i don't think i've ever had so much trouble with jet lag before...maybe i am just getting old. heheh.

it's taking a little getting used to being back home in a house with windows and doors that have screen and glass...it's so cold here. snowing, even. there have been a number of mild "OH NOOOOOES!" because i flused toilet paper, rather than tossing it in the trash (sorry if that grosses any of you out), or rinsed my toothbrush with water from the faucet. i've also been searching my house in vain for some fresh fruit. man, that stuff is addicting.

mainly, i just keep thinking how much we americanos have, and how little we appreciate it all. i am very attracted to living a more simple life, with a lot less having and a lot more doing.

coming home after being away-even for a short time-can be kind of weird and disorienting. especially when the relatively short time you were away actually seemed pretty lengthy. 

Nicaragua is a beautiful country full of gorgeous flora and fauna, and hosts a culture of people who are lovely inside and out. i saw so many amazing sights, met some wonderful people, and had a lot of interesting experiences...which i am doing my best to document while they are all still fresh in my mind. jet lag is a weird creature, let me tell you. 

so for now, i wll just update my list of hope to's/hope to not's... :)

• have an amazing time CHECK
• make and strengthen friendships CHECK
• experience a fascinating culture CHECK
• sample some delicious(hopefully) cuisine, including a sweet little cake called tres leches, which i had years ago and remember fondly.. CHECK
• maybe feel an earthquake or two no tremors. bummer. ah well...maybe next time. 
• climb a volcano...or three CHECK, CHECK, only climbed on two...but that was enough, heheh
• spend a weekend on a volcanic island in the middle of the world's only fresh water lake that is inhabited by sharks...CHECK
• swim in the pacific ocean for the very first time CHECK
• lounge in a hammock CHECK 
• get to practice my VERY limited spanish & likely get made fun of by the locals CHECK (though i didn't really get made fun of...actually, i was told "you sound espanish when you speak spanish. not like an american trying to speak spanish." heheh so cudos to Señor Ralston for being such a pronunciation nazi.)
• maybe see a monkey..which i am kind of excited about and freaked out about at the same time CHECK (after the experience, i am still kind of excited and freaked out. heheh...monkies can break your face. and they are especially intimidating when you're alone and they outnumber you by half a dozen.)
• take a boat trip CHECK 
• see some awesome trees and other natural beauty CHECK 
• and mooooooooore. :) CHECK 

some things that i could live without experiencing: 

• seeing a tarantula 
• seeing a python...from too close, anyway  
• finding a critter in my sleeping station..whatever that may be thankfully, the only one of the "hope not to's" that i experienced was the critters in the sleeping stations...geckos for sure, maybe a centipede, ants, don't even want to think about what else was tickling my arm and feet when i was sleeping on the floor...
• having my eardrum(s) rupture, or getting a migraine because of these aggravating sinus issues i'm having
• heartburn.