Wimps stay home?

I nod, enthusiastically and smile. "Yeah they do I say." I am on flight AA985, half in coma after many hours without sleep and on my way to Managua, Nicaragua. The airhostess looks at my t-shirt and my company´s slogan and says it´s a brilliant idea. I totally agree. Dare to x-plore.

So, how did I get on to AA985? Pretty easy, you jump on a plane i Oslo, a new one in Paris and third one in Miami. Gotta say though, air travel is not like it used to be. It took me 20 hours of travel from Oslo to Managua, only 14 flying time. That means six hours in transit and I spent the whole of three minutes in a shop (Starbucks of course), and it wasn´t because I didn´t want to linger around Duty Free shops, there just wasn´t time! Security after security measures have made a three hours transit just enough time to go from Gate 34 to 56. But I got through the final customs check in Managua, which was ten times more organized than it´s brother in the US of A, and got out on the street. I looked left, right and center when a man runs up to me. "Hola, Maria? I saw your red passport, and thought it had to be you!" Good to know the oil fund looks after me even when I´m not on home soil.

So, I was picked up in Managua by Rigo and Flavio and we drove two hours to Leon in northeastern Nicaragua. It was good to be back in Central America, yet the smells, the sounds, the traffic conditions is always a bit of a shock.

I should have known better. After a quick shower I found myself next to a guerillasoldier with a plastic machine gun, a girl wearing purple balloons, a treebranch on her head and looked like a grape, five basketball-players with stinky socks and cat(wo)man who purred and rolled over on the ground if you scratched his belly. Welcome to Kulturstudier´s bi-annual costume-party! It was great to see Tonje Camilla again, and she introduced me to most of the students (and many of them maaany times) who study in Leon. It was fun to see them in that "state" of mind, and I wonder how many will remember what they got up to today.

Today I woke up at 7.30am (jetlagged) and was once again faced with the exploded bag-phenomenon. I think is has the annoying habit of following me, and it is absolutely not my fault. For those who travelled with me last year in Guatemala they would know I really tried to keep everything neat and clean and organized.

Did I mention I had been at the hotel room for the total amount of two minutes when the photo was taken. It´s like I get the key to the door, open the door, but my bag down on the floor and BOOOM - all the content is out on the nearest bed. Really got to work on that.

Nevertheless, now I've walked around town, love the way the give you road descriptions, I live for example two and a half block northeast of the church. Or up the road from the plaza or similar. But, it´s once again time to explore a new country, I am heading on a boat trip this afternoon which should be great. Until next time, take care!

And Kristin, I think I found your Australian...