Andy, I know you guys won't have a lot of time, but I would encourage you not to dismiss the contact. If the university is able to send people to pick you up at the airport, this will simplify your lives considerably. You can ask them to drop you off at the hotel you have chosen afterwards. Have a discussion with them, start to learn the culture and thank them profusely. It's very tempting to be independent, but you'll gain an amazing advantage by having locals to help you navigate, even if just to recommend a good place for dinner. Guidebooks are great, but local contacts are better. Just my two cents. Also, if you haven't already, please respond to the Peace Corps contacts that I forwarded, even if just to establish an email contact and lay down plans for a June meeting. Those people are really busy, and probably couldn't meet with you on this short notice anyway, but I don't want to burn any bridges there. Good luck in your trip! Take lots of pictures for the group, and have a great time. Best, Margaret Margaret Ramalho McMorrow, P.E. Staff Associate ARD, Inc. [log in to unmask] 802/658-3890 -----Original Message----- From: Engineers Without Borders [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Andy M. Touchette Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 5:46 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Nicaragua Contacts Carlos, Thank you for all the connections you have been building. It looks as of now we will not actually be spending very much time in Managua. We dont get in until Wednesday afternoon and we are going to meet the med-students at noon on Thursday. So I dont know how much we will be able to do there. Shanta and I have a travel book and we have found a place to stay in downtown Managua for Wednesday night. Once the med-students come the next day we will be renting a car and have their host family to stay with. This might be a good contact to keep for the trip in June when they can have more time for other things, but it looks like we will be pretty busy for the short amount of time we have. Andy