Well, I am here in Leon, Nicaragua. I left SFO last night at 12:30 AM and took a flight to San Salvador. I had gotten myself a first-class ticket for not much more than the regular price when I bought the flight, so I traveled in style. We arrived in San Salvador in the morning, then I transferred to another flight to Managua, which was only 30 mins. I got to Managua, got my bearings, then took a taxi through town to a bus station. There, I hopped in a crowded van that drove us to Leon, a smaller city about an hour and a half north of Managua. Managua didn´t seem all too appealing to me, but Leon has been great so far. On a friend´s recommendation, I found a great inexpensive little hostel that´s family run not far from the center of town. I had lunch in Leon´s central market, which is full of all kinds of little stands selling delicious food like beans, rice, stews, soups, tortillas. I´m a little worn out from traveling, and it´s a little overwhelming here--a lot to take in. There´s all kinds of Nicaraguan versions of Christmas music playing out on the noisy street, and it´s hot here--a nice break from the frigid mornings in my unheated house in Oakland. My plan is to stay a couple nights here, then head to Lagartillo, the village where the language school I am going to is located. Should be an adventure. I also had to get my glasses fixed, since the frame broke about 15 minutes before I had to leave last night. That was easy though.
Ready for another day of field work Spending long days in the cab of a John Deere 8410 belted tractor gives me a lot of alone time. When I'm not staring at the sheaths of earth left tossed up by the powerful steel disks in tow behind the tractor, I watch the rice trucks on Highway 99, which runs next to the field, or I observe the chickens, cranes and the crows as they feast on insects unearthed by cultivation. And I wonder how of all things I ended up driving a tractor on a farm in South Sutter County. It is because I spent these recent days alone on the tractor--and because Fall is the season for remembering and for contemplation of life and death-- that I have resurrected up this blog yet again. Sutter County Mornings I could go back years, trying to figure out how I ended up where I am, but a good starting point would be the Summer of 2009, when I began my fourth year as the Nutrition Education Site Coordinator, aka 'Garden Teacher' at Park Elementary...
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