Our first night in Granada, one hour into our stay, there was a flurry of activity outside the door. Homeowner Raquel opened the large door, and a car pulled up alongside the dining room table. A second pulled in behind.
I kept my face politely composed, chuckling only privately. Cars in the dining room!
When the cars pulled out in the morning, a coffee table and four rocking chairs moved into that space.
I thought of our first Pella house.
It didn’t meet building codes—it didn’t have an eight-inch drop between our living quarters and garage. I sometimes worried about exhaust fumes creeping under the door to the garage and invading the basement. Our guest house arrangement falls much further short of code.
Now, on this morning of our departure as I wait for our taxi ride to Chinandega, I sit in the dining room and re-think.
In Iowa winters, people warm car engines a few minutes before putting them in gear. In this land of perpetual summer, that never happens.
In Iowa, our homes are hermetically sealed against the winter cold and summer heat. Here in the tiled dining room, I sit adjacent an open courtyard, cooled by a morning breeze.
And in this crowded city, double use of space makes perfect sense. My smile two weeks ago was totally misplaced.
Now I’m wondering about Nicaraguan’s daily sweeping of dirt yards and about busses with passengers astride back bumpers.
Are my smiles—and gasps—at these misplaced as well?
That's right. Here in Pella, we are with cold whether, I can picture myself being around open areas and hot weather!!!!! An of course being in rocking chairs. I love them.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of differences and that's the reason I am thankful with people like you that want to experience this adventure to share the love of Jesus Christ.
Que aprendan muchas cosas y que disfruten de su viaje. Aqui los estare esperando para seguir hablando en Espanol. Ustedes son de gran bendicion