There are some perks to saying goodbye, however. Because none of their sites are being replaced by the new group of volunteers they have a plethora of stuff to give away. We like to keep things in the Peace Corps family as much as possible, as the settling in allowance really isn´t enough to settle in with, so things like tables and chairs, pots and pans, blankets, books, and stoves are all up for grabs. Jess and I now have a bunch of new furniture, a great new 4 burner stove and a few extra pots! We´re also storing a bunch of stuff for other volunteers in Madríz, current and future. Needless to say, the house is a little crowded right now, but we´ll get over it.
Chatting over brunch.
Our first attempt at home-made bagels. Not much to look at, but they tasted great!
Spinach quiche!
Happy times in Somoto.
And we're off for no more than a few bucks!
Monday morning we had our first good rain since November. It rained on and off for about an hour. The ground got just muddy enough to remind us what a hassle it is to have a dog who likes to run in and out of the house like it’s his job. It’s still early for the official rainy season, so this was probably just a fluke. We won’t see daily rains until May, but this was a nice change of pace.
Last Tuesday we helped our Nicaraguan host family move houses. Akhnaton and Silvia finally realized their dream and finished building their very own house. It’s not big at all by American standards, but it is about as nice as they get in Nicaragua. We learned quite a bit about the moving process in Nicaragua, and you’ll be interested to hear it is a little different than the way we do it in the States.
Nicaraguans are shameless about asking for things. As Americans, we’ve been trained not to give a dollar to the guy begging on the corner, and we find it socially acceptable to walk right by the Salvation Army guys in the wintertime. In Nicaragua, however, your average person might give out a cordoba to four or five people just on their way home from the grocery store. If an older person walks into a restaurant and asks for a little bit of money, a lot of Nicaraguans will get out of their seat, dig around in their pockets for a few cents, walk over and hand it to the person asking, and thank them for the opportunity to help. So, because the rate of success is so high for people begging, a lot of Nicaraguans go ahead and ask for anything and everything. Here´s a list of some of the things Jess and I have been asked for over the past year:
- money
- food
- water
- alcohol
- backpacks
- shoes
- Astro
- our computer
- Jess’s hand in marriage
- our passports
That list is almost in order of importance, but not quite. Anyway, back to moving, you can imagine the scene outside a Nicaraguan home as a well-to-do family pulls item after item out of their house and onto the moving truck. So, I ask you, how do you avoid the mobs? How do you avoid the awkward refusals to give your stuff away? Easy! You move houses in the middle of the night when no one else is awake!
That´s right, Jess and I helped Akhnaton and Silvia move house from 8pm on Tuesday night until 3am on Wednesday morning. Akhnaton kept on going until 10am! As crazy as it sounds the strategy worked. We weren´t asked for a single item, and we dealt with a lot less traffic as we bounced down the road with waaaaaaayyyyy to much stuff in the pick-up truck. Luckily, it was only a move of six or seven blocks, and the only thing we lost out of the back of the truck was a smiley-face magnet from the fridge.
It took us a few days to fully recover, but I have to admit, the late night move definitely has its perks.
The next group of photos are from a recent hike we took toward the town of Cacauli. This is Astro in his desert motif.
Astro helping the local cowboys.
Our first attempt at home-made bagels. Not much to look at, but they tasted great!
Spinach quiche!
Happy times in Somoto.
After a long morning of cooking and eating, we decided to just get a bite to eat from a fritanga, which is street food. It's almost like Nicaraguan fast-food, but with a much higher chance of getting amoebas. Tasty!
Grilled chicken, enchiladas, gallo pinto, fried plantain, tacos, and who knows what else...
And we're off for no more than a few bucks!
Monday morning we had our first good rain since November. It rained on and off for about an hour. The ground got just muddy enough to remind us what a hassle it is to have a dog who likes to run in and out of the house like it’s his job. It’s still early for the official rainy season, so this was probably just a fluke. We won’t see daily rains until May, but this was a nice change of pace.
