"Bus Diaries"; Not Quite That Ring, But...

Coming down out of the Comayagua Mountains, I was shook into the realization that everything had gone right. See, the suspension on the bus was so shot that we all bounced about like Mexican jumping beans (if you'll please pardon the somewhat culturally insensitive metaphor). Things had really fallen into place. That morning our ride left at 3:45 for San Pedro Sula, where indeed a bus left at 5:00 for Tegucigalpa. And on cue, the mountain pines became palms once more, the lush tropical plains west of the Comayaguas came into view, and raindrops leaked through the roof of the bus just to remind you it wasn't South Florida. We arrived in the sprawling capital at 8:30, and found a handsome city built into the hills, with neighborhoods on cliffs and muddy rivers that cut through.

Dan and the technical team were left behind for implementation week, which may or may not include electrifying the new computer room at the Brisas school in order to turn any would-be thieves into refried beans (if you'll please pardon the somewhat culturally insensitive metaphor).

There appears to have been some double-talk. Rodrigo's visa troubles proved to be a bureaucratic phantom, daunting only in invented legalese. It was very easy to convince the Americans to let us escape to Valeria and Nicaragua, all our problems solved. The Americans were about as much of a hassle as the Nicaraguan customs officials who did not even ask to see our passports. A nod will suffice, probably because we qualify as asylum-seekers. So were in Managua in time for the 7:00 Mass (to which Rodrigo was dragged) and a sumptuous dinner afterwards which strongly suggested we are in a country of great culinary virtues. A delicious jalapeno and cream sauce on the beef. Even the beans were tastier. (And of course the impossible-to-pronounce Worcestershire sauce).

The Terans are exceedingly hospitable, and we are feeling at home here already. Every hallmark of civilization has been noticed. Four-lane highways with painted lanes, good beer that's not overcarbonated, and flushable toilet paper. Tennis courts and baseball on the front page of the newspaper. Looking at the christmas trees still up in the roundabouts (but now topped off with the number 30), you almost feel a tinge of ironic national pride on this thirtieth anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. And some things that are better than home, like the eight fruit trees in the back yard, which include two or three varieties of delicious mangoes.

We have decided that Central America is the perfect part of the world for an American to stretch a summer vacation out of a small research stipend. And while we came for a change of scenery and a little relaxation, volcano hikes and tropical islands, our official academic footprint will look something like this:

Robert and Rodrigo travelled to Managua, Nicaragua this week for a summit meeting of regional JPC projects. Valeria Teran (ecoMod, Southwest Virginia) hosted the two along with Hana Abbas (Sustainable Social Enterprises in Bluefields, Nicaragua). As part of a week of social research during ongoing technical implementation back in Las Brisas, Rob and Rodrigo visited the offices of a major Central American regional initiative behind a Nicaraguan call center than demonstrates wealth-creation strategies centered around English-language learning. &c.

But don't worry about us working too hard.

No, no. We're on Val's back porch being served fresh mangoes and diced bananas in chilled glasses, watching a little yellow bird with a white plume dip itself in her pool...