Aqui de Nuevo

Dear friends and family,

It has been a while, hasn't it?!?  Thanks to the many requests and scolding I received while at home, I am blogging again.  I promise I will TRY to do it more often, at least more than the 5 times I blogged the last 8 months I was away. :) teehee

As most of you know, I am in Nica de nuevo!  To catch some of you up, I went home to Hawaii the end of May to work.  I ended up staying in the 808 state until mid November, then 3 weeks in Cali for another work project, and now back in Nica!

It was wonderful to be home with family and friends.  I truly appreciate all the love and support that everyone has shown me, from my family members, friends in the congregation, and my employers and coworkers.  Muchas gracias to you all; it would be very difficult to do this without your backing :)

So, on to Nica Adventure take 4!  Yes this is my 4th trip here since 2007.  First visit July 2007, for 2 weeks.  Next October 2008 for one month.  Then the biggy in Sept 2011 for 8 months, and now number 4 until May.

Getting here was an adventure in itself.  First leg from SFO to San Diego.  Flight was fine but I didn't realize that in my 1 hour layover, I had to get off my flight, exit the domestic terminal, find the international terminal, and go through security again. Imagine my sheer joy :^I  And at security, they "had" to search my bag...take it all apart and put it through the scanner again.  Hey hey hey, packing boxes within boxes within a carry on suitcase is a delicate art.  Not my fault that your underfunded scanner can't see through the intricacy...thankfully "Christian personality" deployed and I resigned that finding and making my next flight was doable in 20 minutes!!!  Double the action, triple the excitement!

Flight leg #2 - San Diego to Houston.  After the excitement to get on the plane, I would have settled for complete and utter monotony.  But of course not; not me.  I sat next to a nice enough gentleman with a fedora hat and feather...who smelled of pool halls and parking garage stair wells.  JOY OF JOYS!  I tried not to be too conspicuous, feigning Arab and covering my face with my scarf.

For Leg #3 - I was slightly nauseated and dizzy from the potpourri of aromas on leg #2.  Stumbled around Houston airport for about 3 hours then got on my next flight; and found myself in the Bermuda triangle of screaming babies.  4 hours of high pitched, ear piercing surround sound shrieks, sobs, and wails.  I seriously considered how to tactfully offer a Benedryl to each of the parents, or discreetly toss one into the gaping mouths of each noise maker...the lights were dimmed, who would notice?

When the torture chamber finally landed at MGA Int'l airport, I was super excited to get off the plane and on to the REAL adventure.  Thankfully customs went smoothly, no one gave me a second look.  Maybe I'm blending in (o_O)

Anne, a friend from Denmark, and my cousin Stacey were there to greet me.  I was so happy to be secure among my friends again. (Prov 18:4) It took us about an hour to get home which gave us time to start catching up on the 6 months we missed in each others lives.  They were so awesome, set up my room and everything!  Even putting up my favorite green and black plumeria sarong in the window to mark my place.  I lugged my stuff upstairs, took a shower, and went to bed.  The familiar smells of burning plastic, dampness and dust; the sounds of unknown animals scurrying on the roof; the band and fireworks at 4 am shocking me out of my sleep but making me laugh...welcomed me back to my Nica home away from home.

Click here for a link to some of my pictures!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more blogs to come.  Please feel free to leave comments below.  Or email me at ktanjoco@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear from you!

Con mucho Aloha!

Krystina