Everything takes time...

Some life changes are good and others regretful; however, our lives are shaped by every day occurrences that help us grow and develop into the persons we are today. And everything that happens in our lives occurs for a reason, reasons that sometimes only God knows. A few days ago I received a text message from my Spanish conversation partner. She wrote,

"Lo que no logres de pie, hazlo de rodillas...Lo que no logres de hablando, hazlo orando...y lo que no puedes hacer, deja que Dios lo haga...EL TODO LO PUEDE!!! Que el Dios todo poderoso te bendiga hoy y siempre...y recuerda que para estar de pie ante el mundo, hay que estar de rodillas ante Dios."

Translated:
"What you cannot do standing, do it kneeling...what you cannot achieve by talking, achieve it through prayer...and what you cannot do, leave that to God for him to do...HE CAN DO ANYTHING!!! May the all powerful God bless you today and always...and remember that in order to stand up before the world, it is necessary to be on your knees before God."

This is such a great reminder to me that I am not in control of everything nor can I conquer everything I attempt to do alone. I am in need of the one true God to lead me and guide me. Without him I am worthless. It is because of him that I am here in Nicaragua today learning and discovering a whole new culture.

There are many things about Nicaragua that I absolutely love, and then there are some cultural things that, to be honest, I don't really like...The diet here is very starchy because bread is the staple food. Unless you are at a restaurant, meals are always served with some sort of rice, tortillas or bread as the main portion of the meal. Even soup is served with a side of tortillas to eat in order to stay full longer. Adapting to this diet has not been easy for me because back home I do not eat a lot of bread. Instead, I fill my plate with greens and protein that fill me up and keep me full longer. In my opinion, the food is sometimes pretty bland. I'm a girl that likes food with a kick, but the taste buds of my host family SCREAM if they encounter even a sliver of a chili pepper in their dinners. It was fun watching my host sister's fiancé sweat as he tried to finish his meal last Sunday after encountering a speck of chili pepper in his rice. I found a similar piece in my rice and ate it without a problem as if it were a piece of candy.

Another not-so-healthy fact about the food here is that most of it is fried. Even the rice is flavored with the lovely taste of cooking oil. However despite the differences, I try to remain grateful of the fact that at every meal I am provided with a generous plate of food and have no reason to complain.

Frying rice in the countryside.

 

One very important aspect of Nicaraguan culture is that of relationships. A relationship one has with another takes priority over work. When someone comes to your house, you happily invite them in for coffee or food and chat the afternoon away with no regards to time or the chores you have to finish. This aspect of the culture is quite possibly the most difficult one for me to adjust to and accept while living here. It is almost impossible for me to live a relaxed and laid back type of life. I love meeting new people and making new friends; however...if I tell someone I am going to finish something by a certain time, I try my absolute best to finish it by that time. 

 

Patience is a virtue here because everything takes time. In order to cook, you first must go to the market or a Pulperia (in-house store) to purchase ingredients or drinks for the meal. Also, traveling takes time. Though there are multiple forms of transportation here, I walk everywhere because it is cheaper, it's good exercise, and sometimes it is actually faster than taking a bus through the maze of one-way streets. It annoys me sometimes how I have to take into account the amount of time it will take me to get from one location to another by foot. And, when I travel late in the morning or in the afternoon, it is very hot so I arrive at the location all sweaty, feeling nasty and gross. :-P But, this is how people have had to travel since the beginning, so I guess it's safe to say that I'm getting the most out of this cultural experience that I possibly can.

 

Traveling for class and maneuvering our way through streets filled with vendors. In order to travel, you have to know exactly how big your vehicle is so that you know whether or not you'll be able to squeeze through spaces between cars and other things.

 

You also have to watch out for random herds of cows that decide to cross the street in search of better grass.

 

Just the rainy season...

 





All Things Beautiful And Not So Much...

Starting a blog post is always the hardest part. You have to decide what you want to write about, how you're going to write it and will people even want to read it?!?!?! Well, I guess that last one doesn't really matter, but I had to complete my list of three. ;-)

Anyways...a few weeks ago I went to see the Latin America Traveling Circus! This circus is way different than those seen in the states. When I think of a circus, I think of big tents, big stunts and even bigger animals. Here, though the stunts are still pretty intimidating and scary and the tents are decently large, the animals and the clowns on the other hand are way different. There is a traveling horse, which is a normal sight to see at a circus though he was very small and underfed, traveling ostriches, llamas, a snake and a monkey. The "Grande Finale" of the animal show involved two llamas running out with a monkey clinging for dear life to the back of one of them. To be honest I was expecting an elephant, but the llamas were a funny surprise. Unfortunately, most clowns here are taught to tell crude jokes so, though the circus was a fun experience, I did not really enjoy the clowns.



