Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm having a funky time here in Nicaragua. There are a lot of people here, four million! Well, I think that's a lot for a country it's size. It's only about the size of Iowa. Spanish is the language here and I'm going to have to learn it! There are also many ethnic groups here that speak their own languages. But on the Caribbean Coast, English is the main language. 95% of the people are Roman Catholics and most of the remaining 5% are Protestant.

People here are really friendly. They like to be with people and are very sociable. Honor here is quite important. Also the interest in clubs is getting much higher. Dad, you're going to have to get a totally new wardrobe. Men wear clothes made of washable cotton, or other light cloths. Amazingly unlike you dad. But mom, you probably won't need to get a single new outfit. Women here wear cool cotton dresses.

The worst thing is that there are really bad hurricanes. Some of them are so bad, that they destroy almost the whole economy! The lowlands have a tropical climate, but the highlands are pretty cold. The average temperature here is about 80 degrees. I love that kind of hot weather. There are lots of volcanoes on the thin Pacific Plains. Who would want to live there? There are also lots of natural resources there like gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber and fish.

There isn't that much to know about the government. I don’t know why, there just isn’t. All you need to know is that the capital is Managua. I'd really want to live there because that's where pretty much everything is. Also, their money is cordobas, or centavos. Cordobas are worth more, 1 of them is 100 centavos.

There are tons of things to do in Nicaragua. The food is great, especially in Managua. But in Granada, Leon, Masao, Cinandega, and Estel there are lots of traditional and international foods. Dancing is a really popular thing, and there are lots of places to dance. But we probably wouldn't go to any of these discos since Dad is such a BAD dancer. Baseball is the national sport, so Dad, you won't have to get used to any new sports. Other sports that are real popular here are soccer, boxing, softball, basketball, and volleyball. There are bullfights all the time. But we are not going to one of those because I can't stand it when the poor bulls get stabbed. There are a lot of cockfights too, but they're usually on weekends and holidays.

Guys, you can never put your thumb between your index and middle finger, it's considered very vulgar. I did that once and a guy started yelling at me. Remember that! When you meet someone for the first time, you should smile, shake hands, and say "Mucho gusto de conocerte". We'll be saying that a lot here! Lots of the things people do in the U.S., people do here.

It's awesome that visitors are always welcome in other people's houses. You can just come over anytime you please. Nicaraguans love to meet strangers. They're such friendly people, nicer than Americans at least. When you eat you talk. It's almost a rule here. When I ate at the restaurant with my friends who showed me around they were looking at me as if I had 8 heads when I didn't speak while eating. All the meals here are bigger, and longer than the meals in America. Mom, I know that will make you happy, knowing your love of food!

The only problem that I can think of here is the health: facilities aren't available in lots of places. That sucks just in case something horrible happens. Also, only some women get prenatal care. The worst thing is that there's a real big sanitation problem in the rural areas. And since Managua’s a rural city it’ll be polluted. Well, it can't be worse than Manhattan.

I don't have to go to school if I don't want to here. Doesn't that rock? It probably doesn't for you two though. But if I do, that’s okay. I've had to go to a dumb school in New York for the past 5 years, so I can live. It'll be great for you guys because here schooling is free from the ages of six through thirteen. Three years of free schooling for me! If a child completes the first level of school well, then they may go to the second level. There are only two levels of school and only two universities here. They are the National University of Nicaragua, and The Central American University.

There are a lot of holidays. They are New Year’s Eve, Easter, Labor Day, Battle of San Jacinto, Independence Day, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and Christmas. On Christmas Eve all of the workers get half a day off. There are also many local holidays which are only celebrated in that region. Nicaragua is a really awesome place to live. I hope we move here!

Your Scout,
Alexandra

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