Hold on to your funnels! It's gonna be a bumpy ride..

The past couple days we have been packing up our beloved casa amarilla, and Monday was the day to move all HELPs equipment into storage for next years team!

We got everything piled up by the door, and then we realized we didn't really have a plan for how to actually get the stuff to storage.

So, we waved down two local Nicaraguans riding on their cart pulled by a horse, and asked if we could pay them to help us transport our stuff. They agreed, and we loaded everything up. We made 2 trips and got everything moved.

One of the things we had to move was a giant soilet funnel, that we never used. And we don't know what to do with it. It's been the elephant in the living room for long enough, so we decided just to throw it in storage. Maybe next year's team will find a creative use for it.

Megan and THE funnel.

  

Here's a bunch of videos for your casual perusal.

All this packing is making me think about how different things will be when I get back to the US.

Here's a quick list of some of the things that will be different back at home:

Everyone (or mostly everyone) will speak English, and therefore understand what I'm saying.

I will not be able to talk about people loudly in English right in front of them, unless I want them to hear and understand what I'm saying.

There will be air conditioning everywhere, not just at the bank.

The cupboards will close. 

There will be a washing machine, dishwasher, and dryer.

There will be traffic laws.

I will have a car.

I will not have to apply bug spray nightly.

Megan will have internet on her phone outside the house. 

There will be hot water, from the tap, which we can drink.

There will be more than one brand of ice cream (not that I don't love Eskimo... I think I'm just ready to move on).

There will be carpet.

Not a single child will yell every single English word they know at me as I walk down the street.

There will be FDA regulations.

There will be price tags on everything, and Nicaraguans and white people alike will pay the same prices.

The roads will be paved and maintained.

There will be a culture of punctuality.

I will be able to take out the trash more than 20 mins before the garbage truck comes, because the stray dogs won't get to it. 

But in other ways, living in the US is still really similar to living here in Nicaragua.

In Nicaragua a hungry child's stomach growls just as loud as a child's in the US. 

The loss of a loved one hurts just as bad.

A smile still brightens someone's day.

Friends and family still gather on porches for late night laughs.

There's love here too,

And leaving a people that you love is just as hard.

I will miss you, Nicaragua! More than you know!