Answers to Mrs. Lyttle´s Class - in record time!

Today…the impossible…has been realized. In an incredible feat of international diplomacy, trans-atlantic crosswinds, and pure luck I hold in my hand the letters from Mrs. Lyttle’s class. Somehow the U.S. Postal Service and (even more incredibly) Correo Nacional de Nicaragua delivered their package to our mailbox in 4 days. 4 days! In honor of this momentous occasion we will now attempt to respond to your letters in record time, as well.

Anyway, it’s great to hear that the parent dinner was such a success. We were sad to miss it, especially the Goldfish! Someone asked what my theme was for the parent dinner. Sadly, I was never in Mrs. Lyttle’s class to choose a theme. I did, however, get to attend pretty much all of the previous 19. Jess even made it to a couple! OK, on to the questions:

After swimming in the Río Coco, did your Spanish get better?

The Río Coco is the spiritual center of the indigenous cultures of Nicaragua. Therefore, after swimming in the Río Coco, one should emerge speaking one of the Native American tribal languages, like Miskito. Nicaragua was one of the first places to be colonized in the New World. Christopher Columbus first reached mainland in Nicaragua, at a point he named “Gracias a Dios,” or, “Thank God [we made it]!” I added the “we made it” part, be really the phrase “Gracias a Dios” is pretty much only used in situations like that. However, Columbus came up with it 600 years ago, so something might have been lost in the proceeding centuries. Nicaragua is also home to the first Colonial city in the Americas: Granada.

Anyway, the point of all that background was to say that we think of Spanish as the native language down here because it’s been here a really long time, and pretty much all of the real native languages have been wiped out.

And no, we can’t speak Miskito.

Adriana likes to listen to American Music. Where does she buy her CD’s?

Most Nicaraguans buy their CD’s from black-market vendors who download the real CD and just burn copies on their computer. That’s also how they get their movies. Each disc usually costs 20 córdobas (about 1 dollar), but quality can really range the entire spectrum. The rest of the Nicaraguans download music online and save it on generic versions of Ipods or on their cellphones.

Americans think buying music like this (pirating music) is a bad thing, as the artists and companies involved in producing the music and movies don’t get their share of the profits. It’s also virtually impossible to find these pirated copies in the States. Down here, though, I don’t think we’ve seen a single legitimate vender who sells CDs or DVDs in their original, licensed form. Therefore, Nicaraguans get their music the only way available: the black market. Oh, and the black market also happens to be mixed in with all of the perfectly legal products on the legal market, so who can really know the difference?! There are black market meat stalls right next to stalls with meat checked daily by the health department. It’s also very common in Nicaragua to pay for anything using solely cash. That way you don’t have to pay taxes and neither does the vendor!

By the way, Jess and I don’t condone this activity and neither does the Peace Corps, the US Government, or the Nicaraguan government, but that’s just the way it is down here.

What’s it like living with Astro?

Astro is great! We love hanging out with him and he likes it, too. A couple times a week we go running in the mornings. The other mornings we go to a local playground where we teach him tricks. So far he goes down the spiral slide and the straight one all by himself. We’re going to start working on the see-saws.

Astro also goes to work with me if I’m going out in the countryside. He sits in the back of the pick-up truck while we make the trip and then explores whatever school or farm we’re at while I give talks. He’s very quickly becoming the Health Center Mascot.

Astro was 4 months old when we got him, so he was already house-trained and pretty well accustomed to people. He’s a very well behaved dog, never really barks, and doesn’t cause trouble when he’s in the house alone. He does, however, like to dig, steal socks and sandals, and jump on people. We’re working on those…

Has Adriana heard of lemonade?

Adriana’s backyard has two lemon trees. They are enormous and put out about 200 lemons a week. Her family drinks lemonade about 5 times a week, and gives away the rest of the lemons to friends and family. I’m not kidding…

How are you two feeling about living in Nicaragua? Do you want to live there permanently? What are you going to do for New Years: our tradition or theirs?

Jess and I are very much enjoying our lives in Nicaragua. Just like life in the States there are things that could be better (like less rain), but overall life is more relaxed than it was. Things that one would imagine taking all your time (like washing all your clothes and dishes by hand) still leave you with plenty of time to read or play with the dog. We also cook huge breakfasts virtually every morning and still make it to work on time. It’s almost like you get more minutes in every hour somehow.

We miss a lot of stuff about the States, especially our families. We have also come to appreciate life “up north.” Not in the manner of unlimited cell phone plans and dishwashers, but things like people’s respect for others and the sense of personal responsibility and ownership. Not that Nicaraguans don’t have these qualities, it’s just a different culture.

New Year’s?! We’re still planning 4th of July! We think we’re going to meet some other volunteers from our group on the volcanic island of Ometepe. We’ll see…

Why do Nicaraguans have half days of school?

Nicaraguan classrooms average about 50 students to a class. Sometimes more. Some students are lucky to have around 30. Only in 2006 was it mandated that all Nicaraguan children have the right to a free education. The system is still trying to manage the influx of students. Therefore, the day is cut in half to accommodate twice as many students.

How many departments are in Nicaragua?

Nicaragua has 15 departments and 2 autonomous regions. Most departments are conveniently named after their capital cities (Managua is in the department of Managua, Estelí in Estelí, the same for Granada, León, Masaya, Jinotega, Matagalpa, etc.). Somoto, Madriz is an exception to the rule.

How to Nicaraguans celebrate birthdays?

Nicaraguans celebrate them much like we do. Those who can afford to have parties with cake, just like us. It’s also very common to have a piñata. Someone is in charge of shaking the piñata up and down and the kids have to dance around as they swing at it. Naturally, this is much more difficult, so nobody is blindfolded. Most Nicaraguans also know the English “Happy Birthday” song, which they sing along with another birthday song in Spanish. All in all, their parties are a pretty good time, even without the pizza.

OK, thanks again, Mrs. Lyttle’s class. Please feel free to keep in touch on your own once the summer begins!