Me gusta la playa y los zapatos!!! MAAAHH!

It is my belief that all girls have one materialistic desire, no matter the cost. Mine is makeup and Thelmas is shoes. Dear lord does this girl have shoes. Her aunt Noemi, who lives in New York came down to Somoto this weekend while we were away and brought Thelma and Melania some new clothes and oodles of shoes. They had alot to being with, but now our house is swamped with shoes. The girls always wish they could lend me some of these gorgeous tresors, but the truth is, my feet are too big and too deformed for the luxury of nice stilletos. Oh how I miss my pumps.

The beach this weekend was absolutely divine. It was my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean and yay for no jelly-fish! The resort was absolutely gorgeous. Our rooms were so well air conditionned. I took my first hot shower all trip and man oh man was it ever wonderful. I would recommend this resort to anyone. We figured out today that to fly from Toronto to Managua and back is only 600$ including taxes. Mega cheep, no? And to stay at Montelimar is only 130$ for two a night. Think about it. Its well worth it. We went to a really funny drag show and night. We were too tired to go to the disco though, but no one was really there, so no harm done. The beach itself is gorgeous with nice lounging chairs and hammocks everywhere. I enjoyed the food. Not only is the buffet delish, but there is also a "make-your-own-pasta" bar where you can choose the sauce, the meat or vegies in the sauce and the pasta. Sooooo good. There is also a zoo, that I didnt get a chance to visit, but Thelma said its very nice as well. The rooms and cabanas were very nice and comfortable. Its an overall awesome hotel.

Yesterday was also Thelmas birthday. For lunch, the staff from the hotel brought her a nice big cake with a candle. She told me it was the best birthday of her whole life. That made me pretty happy. She is now 22 years old.

When we went over to Granada and Leon we were only able to stay for a short time. Granada is extremely touristy, which isnt something Im used to, because Somoto is so tiny. I had an empty can of pringles in my hands and so many kids grabbed it from me trying to get a chip, and made the most angry faces when they realised that it was empty. That made me pretty frustrated. We went to the Lake of Nicaragua, which is in Granada and I got to dip my feet in it (just for you mom) and I can tell you it was quite polluted. We then visited Catarina, which is another touristy town. It has an amazing Mirador that we all got to see. What a stunning view. On our way back from Montelimar, we stopped in Leon. Leon is also very big and touristic, but not as bad as Granada. However, the prices for the souvenirs in Leon were outrageous and Thelma hardly let me buy from there unless she could get me a good bargain. Leon and Granada have beautiful archetechture, but I must say, I much prefer my small and quaint Somoto. I managed to get a few souvenirs, but not very much. We are going to Matagalpa this weekend, so I plan to finish my shopping there.

I would like to make an announcement to the world that I am, for the first time in my whole life, TANNED. I compared my arm to Melanias arm and we are the same colour. YES THATS RIGHT!

Today has been a pretty lazy day at home. We got back late last night, so I pretty much slept all day. Thelma and I went through all the clothes that she is planning on bringing to Canada. We are both getting so excited. Only 15 days left in Nicaragua! Its coming up fast. Next week we have evaluation camp. We are going to discuss about what the Nicas can expect in Canada, evaluating our work and such. Should be nice. We are also planning a nicaraguan christmas dinner with our families, seeing as how we arent going to be with them for Christmas. Were going to have a nice photo slide show to show our parents.

I have alot of photos to put on facebook, but bear with me for just a bit longer. I also have many videos that I want to post on youtube and on my blog, and possibly will be posted on facebook as well.

Well, I suppose thats all for now. :)

Ari