Well I remained a bit spooked from the Million-dollar Taxi Ride story so Leon did not really get a fair shake. Many people pick Leon over Granada but my vote goes to the colorful streets of Granada. After a few days we decided to head to the countryside, the fields of coffee plantations were calling us as it had been awhile since we had a good cup of joe. We were off to immerse ourselves in more spanish in hopes of improving our communication skills. Although I originally had planned to head to Estelli, a small town in the country know for good Spanish schools, the prompt email response from Matagalpa Spanish School (and the price - $160 each for school, room & full board) won me over and we hopped on a packed converted school bus for the 2 1/2 hour journey to the coffee capital of Nicaragua - Matagalpa.
Arriving late we spent the first night in a basic family run hostal on the main street aptly named Hotel Central. Dirt cheap and TV to boot! We watched a very, very bad, bootlegged version (you can see the tops of heads in the theater) of Transformers (2 or 3 - the newest one) on the local broadcast station. Forget copyright laws here - that movie isn't even on dvd in the states and here you can watch it on the local pbs station!
Matagalpa is a bustling town, built in a small valley but still sprawling into the hillsides. The town is not yet on the tourist trail as we see few other foreigners. Its claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Carlos Fonseca, a key player in the Sandanista revolutionary movement.
We meet our teachers at the Matagalpa Spanish School housed with Matagalpa Tours (the only tour company I saw in town) - Wilcon for me and Luciana for John. Wilcon is a fantastic teacher, very organized, prepared each day with lots of handouts, exercises, conversation and of course tarea (homework). Each night I have to write an essay - in Spanish.
John is having an interesting time as Luciana speaks little English so he is being forced to really immerse. I hear them in the next class station next to mine and can't help but laugh occasionally.
We are also living with a family here - Dona Jeanette is the host of the family. Her adult sons, along with their wives and children also live in the house. Jeanette has been hosting students for many years (and it seems her family has lost the novelity of it and just go about their lives - not really a problem except it means their conversations are at normal speed and I can't understand a word!) A volunteer at a local non-profit is also living here. She has 8 years of Spanish instruction and admits that she too has a hard time understanding the dinner conversation. But speaking of dinner - or lunch or breakfast - the food is absolutely amazing and abundant. There is a woman that comes most days to help cook and clean and between her and Jeanette we are being plumped up with smiling faces. Each day we swear we will refrain and only eat a little rather than gorge ourselves - but it can't be helped. I think I gained 5 pounds in one week!
Latin American family life can be interesting. Meals of course play a big part in the family time. But after dinner the family moves to the living room to watch the tele-novella of choice "Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso" (without heart there is no paradise). Think cheesy bad soap opera with drug runners, police in army fatigues and hotties that are either prostitutes or undercover cops - I couldn't figure it out ... Each night I felt compelled to watch even though I couldn't quite understand the dialogue. John gave up early and would sneak away to our bedroom to study. Then it was Wheel of Fortune in Spanish, sin Vanna White - now what would the Wheel be like in the US without Vanna?
The week goes by in a snap. It has rained just about every day we have been here so we haven't been doing much other than studying. Most days it clears just in time for us to make the walk to class. I wish we had planned another week here as I really enjoyed the classes but we are Managua bound where we will change buses and make our way back to Costa Rica for a week before continuing south.
