Nicaragua

The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become.

— Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian fashion model

It has been three days since I arrived in Nicaragua. My first time in any part of Latin America, let alone Central America. And what an amazing adventure it has been! I write this from a room in San Juan Del Sur, revered world over for its surfing beaches, overlooking a world class beach, a spectacular stretch of sparkling white sand punctuated by cliffs so pretty that they grace about half of the country’s tourist literature.

I formed a company with two Canadian partners and the company invested in 10 acres of land in Rivas, Nicaragua.

Why Nicaragua? Is the question I got asked all the time, with many raised eyebrows and shaking of heads and people telling me I was crazy/stupid/foolish for going to a country that is ‘so poor’, ‘notorious for criminal elements’, ‘so far away’ and what not. But I did do my research, not from Google, way round the world and as most people do, but from those who live there and I liked what I heard. Plus, I wanted an adventure.

I wanted a farm of my own. To be the contractor of my own land – build our own houses, and decide on our own way of living. I wanted a life outside the city, far from the madding crowd. I wanted to meet people I would not ordinarily meet and learn a new life that I could not even fathom – like growing crops, walking barefoot on clean earth, breathing fresh air unpolluted by city poisons. And ‘so far away’ is precisely part of the adventure.

My ex found out and decided to lecture me (via WhatsApp) on my apparent stupidity. He did not even ask me what my plans were – he just bulldozed a spew of verbal abuse on how ‘schizophrenic’ I was to even think of such a thing. He warned me that I was getting scammed, that I will lose everything if I go there, my children won’t follow me (never asked them to), that I will die alone as a vagabond there, he was ‘disappointed in my intellectual capacity’, I  was downright dumb … etc etc.

Then he took screenshots of his entire monologue thrashing me and sent it to my kids, showing them how much he was concerned and that they too should rile up against my decision. It was bizarre, to say the least. And also highly liberating – to finally see the narcissist for what he really was. Hiding behind a wall of ‘concerned’ when he felt he was losing control.

I am really sorry to disappoint him on my intellectual capacity but here’s what happened:

1. Got my residency card for five years sorted out in one day yesterday. A record actually as it generally takes six months. But because a letter from Dr. Sam Aziz, son of Tariq Aziz, former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Iraq saying he knows me well, asking for acceleration was given. President Ortega’s wife called immigration and speeded up the whole process.
2. Met the Honorary Consul of Malaysia who is getting me a meeting with the Minister of Investment of Nicaragua to understand what we can do for bilateral relations between both countries. He also wants to nominate me to be Hon Consul for Nicaragua in Malaysia and I am hoping even for South East Asia. He says I have the right credentials.
3. My house on my farm is not ready yet so I have a hotel room that faces the beach and most of the time I have this most amazingly beautiful and pristine clean beach right in front of me. All to myself. My investment and papers into the company and land have all been sorted and all I need to do is just speed up the contractors now, so I can live in my farmhouse for a bit before I come home to Malaysia.
4. The people here are mostly Europeans, Americans, Canadians in San Juan Del Sur, owning hotels, restaurants, bars so it’s a great international mix of people – great diversity, fantastic conversations.
5. The food is simple and nice. It’s a safe place – people are chill. General Ortega runs the country with much accountability, and it is a safer place than even the US or Canada, according to Canadians and Americans living here. It just gets bad press.
6. This is a beautiful place, untouched by ugly foreign elements that has deadened most parts of the other world. Best decision I ever made to be here. The air is so clean, the skies are so clear. I have never seen so many bright stars in the night sky and they seem closer to me here.

Sometimes, we just need to trust our instincts and do what feels right for us.

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach the writer at beatrice@ibrasiagroup.com