Tid-bits
- The other day a little girl asked: “Why do you Americans always smell so good?” I looked at her in confusion and I was like: “Ahhh…I’m not sure. You guys smell good too…” She then responds: “Yea but you guys always smell soooooo good…like flowers or something” I was slightly weirded-out, having images of this little girl smelling Americans as they pass by her. So I responded: “Maybe it is because we use liquid detergent in a washing machine.” She still seemed unsatisfied with my answer...
- I had two little girls approach me yesterday, puzzled and say: “Oh we thought you were the gringa.” I know I looked baffled -I am the only white person that lives in my town. So I respond: “But…I am the gringa”. They then responded “Yea, you are really white”.
- My host family got a peliguey (a sheep/goat) the other day. It is beautiful but that sound makes my skin crawl after hearing it all day. The family pig and dog are jealous of it. Every time that my host family puts out leaves for the peliguey to eat, the two of them run over and all three of them fight over the leaves.
- About three weeks ago, I was riding a bus to hacer compras in the main city, when BUFFFH it broke down. Salado(Salty)(fiesty) me had already paid my bus fare and there was no way the cobredor (man who collects the fare) was ever going to give it back. PINCHE! (Cheap!) Luckily I wasn't alone. One of my favorite teachers was on the bus and the two of us walked for an hour. Finally a friend of hers came and picked us up and took us the rest of the way there. The same bus broke down on me again last week; twice during the same trip! It still made it the rest of the way to my town but taking triple the amount of time to get there. I have now made a point of figuring out when that particular bus runs and will arrive an hour early or later for the next bus so I can avoid the “bad” bus.
- Two weeks ago we had a Language Workshop in Jinotepe, Carazo. It really wasn't so bad. I got to brush up on my subjunctive verbs and learn more modismos (local phrases). While there, I stayed with another host family and was once again taken aback by their immense hospitality. They also showed what the the father had constructed - a huge carretera (highway) for his son made completely out of trash. They told me there was also an airport and something else but it didn’t fit in the space for me to see. lol.
- Three weeks ago, I missed three days of class but not of my own accord. The first day, I was invited on a 6th grade field trip to a local agricultural community’s river. The goal was for the students to study different types of suelo (soil). However, the teachers forgot the containers to collect the soil in, so it became a playing baseball, swimming,and eating event. In the overcrowded bus, I sang a few songs in English and then unsuccessfully tried to teach them the words. The second day, I was invited to celebrate the Day of Women with the teachers. We went to the local piscina (a swimming pool that consists of river water flowing into a carved-out cement structure). We all sat around, sometimes either eating and swimming. For awhile, I also helped look for crabs with the children. The third day school was canceled for elections. The interesting part of all three of these events was that I was not informed about them until the night before. I was then told they all started at 7 when in reality that meant 8:30.
- Semana Santa (Holy Week) was this past week. It was marked by religious celebrations and going to the beach or a piscina to swim as school is canceled and businesses are closed. I opted to stay in my town and chill-out since the thought of packed beaches and extremely full buses didn’t seem very appealing to me. It is also a fairly dangerous time since there are a lot of drownings. Many Nicaraguans don’t ever receive formal swim lessons. Additionally, there are a lot of car accidents and overindulgence of alcohol that seem to plague these fiestas.
- Finally, the pig and I are no longer friends. The reason...the other day it ate my beautiful Chayote plants that were growing up to my shoulder. I am not going to lie.... I may or may not have had a mini -almost complete- crying freak out moment since almost all my gardens have not made it that far. However, the hanging tomato plants are beautiful and we ate our first tomato the other day! We have about 20 others on the way. My goal this week is to construct a better fence and start again with a new, sure to be challenging, garden. Oh and the mice ate a bunch of my seeds! I was not happy about that either.
- My host cousin the other day asked me what "you-who" meant. I flipped my wrist and did an impression of a flirting girl that said “you-whooo, over here” before I explained it. I also tried to explain “Oh boy” but I don’t think it translates that well. She now says the two phrases periodically throughout the day adding a little chuckle.
