The 4th of July Nicaraguan Style

"To live well is both an art and a discipline"

How to have a great 4th of July on Lake Nicaragua:

1. Wake up and talk to God
2. Wear red white or blue clothes
3. Help the two cooks sort out the pebbles out of the dried beans and practice Espanol. 
4. Eat Gallo Pinto (leftover beans and rice mixed together), sandilla (watermelon), and pan dulce (sweet bread).
5. Paint/whitewash the office and some large ants. Try to avoid too much paint in the hair. 
6. Have some egg soup and rice for lunch. 
7. Remember your long lost kitchen skills and cook up some homemade "apple" pie (unripe mango) and turnovers. You might need more than a spoonful of sugar. 
8. Cool off with a shower and start sweating again immediately. Put some clean patriotic clothes on. 
9. Walk with the girls to the park in Los Angeles and have conversations about dreams to study in the United States. 
10. Encourage the girls that they can make he 30 min walk to CICRIN without having to use the bathroom on the side of the road. 
11. Have some rice and beans for dinner.
12. Party in el rancho with country music. Dance a little dance. 
13. Light off some fireworks; you don't even have to go to Wisconsin to get them. However, you do have to ride the hour and half ferry off the island to find them. 
14. Eat the pies made in step 7. 
15. Get kissed by Dunhia, our wonderfully sassy 6 year old friend. 
16. Be tackled by three children saying "es mia, es mia" (she's mine, she's mine). 
17. Have the power go out and have everyone yell as loud as they can. 
18. Roast s'mores over the outside kitchen fire. Substitute any rectangular crackers for the graham crackers. 
19. Check out the incredible stars and the Milky Way. Wait for two minutes with your mouth open. 
20. Watch an American movie with your team (we chose Miss Congeniality) in el rancho next to the lake. 
21. Repeat step 19. 
22. Brush your teeth. 
23. Sleep. 

213. For anyone with the name Conny, pretend to be a pajaro hablante (talking bird) and stand on the railing.

Caution: watch out for the blue mosquitoes that are too fast to kill. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their day!