Sadly I still don’t have a true established weekly schedule, which means I don’t have a blog writing schedule worked out yet. I have written the last three entries in the last 2 weeks and have yet to publish them…sorry! Today you will have the pleasure of reading all 3 and I hope they entertain you to say the least.
Today’s topic: Moments in Nica that fall into 3 categories (Good, Bad, Ugly). I would like to explain some experiences that make me feel my two years here will be amazing, some that are annoying but I can deal with, and others that make me want to hop a plane right now back home (not really, but it’s a hyperbole).
The Good
-Watching a man jump out of a bus to save a child from being crushed by a semi-truck on the other side of the road…shows that the Nicas care about their countrymen
-There is always an invitation to someone’s house for dinner or coffee…Nicas want to get to know the gringa and are always free to talk
-I met a guy named “Tupac” in Cusmapa and at first I thought it was a joke…turns out to be a Bolivian/Peruvian name, didn’t know that!
-A women’s cooperative makes baskets out of pine needles and thread…I just think it’s a neat product and it looks really nice on a table (I can’t wait to send this before Christmas so you all can have a really cute decoration)
-The clouds are so big and fluffy, even bigger than the ones we have in the Sierras, and when there is a thunderstorm it shakes the entire house…those storms will make the ones at home seem like pathetic drizzles
-Going to the karaoke place called the Someteño in Somoto and listening to all the horrible sounding English songs sung by Nicas (I wanted to tackle a guy while he was singing “Hotel California, yeah it was that bad)…course when I sing anything, they go nuts and I instantly make 10 new friends at once
-People are still valiant enough to give up their seats on the bus for mothers with children and frail older folks…Nicas have some sort of social decency!
-Having blonde hair and blue eyes immediately has celebrity status perks like being able to dance with the cutest guy in the place (sadly these are very rare a find), being recognized on the street, my kids listening to me a little bit more intently than their regular Nica teacher…overhearing kids bragging that they have the “Chela” teacher gave me sort of an ego
-Rosquillas are found plenty in Somoto, they are dry cornmeal cracker-type things mixed with cheese and then formed into mini donuts…I love how they cost less than 10 cents for a bag that can last a couple bus rides in my purse
-In Somoto you can always ask local personality Tololo for a song or two on his guitar in a restaurant, on a park bench, or on a doorstep for a couple Córdobas…he sometimes gets annoying but he has definitely grown on me
-At 5:00am in the morning the Mariachis continue to play on at the bar…good to see musicians so enthusiastic about borrowed music from
-Kids never fail to give me a million hugs!
The Bad
-My kids asked for my phone # the first day I met them…wtf mate, I’m their teacher!
-Since I am “Gringa” everyone wants to practice their English with me, whether it be during Business Class or on the street…sometimes I just lose patience with this and I want the conversation to end immediately
-Everyone likes to yell the few words they know in English (aka “I love you”, “How is you?”, “Goodbye”), thinking this will spur instant conversation or that I will show them more attention…the accent tends to hurt my ears
-That celebrity status I was talking about, well it sometimes gets old….yes, I am “chela” aka “white person” and thanks so much for pointing that out to me because I hadn’t noticed that before
-I have a new perfume and it’s called OFF!...two words: mosquitoes suck
-Can’t be too friendly to the opposite sex, even if it’s a 60 year old man…he might fall in love with you!...can’t I just make friendly conversation without someone asking for my #?
-No one has change for the equivalence of a $5.00 bill…you run a business, carry change for God’s sake!
-The “Love” debate, how everyone can fall in love at first sight even though probably 90% commit adultery, have 5 girlfriends/boyfriends (mainly it’s the boys who have a million girls at their disposal), or have 10 illegitimate children…wouldn’t Nica children see this atrocity and not want to commit the same acts?
-Nicas are probably on the average fatter than Americans and don’t understand why so many of them have diabetes…oh I don’t know, maybe because they deny cream has fat or they dump half a bowl of sugar in their coffee every morning?
-Our housekeeper in Cusmapa didn’t know the earth traveled around the sun…I’m not sure I want to cry because it’s sad or sigh because of the educational system
The Ugly
-The bus breaking down on the road, getting flat tires, or not leaving at all…we need better Nica mechanics and it’s just plain annoying when I’m trying to transport cold groceries for a 3 hour bus ride. Also if there is a schedule, stick to it!
-Nicas asking me to buy them things aka the lady at the grocery store who wanted me to buy her an ice cream….uh NO! Not only does it have no nutritional value, but she had a handful of other groceries…did she REALLY need that ice cream? Fine then, by it yourself!
-Nicas asking me to give them things that I am wearing (that are mine), aka my only pair of earrings when they are already wearing earrings…I have yet to understand this part of the culture: “You are gringo so give me what you have, even if I might already have enough, because you are white and already have too much”
-I am seen walking around with a coworker who is around my age, so instantly he becomes my boyfriend and it is the talk of the town…come on people, what grade are we in? Like 7th?
-The dogs, horses and cows are so underweight and malnourished…makes me appreciate the SPCA at home!
-No gratitude is shown, nor is showing up at a house uninvited and empty-handed for dinner in poor manners …I made a really nice dinner for Lauren’s birthday and we all chipped in to pay for it, then 4 Nicas just roll in and expect to be fed without saying Thank You!!! This part of the culture I shall probably not get over! Say thank you, is it that hard? I’ve met people at home who don’t have a lot and they are the most thankful people ever…but here if you have nothing, you don’t have to show gratitude because duh you don’t have anything! Drives me nuts! Maybe because my parents raised my sister and I to say thank you for EVERYTHING! I appreciate this value now very much!
At least there are more Good than Bad or Ugly right?
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