Well we have been here in Nicaragua for close to 3 months now and I have to tell ya so far it has been an awesome experience.

Before we came we had people say things like: Isn't it dangerous there? How are you all going to get by? You don't even know the language. Won't you miss your friends?

Well I have to tell ya, we DO miss our friends. It has been the hardest part of the whole thing. That, coupled with not knowing the language making it harder to make new friends is hard on all of us. Sure there are English speaking people who work at the school with us and they are super nice. I'm sure we will become great friends, but one of my desires is to be able to make Nica friends here as well.

We were blessed to find a great apartment in a super nice facility with a pool, but many of the people here are North Americans who teach at the school where we teach. So it's kinda like we live in an Americanized bubble in a foreign land (don't get me wrong it has it's advantages).  However, those of you who know me, know that I have never met a stranger (at least once I met them they weren't a stranger for long) So, to not be able to strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store or on the chicken bus is frustrating. Luckily Spanish classes start tomorrow!

Here is a snippet of one of my favorite routes home. This cobblestone road is called "The Cow Road"

As for being dangerous, I feel just as safe here as I would in Clarksville, Louisville or Denver. We have not run in to,  or heard of anyone running in to any problems thus far. People are poor here and they are opportunists. For example, if you leave a package in your car with the windows down while you go into a store, it may or may not be there when you come out (lesson learned).

On the other hand, we were at the beach Sunday afternoon and I got our vehicle hung up in the sand. Thankfully I didn't bury it. As I was digging the sand from around the wheels in an attempt to free us from this gritty peril, a couple sets of gringos rode past on rented four wheelers offering no help, but within a few minutes we had close to fifteen Nicas offering to help push, pull, dig whatever it took to free us.  The people here are very friendly and for that we are thankful.

Lastly how are we getting by? Well thanks to the support of friends and family we are making ends meet. Food is a lot more expensive than we budgeted for but we are making cuts elsewhere. For example, filtered water is $48 cords per bottle (about $2) and we go through about  5-6 a week $10 to $12 per week. So the other day we purchased this filter that will pay for itself in 1 month and reduce our monthly budget needs by about $45 a month.

Our New Filter

We are extremely grateful to everyone who is sending support, monetarily or through prayer. We are still in need of supporters who are willing to commit to a monthly donation, REMEMBER no amount is too big or too small. Contact us through email kanefamilynicaragua@gmail.com or find us on facebook.