Sun, Managua, and the Cocktail Party

After almost 2 weeks of rain and clouds, I went to Managua last Friday for the annual Cocktail Party. It is a fundraiser for the National Business Plan competition that the Peace Corps holds annually. It was a great night, first because it was held at the Holiday Inn, which has an amazing pool, hot showers with great water pressure, cable TV, a small casino, etc. A real luxury for all of the volunteers, I assure you. Secondly, it was a great night because it is the first time I have seen all of my fellow business volunteers since coming to site 3 months ago. Everyone seems to be doing well, we have all settled into our new roles as volunteers. And lastly, it was a great experience because I believe we were able to raise a good amount of money for the National Competition. 

The National Competition takes the best teams of high school students from around the country, brings them to Managua, and then provided prizes for the best business plan, most creative product, etc. The Second place team from last year, actually found some seed capital, a grant from USAID, and is now building a small production plant. This kid is 19 years old and is running his own business. It is exactly how we would all love our students to end up!

Saturday, I stayed in Managua and with some girls from my training group, we went to the mall and tried our best to recreate a Man vs. Food event at Papa Johns. We had the family feast that included breadsticks, pepperoni rolls, an X-Large pizza, and a pitcher of Diet Coke. We did not finish it between the three of us, but we took the rest to go, and then saw a movie at the movie theatre. Stadium seating, air conditioning, and everything you would find in the States.  It was a great time, and very relaxing. The rest of the night I just stayed at the hotel, went to the casino (lost about $11 – which was much less than some of my fellow volunteers—so I think I made a good choice there!) and then went to bed. But sadly, although it was an extremely comfortable bed, and quiet, I did not sleep more than 7 hours the entire weekend.  So I got up at 7am the next day, went to work out, got in the pool (it was beautiful and sunny both days thank goodness!) and had some breakfast with a fellow volunteer. By the time I got back to Matagalpa it was raining and cloudy again. But overall it was a great weekend. Here are some pictures of me and friends all dressed up for the party!