- I think my host family has told me about 25 times that I should really consider buying some crema for my hair to smooth it out into a nice shiny pony-tail that they are always sporting here. As for my gustos, I am not a fan of greasy hair and will not be echar-ing any crema in my already straight and smooth hair. They don’t seem to like the fact that I prefer my hair down, a little messy, and without any bedazzled clip in it. My host family always asks me “did you brush your hair today?” And of course I have. But they insist that I must not have. Therefore, I now say “if you don’t think it looks brushed enough, then brush it for me.” Which they proceed to do and then say “it always looks so much better!”
- I was helping my host brother pack the other day for a trip and had set out an assortment of shirts. I then selected two pants, one dress pair and one pair of jeans. He then asked me “Where are my other pants?” I replied: “You have your dress pants for the baptism and the jeans when you are dressing causal. You are only going to be gone three days.” He goes “Estas loca. I cannot wear the same jeans for three days.” I respond “But why? I do it all the time.” He looks at me and goes “Because I never have. I am packing a pair of jeans for every day!” This conversation just reflects how much Nicaraguans take pride in their appearance. Everything coordinates, is ironed, and is freshly washed regardless of where they are going.
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When the kids were little, I always used the word mocos. They still say it to this day.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine,
ReplyDeleteWe wondered... Where do you get internet? Do the kids speak any English?
We think you should name your puppy "moco loco". ;-)
Can't wait for your letters!
-Srta. Schroeder and friends
Another name suggestion - "dulce" and another "thank you for your hard work.
ReplyDelete-I think moco will definitely grace my vocabulary from now on...Just like boogers, so catchy haha.
ReplyDelete-As for the internet. There are things called Cybers (pronounced, SEA-BER) that are internet cafes. In my town there is one in the mayor's office and another one. It costs 6 cords for a half hour and 10-12 cords for an hour.
....However, the power goes out a lot here. As well, the cybers close a lot sin razon. The one I always go to has been closed for a week and no one knows why....most likely a virus.
- also I had a labtop and my facenta self decided to buy a plug-in internet chip($60 yikes). So I have to buy minutes each. It costs 10 cords an hour or 50 for 12 hours in a row. Although it can be fairly slow and sometimes doesn't work at all, it is very nice to have when I am lesson planning.
-Sidenote, most Nicaraguans have never recieved computer training. The internet cafes are something new. I have been asked a million times to teach people even just how to use a keyboard.
-English is huge here. Not because people can speak it but because if you have learned how people are very impressed. English is taught in the schools but not all the effectivley. It is also almost never put in practice and the general vocabulary is lost. I have people asking for help all the time with their homework because they are lost even with the directions. However, the phrases that the children do remember are often what is shouted at me in the street. There are about 4 people that have approached me in my town that knew a good amount of english and requested practice. So they come to my house on Wednesday and we go over things for an hour that they want to learn.
-As for the dog names...LOVE THEM! I have seen a picture of it and it is a little brown dog but I am not sure of the type or the size it will be.
Thanks for getting back to us so quickly! More dog name suggestions: Perro (haha), Rufus, Frankie, Escorpión. :-)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Do you have any idea what type of scorpion stung you?
Also, what is a "cord"?
Buenas!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what type of scorpion it was. But I do know that in Nicaragua they say they aren't poisonous unlike places like Arizona. It's funny; here they don't use escorpian but rather alacran. They use escorpian sometimes for this lizard-like creature on the walls. Not sure why but that took some getting used too.
A cord is a Córdoba. It is the money they use here is Nicaragua. They do also accept dollars but not often any more than 10 or 20 dollars. It is because 21.5 Córdobas is about equal to one dollar. Most things here cost under a dollar. That is why it is very common for people from Nicaragua to try to go to the U.S. to send dollars back. They have such a high value for one dollar that someone that makes a few dollars in the U.S. is rich in terms of Nicaraguan money. Chip bags cost 2 cords, Gatorade costs 17 cords... which is expensive, to ride the bus to town it costs 13 cords. A movie costs about 15-20 cords, a meal costs from 20 to 50 sometimes more. A pop usually costs about 10 (usually poured into a plastic bag and served with a straw.) Just some examples.