Estoy Aqui, en Nicaragua Una Vez Mas

"Bienvenidos a Nicaragua" says the flight attendant as we touch down in Managua, Nicaragua. Just hours before I was in the biting cold of New York... now as I step off the plane and enter the world of Central America, the layers of clothes come off and the Spanish words: all those verbs, adjective, nouns that I desperately memorized months before somehow, magically, have resurfaced. "Hola, gracias, adios". A paxeo shuttle picks me up and we are off, my head half out of the window, breathing in the sweet tropical night and listening to the varied drumlines of reggeaton, salsa, bachata as we speed past buildings and houses... everywhere in Nicaragua you can hear this, the pulse of Latin America. I´m back.

In the barrio I was greeted by La Flaca (Kay) and La Rubia (Zoey), my companeras from my previous months in Nicaragua. They were busy planning the upcoming week of futbol campamento for Futbol Sin Fronteras, the organization that we are all working with here in Central America. Upon my arrival Kay tells me that tomorrow we are heading to the beach for a day, and I laugh in joy... my new adventure has begun. In the morning I find myself wearing a t-shirt and hanging out in the back of a pickup truck under blue skies... racing horse coches and waving adios to farmers on a pot holed road out to the great Pacific Ocean. Nicaragua is crazy, wild, free... and a person can´t help but be intoxicated by its rugged charm.

I could write a book about Nicaragua... and maybe someday I will... but for now I´ll keep my commentary short. After a day at the beach of swimming, shell collecting, and sun basking we headed back to Granada. Volunteers were coming soon and much preparation was to be done.

The week of campamento was incredible. About twenty or so American volunteers flew in, and Ben, the founding director of Soccer Without Borders bussed in from El Salvador (where a previous camp was held). The volunteers were all excellent: everyone had a huge smile the whole week and the little Nicaraguan girls sparkled with excitement. Their war cry "Futbol Sin Fronteras" is still ringing in my ears.

The two weeks in Nicaragua were, in short, phenomenal. My Spanish had improved, my Nicaraguan friends were as hilarious as ever, the soccer was, as usual, fast paced, wild, crazy and fun... full of dark nights with one street lantern in 90 degree weather. The sweat left trails on the ground in the shape of soccer balls, and sillouettes of salsa dancers were painted in the sky.

On my last night we lounged in the balmy air outside the FSF office, riding bikes by twos, laughing at jokes in English and Spanish, slapping hands, pounding fists and saying "adios, nos vemos pronto, cuidate" and my favorite, "que te vaya bien"... may you go well.

And so I went. Gracias, Adios.

A New York New Years

A hectic airplane terminal lies in wait as I step off the plane in Newark, NJ. People from every corner of the world speaking dozens of languages busstle by, some coming into this metropolis of New York City, some leaving, others simply there to make connections. A shuttle awaits me at the terminal and I am granted my very first tour of Manhattan. The brights lights and piercing cold swirl together, and a Jay-Z song about NYC tells me that these streets will make you feel brand new, and these lights will inspire you. So let´s hear it for NY.

After a tour up and down wall street, the shuttle drops me off a Grand Central Station. An old regal building seeping stories of colonial America, the beginnings of NYC, and the millions of immigrants that have accessed this country through the NYC portal, the ceilings are high, brass, and certainly grand. My time in the city, for now, ends with my entry onto a train heading for Woodstock, where I am to spend New Years with Haley, her family, and Julia. New Years is excellent... the combination of wonderful food, a warm country house, a bon fire spurred on by Haley´s dad and his gasoline can, and good friends is something priceless and wonderful.

Later on Julia departs and Haley and I venture into the city to stay with her family friends that are living in Manhattan. My favorite part is Central Park, where in the winter the trees are frosted over, the ponds and streams are frozen, and runners and roller bladers (and their dogs) are bundled up in a million layers of clothes. This city is romantic, and yes, let´s hear it for New York.