Picture from our seats inside the circus tent.

 

I had to paid $2.00 to take this picture, but it was worth it!

 



On September 14, I went with two of my friends to celebrate the Día de Independencia of Nicaragua. On this day, the alumni and other students of all the schools/colleges from the area join together to form a parade. Literally every band from every school along with dancers and baton twirlers from every school participate in the parade that walks around the city of Leon. It started at 8:30AM and lasted until 1:30PM. Yes, it was a 5 hour parade of the continuous cycle of the same sights: band, baton twirlers, dancers. Fortunately for me, I only stayed for an hour. Some other friends of mine had gone to the parade with their families and had to stay for the entire thing! :-/

 

Here are two short video clips of two of the schools. Every school has a different dress style, and if there were extra students that did not have specific activities to do in the parade, they just marched to the music for 5 hours...I'm sure they burned a ton of calories that day between marching and sweating in the heat. You'll notice them passing around bags of water in order to stay hydrated. 

 

 

 

One of the beautiful cathedrals that decorates the streets of Leon.

 

A huge rainstorm washed this not-so-pleasant creature from the road onto our patio. It's a good thing my host mom is awesome and killed it with a machete before it went into the house!

 

My student practicum project has me visiting a lot of different fincas (farms) in Nicaragua. So far this has been the prettiest cow I have seen yet. I love the look of these animals, especially their ears! God is so good at what he does <3 

 

Even when you use umbrellas, it's still impossible to stay dry when it rains...

 

 

 

 

 









Rain Makes Everything New Again

Every new sunrise I live to see here in Leon greets me with a new challenge. Trash litters the pot hole filled streets. Stains and paint chipped spots cover the walls of homes. If the family can afford it, they tile their floors; otherwise, the ground is left bare. Refrigerators are never stocked because it is typically cheaper to buy already made food from the vendors on the streets or restaurants in the city's center. Though temperatures average around 90 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity is high because of the volcanoes, no air conditioning exists in any homes. I sweat through every pair of clothes that I wear more than twice a day. Today for instance, I walked to my mentor's house for a meeting this morning. As I stood in her kitchen cooling off by the fan, I literally made a puddle of sweat on her floor and there was nothing I could do about it but constantly apologize as I wiped myself off with paper towel.

Because buildings do not have AC, most windows and doors remain open 24/7. This allows for critters of all kinds to come creeping in if you're not careful. As I'm writing this, a gecko is scurrying up the wall across from me. Fortunately he is one of the cuter critters and one that is actually "welcomed" in homes because he eats the mosquitos and ants. 

I will never take for granted the peacefulness of the country back home. Here people, taxis and buses fill the streets with noises of honks, alarms, and whistles. It is never quiet during the day, and at night dogs bark on the streets. Most people go to bed early because they are up at 4:00AM (the crack of dawn) to begin making tortillas and other foods to sell to people on the streets. It is easier to go to bed earlier because the sun is already completely set by 6:00PM.

My family here is more than I could have ever asked for. They bless me everyday through their kindness and generosity. It is a custom to treat guests very well. At the dinner table, guests are always served first even before the man of the household, and they are served a HUGE plate of food! Nicaraguans pride themselves in making sure their guests feel comfortable and have full stomachs. I had a personal talk with my sister who is the family's house keeper and cook because she fed me so much food. I simply could not continue eating as much as she was feeding me, but I didn't want to be rude and leave food on my plate. Fortunately, she told me I did not have to eat it all if I wasn't hungry.

Another Nicaraguan custom is to give gifts to people you know. Last night as I was watching television with my sister, a friend of the family selling Avon products stopped by. She was selling a very beautiful smelling perfume. My sister, knowing I had not brought any perfume with me to Nicaragua, bought the perfume and gave it to me as a gift. Upon realizing what was happening, my jaw dropped, and I could not believe what was happening. It would have been a cheap purchase for me if I had bought it, but she, a woman without a continuous flow of income, spent money she did not necessarily have for my sake. I was truly touched and will be each time I use the perfume.

As I said before, every new sunrise greets me with a new challenge. Today's challenge was to cross the street during a rain storm. The drain system here is not very fast so streets quickly fill with water. If I had been wearing my flip flops, it would not have been a problem. However, today I made the choice of wearing my tennis shoes....needless to say, one foot did not make it across the puddle without getting wet.

My classic school girl picture with the volcanos Mumbo Tumbo (left) and Mumbo Tumbito (out of picture on right).



Trying a new fruit called Mamon Chino.

 

 

Mamon Chino, it is a very exotic looking fruit with an equally interesting flavor.