Nicaragua is Funny

Here's the kitty curled up in Clavo's food bowl! She's tiny!

Here's Mason and our friend Raul watering our big and successful tree nursery.

This is a photo of some of our Peace Corps buddies carrying in multiple buckets of water into Elliott's house. We got it from a nearby well because his town rarely gets running water.

1. April was the month of mangoes. They were everywhere, so many that people wouldn’t take them as gifts! So what does an innovative and slightly bored Peace Corps volunteer naturally do? Yep, we made a whole gallon of mango wine. We simply had to step into our backyard and collect about 25 mangoes, boil them with some raisins and put them in a sealed gallon jug with some yeast for 8 days. The seal didn’t quite work, so thrifty Mason simply patched things up with some well chewed bubble gum. We took the first drinks with our friends this past weekend and found it to be a huge success.

2. Going to the bus terminals is always such a funny experience. There you will find for sale anything and everything you never wanted, but somehow the vendors make you feel bad for saying no. Our favorites are the plates of fried pork rind and salad walking around on the top of some woman’s head. We also laugh at the woman who makes laps around the waiting busses screeching, “Agua helada, gaseoooooosaaaa…” (Ice water and sooooodaaaa…) Somehow each inquiry always ends with “amor,” no matter who they are talking to. “Que te doy amor? Jugo, fresco, gaseosa? Que te doy?” (What do I give you love, juice, soda? What do I give you?)

3. See through tops. This is such a strange phenomenon. Women young and old seem to think that wearing see through shirts is highly attractive. Sure, their bras are nice and lacey, but do we really need to see them? And their fat rolls? The funny thing is women will do anything not to let their bra straps show because that’s slutty. But showing the entire thing? No problem!

4. Nicas have an extreme fear of the sun. This is an unlucky fear, given that they live in one of the hottest places on Earth. They will do anything not to expose themselves to the sun. Umbrellas are essential for walking around mid-day, as well as shoes, socks, jeans and long sleeves. I don’t know how they do it. And they don’t sweat! Then there’s Mason and I. We sweat from just sitting down to eat a bowl of oatmeal. Or just towel drying is too much work sometimes, and I’m wet with sweat before I even dry off!

5. Nicas love to gossip. Sometimes it’s funny but usually for us it’s quite boring. Everyone knows everyone’s business, and if someone is walking down a different street then usual, there’s something to be talked about for days! The downside of all this gossip is that it carries over into the workplace and can really hurt careers. Sometimes Mas and I think we are living and working among little kids, because that is often how they act.

6. High heeled shoes are the only way to go here with the Nica ladies. They don’t seem to notice the dust and rocks and puddles everywhere, and they just go for it. It fascinates me how they are able to stay standing while also maintaining clean feet! I go out for five minutes (in Chacos, which the Nica women eye strangely) and my feet are black!

7. Nicaragua wouldn’t be so charming without its scores of chavalos. This is the term for kids here, but we like to think of them as little Dennis the Menaces all over the place. They are everywhere! They stroll into our house unannounced, they hang from the trees, they eat our mangos. The other day we were sitting on our front porch enjoying a rare sweat free evening while watching a group of chavalos play a game of marbles in the street. We both commented on a certain chavalo who completely fit the role: He was absolutely filthy, shirtless, he had a huge bloody gash on his back that he didn’t notice, he was barefoot and he was yelling strings of insults at his friends. Ahhh, chavalos…

8. I’ve had more then one lucky occasion to chase chickens. They are everywhere (like chavalos) where they shouldn’t be. I’ve gotten quite good at cornering them and holding them upside down by the feet to return them to their owners. Maybe Mas and I will get lucky enough to be given one as a gift. Our friend Sandy was recently given a fighting cock as a thank you gift! He named him Tyson.

9. I’ve become quite proud of my hand-washing abilities. I'm not talking about washing my hands, but washing clothes with my hands. I actually kind of enjoy my daily clothes washing time at the pila (sink).

10. Reggaeton. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it is a new type of music that is supposedly a mix between reggae and hip hop. It is all the rage with all ages. We’ve been to many a party where the reggaeton is blasting so loud you can’t even hear the person next to you speak. It also makes the average bus ride a whole lot better when you’re sitting next to an abuelita (grandmother) moving her lips to the lyrics.

So there you have it, Nicaragua is funny. Thanks for reading…
Brenna