flush toilet paper down the toilet – I knew I was home again when I got to flush TP in the Miami Airport. However, I didn’t get used to it and nearly threw it in the trash every time I used the facilities (TP can’t be flushed here, the system can’t handle it).

2)Streets are clean and free of stray dogs – really I noticed this more in returning to Nicaragua, I guess in the past everything was wrapped up in banana leaves so everything was just thrown on the ground and it would decompose quickly. Not so with plastic bags, but everyone still does it and I have to resist the urge to yell at people when they throw trash out of the windows of the bus.

3)Lots of cars – and in MN, an unbelievable amount of Pontiacs. Never noticed that before.

4)The sun sets at 9pm – we have 12 hours of sun in Nicaragua pretty much year-round, give or take a few minutes. I was in Minnesota during the summer solstice and thought my watch was broken the first day when it hit 6pm and the sun was still pretty high in the sky. I remember that being a major adjustment for me when I first got to Nicaragua, I miss long summer days.

5)Diversity – moreso in DC, people of various colors!! Nicaragua is homogenous.

6)English! – Everyone speaks English (except in the Miami airport), big surprise.

7)People dress weird – Everyone in the U.S. has something to say with their clothing, and in a way so do people here in Nicaragua, but the difference in dress is much less pronounced especially in the countryside. And you can always tell when new shipments have come in because suddenly everyone is wearing the same shirt or shoes or hair clips.

8)I can walk the streets in peace – outside of a couple cat calls in DC, no one paid any attention to me – well they may have paid a little attention to the crazy girl with a massive backpack on the metro but whatevs.

9)Tall trees – driving around in Minnesota I was amazed at how tall the trees are there and how small they are around here in comparison.

10)Easy access to goods and services – Even in Small Falls there are various 24-hour establishments and in DC you can get a wide variety of food and goods at any hour of the day. Some of it will even arrive directly to your door. Amazing!