Attack of the Zombie Sock Monkey!!!

We knew we'd be arriving in Managua two days before the Embassy's Halloween party so of course the Mini-Menace insisted on packing a costume in our luggage.  He'd been begging for a Zombie Sock Monkey costume this year, but I had terrible luck finding one.  Beebop (aka my mom) came through once again and saved the day, buying and mailing the costume to us before we left.  Here it is in action: 

Definitely a little gruesome, but oddly cute at the same time. 

The party was a lot of fun; we had our first trunk-or-treating experience--people really went all-out decorating their cars, adults in costumes, and tons of candy to be had.  Although we rapidly learned that chocolate candy--the mainstay of my Halloween diet--is something of a rarity here.  I suppose it might be because of the temperature and the ease with which milk chocolate melts. At any rate, the few people who'd gotten their hands on chocolate candy to hand out were mobbed, and not just by kids.   After the trunk-or-treating, the Marines hosted a pizza party (with a DJ), haunted house, and chili cook-off, all at the former Ambassador's residence on the compound, locally known as Casa Grande.  It's not so much a big house as it is a mansion.  It's not occupied; the Ambassador (when we have one) actually lives in a smaller, less opulent house elsewhere, but Casa Grande is still used for official functions, etc.  It's gorgeous, and we really enjoyed getting to celebrate Halloween in such comfortable surroundings.

I still missed trick-or-treating in my sister's neighborhood, though. People sit out with coolers of beer, fire pits, and regularly hand out FULL SIZE CANDY BARS!!!!!!  All in all, though, this was a very good alternative, and a great way to jump right in to the Embassy's social scene.

A month later....

I'm alive!  I have internet!!  I also have some amazingly generous and patient co-workers, both FSOs and LES.  (Dad, that's foreign service officers, the US staff, and the Locally Engaged Staff, the Nicaraguans that work at the embassy).  I'm finally starting to feel a little less lost; the more time I spend at the window interviewing visa applicants, it becomes a lot more mundane.  I'm not really planning on blogging about my job that much though; this will be more about our lives in Nicaragua.  All I'll say is that I am learning more, and enjoying my work.  Not bad, right?

Outside of work, things are going well.  We're still without our household stuff and the Jeep, but we're doing pretty well: the welcome kit had everything we really needed, and folks have been generous with their time and vehicles whenever I need to go shopping.  There's a shuttle that takes me to and from work, and the Mini-Menace has his own school shuttle.  And while this may come as no surprise to anyone who's had the misfortune to experience my housekeeping skills, I've adjusted QUITE well to having a housekeeper.  She cooks! She cleans!  She does the laundry!  She does small grocery shopping!!  I love coming home to a clean house and being able to spend quality time with the MM without doing laundry or cooking his dinner, or trying to stay on top of the cleaning. 

We've only done one small day trip, to Granada, with friends.  Once we have the Jeep, expect more posts about our adventures.  Next up, though?  I--vegetarian since 18--will be attempting to cook a turkey breast for my son and 2 Peace Corps Volunteers that we're hosting for Thanksgiving. 

Let's hope they all survive.