MANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GREY CUP BOUND!

Congratulations are in order for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for reaching the Grey Cup - their first since ’97. However, since an invincible man by the name of Doug Flutie was quarterbacking the Argos in ’97, it’s their first real shot at the Cup since 1989.

Since the completion of the MCA proposal, I’ve transitioned from technical and financial analysis to research on the feasibility of micro leasing within MiCredito. In a nut shell, micro leasing is similar to what we in North America consider leasing, but on a much smaller level. Therefore, whereas in Canada one may lease a car or an office building, on the micro level, a farmer for example, may lease an asset from an institution in order to assist in income generation. I’m finding it very interesting on many fronts, mostly because it is possibly another bridge between Prodemur (the technical assistance arm of MEDA in Nicaragua) and MiCredito (the microfinancing arm of MEDA).

Moving from work to pleasure, I feel like I should report on a phenomenal weekend that began with a sweet birthday party and ended with sailing on a lagoon. Friday night we celebrated our friend, Lincoln’s, birthday. The party was on his father’s compound just outside of Managua. Let me just say that ‘compound’ probably isn’t the correct word to describe his plot of land, since it’s more like a resort complete with a bar, dance floor, pool, hot tub and a couple of sweat lodges. Kudos to Lincoln for throwing a fantastic party. Saturday started off slow and maintained it’s slow pace until around 6, at which point I decided to move. Following my first movements of the day, Kiki and I were picked up by Manuel, the CIDA Director for Managua, and we all mde our way to the National Stadium for the Mana concert. Dudes rocked for nearly 3 hours in what was more of a spectacle than a concert, complete with fireworks, flames and a waterfall. The hardest rocker of the group was the drummer, who at one point performed a 15 minute drum solo on a Motley Crew-esque elevating/rotating platform. Youtube ‘mana concert drum solo’ if you’d like to see for yourself.

Rest in relaxation was well deserved following the birthday bash and Mana concert. So, we decided to hit this great breakfast joint in Grenada on our way to paradise, aka Laguna Apoyo. On the outskirts of Masaya lies a fantastic lagoon with the most amazing lukewarm, clear, blue/green water. On the beach I started talking to a guy wearing, strangely enough, a Toronto Maple Leafs hat. Turns out, he’s Cuban and made friends with numerous Canadians traveling around Cuba. He now lives in Nicaragua, giving catamaran tours around the lagoon. He told us about this amazing cove with a beautiful, untouched beach and monkeys! We bought what he was selling, and it did not disappoint, except for the fact that we didn’t see a single monkey.

Hasta el proximo.

Marsh

...and BINGO was his name-o

Some of my fellow MEDA interns have been sticking it to me a little for the lack of blog entries on my part. What can I say? I’m a busy guy. LOL. Actually, it’s a combination of being busy, taking in all that Managua has to offer and a pinch of forgetfulness. That said, I checked my blog yesterday and realized that I’ve made a measly 3 entries in 2 months. 2 MONTHS!!!!! Has it already been 2 months?

Before getting into what’s new in Managua, I’d like to give a quick shout out to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who after innumerable years of futility have finally secured a home playoff game. I believe it has been something 16 years since Taylor Field has hosted a home playoff game. I could be wrong. Anyhow, madness is sure to ensue. GO RIDERS!!!!!

Managua is still great, my friends are still awesome and work is still fantastic. At this point I have very few complaints. The only hiccups have been a few battles with my stomach - which I lost - and a rotten piece of the flu. It was an abnormally rainy rainy season and with the rain came new strains of the flu and other maladies. My roommate, Shannon, was stuck to her bed with a horrible cough for the better part of a week. Thankfully, the rains took a vacation until next year leaving only the sun and 35 degree weather. The grass being greener on the other side, I’m sure we’ll all be praying for the rains to return after a few weeks of baking on high.

It had been quite some time since I pulled my bingo dabber out of my drawer; thankfully the ink hadn’t dried up. Dabber in hand, a group attended a BINGO Fundraiser. Upon arriving I realized to my disappointment I realized that I wouldn’t be needing my dabber since uncooked pieces of corn are used to mark cards rather than ink. Reflecting, I realized corn is actually better since you only need one card and are therefore not wasting piles of paper, and the seeds acted as a tasty little snack. The Night turned out to be a success as Wendy, the birthday girl, won some cash, Amira an ice cream cake, and Megan not 1, but 2, 6 inch ham and cheese Subway Sandwiches. The following morning, to celebrate Wendy’s birthday a group of us, including Kiki’s parents went to a fantastic restaurant for brunch. I’m talking lobster, shrimp, steak, crab, scallps, fresh fruit, lamb chops, desserts, the works. The fact that I could barely move after eating was a testament to the fact that I made a point of getting my money’s worth. I barely made it home.

Tomorrow, I’m hiking a volcano with my Spanish school. I’ll take loads of photos for the next post on my blog….in ’08.

Hasta Pronto