Last Tuesday we helped our Nicaraguan host family move houses. Akhnaton and Silvia finally realized their dream and finished building their very own house. It’s not big at all by American standards, but it is about as nice as they get in Nicaragua. We learned quite a bit about the moving process in Nicaragua, and you’ll be interested to hear it is a little different than the way we do it in the States.
Nicaraguans are shameless about asking for things. As Americans, we’ve been trained not to give a dollar to the guy begging on the corner, and we find it socially acceptable to walk right by the Salvation Army guys in the wintertime. In Nicaragua, however, your average person might give out a cordoba to four or five people just on their way home from the grocery store. If an older person walks into a restaurant and asks for a little bit of money, a lot of Nicaraguans will get out of their seat, dig around in their pockets for a few cents, walk over and hand it to the person asking, and thank them for the opportunity to help. So, because the rate of success is so high for people begging, a lot of Nicaraguans go ahead and ask for anything and everything. Here´s a list of some of the things Jess and I have been asked for over the past year:
- money
- food
- water
- alcohol
- backpacks
- shoes
- Astro
- our computer
- Jess’s hand in marriage
- our passports
That list is almost in order of importance, but not quite. Anyway, back to moving, you can imagine the scene outside a Nicaraguan home as a well-to-do family pulls item after item out of their house and onto the moving truck. So, I ask you, how do you avoid the mobs? How do you avoid the awkward refusals to give your stuff away? Easy! You move houses in the middle of the night when no one else is awake!
That´s right, Jess and I helped Akhnaton and Silvia move house from 8pm on Tuesday night until 3am on Wednesday morning. Akhnaton kept on going until 10am! As crazy as it sounds the strategy worked. We weren´t asked for a single item, and we dealt with a lot less traffic as we bounced down the road with waaaaaaayyyyy to much stuff in the pick-up truck. Luckily, it was only a move of six or seven blocks, and the only thing we lost out of the back of the truck was a smiley-face magnet from the fridge.
It took us a few days to fully recover, but I have to admit, the late night move definitely has its perks.
The next group of photos are from a recent hike we took toward the town of Cacauli. This is Astro in his desert motif.
Astro helping the local cowboys.
Here's a building that recently went up in the country-side. They are built with adobe bricks, which means people mix straw and much in a mold and then let it dry in the sun. The same mud is used as mortar to hold the whole thing together. They don't last nearly as long as bricks or cement blocks, but this one is built very skillfully and will probably last 15 years. It needs a final coat of mud to protect the adobe bricks, but then it should be fairly durable.
Nicaraguans drink soda and juice out of a plastic bag. Here's Jess demonstrating proper technique. You bite a hole in the corner of the bag and then you have to squeeze the soda out.
That´s all for now. Jess and I have a busy week planned, and then a weekend trip to visit a few other volunteers in Matagalpa, which is a totally different part of the country. Look for details next week!
That´s all for now. Jess and I have a busy week planned, and then a weekend trip to visit a few other volunteers in Matagalpa, which is a totally different part of the country. Look for details next week!
3 comments:
We Need to talk about that order of importance.
Jess's Dad
The kids loved the looks of your bagels and want a taste. We found the adobe house very interesting. As usual we love to hear about Astro's adventures. We are writing a book about him in English and Spanish and want to give a copy to the Somoto library. We think the info about the Nicaraguan culture and asking/giving things was amazing. We love to hear about ideas from the Nica culture. We have sent questions for Glenda and kids. We want to learn more about Los Quinchos. Jess and Matt we can't wait to meet you in about ten weeks.
Your friends in fourth grade.
Hello Matt and Jess,
I just returned from Nicaragua (Managua, Matagalpa, in and between) on an immersion trip with my faculty from Seattle University. I had read your blog before going. Thanks! Check my blog for first timer's thoughts... www.cindajohnson.blogspot.com
It was an incredible trip. Hard to begin spring quarter teaching grad students! Cinda
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