Hit and Run

When I was walking down the hill, I saw my leg come two seconds away from hitting a truck.  I sat there with my mouth wide open in shock. This man was reversing his truck in a completely unsafe manner. With this reverse, his tires got stuck in a ditch where he burnt rubber to get himself out. He zoomed up the hill without an apology or acknowledgment that his behavior was wrong.  He could have hit a child let alone almost broke my leg. From his face, I could tell he was an expat, which I assumed to be European.

Fast forward-

Sitting in my café reading, a man comes up to me.  He is smiling and says, “Bonjour" loudly and happily.” I look at him and smile. (Interacting with many people, it sometimes takes me a minute to place them).  This one I truly had no idea and I just sat there smiling awkwardly. 

He says, “It’s me. The crazy French man that almost hit you.”

I am thinking in my head, "Ohhh you. Great."  

I smile, “And say oh yes you!”

 

He explains that he was in such a rush and asks for me to forgive him for such behavior-so I do. We are both laughing together and I forget about the whole thing.  He shares that he has an organic farm on top of the hill with his wife. He was on his way back up to get some documents for a meeting and he was in a terrible hurry. He had been living in Matagalpa for 15 years. I shared with him my interest in making a travel reality show and he said he shares the same passion. “Let’s make one together.” I could tell that him and I would be a hilarious combo-I love the French and considered this informal offer. He invited me to have breakfast with him at the farm. Unfortunately, I am leaving the next day-go figure. This man had such a happy and joyous spirit that I couldn’t be upset with him.  He was just an adorable 60 year old French man living in the hills of Matagalpa. He may just need a bit of advice on driving... 

Sometimes we need to forgive and forget....Unknown

 

 

Pan and Paz

When you travel, you will find that tourists do not just eat the local food, but they share their own food with a city.  Many of the establishments founded or created are "tourist friendly" with "higher prices," but locals are introduced to foods foreign to them.  Many locals may not be able to travel to France, India, Thailand, Spain, or Poland.  These tourists(aka expats or foreigners) open up restaurants, cafes, markets, health food stores in territory that is foreign to their own.  The business start up is not easy, but they make it happen.             
When it comes to the quality of these places, some can be wonderful and possibly affordable for a local person.  Others can be so expensive it would take a week's pay for a local to eat there. Many places truly integrate themselves into the community hiring local staff, having local customers, and they make a name for themselves in a small city.  In Panajachel, there was one South African lady who opened this tiny coffee shop with her husband. It was always packed full of locals, the energy was electric, and she had a 15 year old girl working by her side. She also played religious music and was a true believer. Regardless of this, this was a fantastic place to grab a fresh cup of coffee, a slice of carrot cake, and sit down and get to know a local-fantastic. 

In Leon, the place that everyone(mostly tourists) seemed to know and talk about was a café named "Pan and Paz." 

Here's a little history I enjoy from website:

In the year 2008 we (Frenchman Christian and Dutch Miranda) met and fell in love with each other in Granada, Nicaragua.
Shortly after, we visited León for one day and both of us immediately also fell in love with this very special, cultural and historically rich city. Little did we know that about one and a half year later we would open our own bakery here.

Christian was born and raised in the most famous bakery of Mayenne, a small historic city in the north-west of France. Already as a child Christian knew he wanted to explore the world, but his father (obviously a wise man) told him that he first had to learn a profession and this is how Christian became a baker and learned all the secrets from his father. Besides that he also went to school to become a master-baker.The following years Christian travelled the world and baked bread in many different places, so he learned to adjust his work to local circumstances like ingredients, temperature and humidity. Now Christian is the baker for Pan & Paz and teaches his Nicaraguan workers the French way of making bread.

Miranda was born and raised in Halle, a tiny village in the east of the Netherlands. After her studies she worked for several years with a lot of pleasure as a software- and business process consultant. When she was fed up with this stressful life and the traffic jams in the Netherlands she decided to quit her job and give up her house in order to travel and spend time writing. At Pan & Paz you’ll find her most in the shop, patiently explaining to the locals what the (for them unknown) products are and in the mean time babbling in different languages with all the international guests. Besides this she does all the design stuff (logo, flyers, website) for Pan & Paz.

This couple had love, passion, and persistence making a great relaxing bakery. They have an interest in "familiarizing the Leonese with the French culture of bread." This is something special that they want to teach people about French bread. 
Inside there is a beautiful courtyard where they have nice seats to relax-it's a great place to write.  They play international music including Spanish and French.  They also have Decaf coffee, which is hard to find in Central America so I was content with my pastry and coffee. 
     

It's common to hear expats (couples, a family, or individuals) who fall in love with a city, decide to move there, and pursue their passion. This passion may consist of many things, but food is regularly seen.  This is an expat who is thinking outside the box. They are prepared for a challenge, which many face significant challenge working with a new culture.  Usually, those who are American suffer from the most difficulties, but they work through it. They made a commitment for a new life outside the "American Dream."
These expats who sell their houses, cars, and move their whole life to a new city to open a new business in a foreign culture-my hat goes off to them.  This is what traveling is truly about when you are sharing your own culture everyday with someone else.