Leslie: The Bringer of Jollity

Currently listening to... Gustav Holst's The Planet's movement, Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity 
Feeling...perhaps due to caffeine intake, but me thinks not completely, swelling with a feeling of jollity
Weather...impending rain, slightly humid as per usual

The title of my post and subsequent mood are related to this most wondrous suite of the classical composer,Gustav Holst. This is probably the most famous movement within the suite and it is so commandingly beautiful that it gives me goosebumps everytime. I swear it's worth listening to/watching this YouTube video of an orchestra in Osaka, Japan performing . Wait'll you get a glimpse of the conductor! You have to respect him because he obviously put his whole soul into this performance! I love people that are passionate, don't you?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B49N46I39Y     (I cannot figure out how to embed youtube videos...)

Having read about the composer Gustav Holst a bit, I've dug up some interesting factoids for your reading pleasure...oh wondering minds....
He isn't German, but English and the interesting thing is that his name used to be Gustav VonHolst but due to anti-German sentiment in England he dropped the "Von"(...as if Gustav and Holst doesn't still sound German...?) in 1918. Admitedly according to wikipedia, Holst was enthusiastic about socialism, vegetarianism, Hindu mysticism, and ol' Walt Whitman poetry. What a guy! The Planets went on to become overwhelmingly his most famous orchestral suite and apparently he was annoyed with its popularity over his other works. ha. Well, Gustav, get over it, it rules!

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Meanwhile, back in Nicaragua....

It seems I've been in this grand country of volcanoes, lakes, and beautiful people for a little over a month. Part of me feels like it's been so much longer. In the first weeks I was here I vacationed with my boyfriend, Travis, who was in the Peace Corps until.....as I half expected,he got sent home on August 30th for chronic gastrointestinal issues and needing surgery in his wrist. C'est La Vie on that one. Travis is without a doubt the love of my life and while it's been hard missing him,  I see the benefits of being here on my own. 

Some Agave sitting pretty while I look down from the summit of the highest volcano in Nicaragua, San Cristobal

Feeling cocky and about to summit this beast of a volcano...little did I know the misery that followed in the trek down...

Pretty much since he left I decided to change my plans here. I'm in Nicaragua for about 2 more weeks then I'm flying to Miami, couchsurfing there for the night, and then it's time for my grand Cross Country Train Adventure to Ann Arbor, Michigan to reunite with my boyfriend! Yeah its slightly more expensive than flying and takes two whole days, but I love trains, it's better for the environment, and it's path is beyond Interstates. It's going to be my very own Darjeeling Limited adventure minus the whole India thing and fucking Jason Schwartzman at 65 mph. Oh I also couldn't afford a sleeper car, but have no fear, the seats are big AND I plan on purchasing some sleeping pills or something like it at the local farmacia here in Leon just in case I lose my sanity after hour 24. Ah the joys of living in a country that doesn't regulate it's pharmaceutical sales. Anybody need any medicaciónes? jajaja. 

After I visit my boyfriend for two weeks in Ann Arbor, I am Greyhounding it up to Indianapolis to meet up with my parents and favorite Aunts and Uncles for a weekend of eating at old haunts, uproarious laughter, and hugs near my parents alma mater, Purdue University. Then after that it's back home to Dallas until January when I go back to NYC to resume grad school. phew. Think I'm gonna "settle down" in Brooklyn for more than a year this time. Being a nomad is great but I'm tiring of it and miss my cat.

...I digress....comments on me, unintentionally by myself, here in Nicaragua....There are obvious benefits to being here sin mi novio such as not speaking as much English. The operative word(s) being "not as much". It being Leon, the second biggest city in Nicaragua, there are many people here, gringo and non-gringo that speak English; especially at the hostel where I work/live. My Spanish has improved but...Yo no soy bilingüe. But I have many actual friends here and I couldn't be happier with that. Right now I am sitting at this little open air cafe, La Rosita where all the baristas are my friends and Spanish teachers! I'm gonna miss this place for sure. Just this morning I wandered in the local market trying to buy ridiculous presents for my parents. Hence, Spanish practice time! Everyone here is so gracious and kind to me when I try to speak with them that my passable Spanish is often called "bastante" or enough by the locals. Sure. Thanks people...you're too kind. Here's a link to the hostel where I live/work in case you want to check it out. 
http://sonati.org/en/
I've got some adventures to write humorous vignettes about, but this long entry will do for now. 
As they say here, Que le Vaya Bien! 


Amor y Paz,
your ol' Les