I Only Had Twenty Minutes to Write This Post, and It´s Pretty Obvious

So the answer to the poll is baby showers. They are really starting to become popular here. The thing is, people here say exactly that--baby shower, or ¨baybee chower.¨ It´s one of the many Spanish words, such as ¨MacDonol¨ or ¨fool¨for full, where I´m not sure if I should try to imitate them or not, because it sounds like I´m making fun of their accent, even though to them I sound like I have an accent when I say it in my English way. For some reason, I just always picture Keri Fulton cracking up either way. She haunts me even from afar.

I also had a massage today that was gloooorious. Elena gave all of the women at the Center massages because we worked so hard in May (except that I was at home for most of May!) Nonetheless, with the inundation of U.S. delegations beginning tomorrow, I´m sure I will earn that hour back ten fold. But, so everything was great except that she began to knead my butt about halfway thru, which was just awkward. And then she massaged my feet and it tickled, but she kept asking if it hurt, but I couldn´t think of the word for tickle, so I just had to grin it bear it. The majority of the hour really was lovely though. At one point I tried to lift my head to help her and she told me literally not to move a muscle, that she would move my whole body for me, because my job was to enjoy and sleep. Then later on Elena told me she was thinking about making them a monthly perk for all the women, and she was like, do you think that´s a good idea? And I was like, that´s like asking kids if they think Santa Claus stopping by every month is a good idea. Not really what I told her, but you get the point.

OK, I have to go but I promise I am crafting an award-winning tale about one of the families I visited in Teustepe. It involves a dead duck, a drunken gentleman charging at me like a bull, and cake. All the makings of Oliver Twist, or at least Jerry Springer, right?

My Brother is Cool, Too

And lives in Costa Rica. And has his own blog.

www.mycostaricaadventures.blogspot.com

You know you want to check it out.

Money, Money, Money, Money, Mon-ah!

So I am trying this new thing out. Some of you may have heard of this wacky thing before. It´s called a budget.

In all seriousness though, I am trying to limit myself to $2 of spending money a day. That, plus my approximately $8 a day that I pay for housing and food, will bring me to a grand total of $10 a day. I figure that´s what the average Managuan is living off of daily, and though I probably won´t ever fully understand what it means to have this kind of income, I want to come closer to understanding.

Already I have run across a couple thoughts...for example, I will probably have to cheat when you lovely folks come down to visit, and there have been moments when I am scared of running late and have thoughts of just flagging down a taxi instead of waiting for who knows how long for the next bus. BUT, I haven´t cheated yet, and I really am enjoying more fully immersing myself in the life here.

I know eventually the novelty will wear off, but it´s presenting some interesting challenges for now..for example, the women where I live have a woman come in to wash their clothes every couple days, so I have to think, will that fit in my budget? Do I cheat to help give a Nicaraguan more income? Or do I stick to my guns? And, when I go to church, do I put in more than everyone else because I can, or do I stick to what fits in my budget? Also, you figure that with my health insurance at home, I am technically spending more than $10 a day.

So far, I have been doing pretty well, though. The first week I spent 345 Cordobas, or $17.25 dollars, which comes out to $2.46 per day. This last week I spent half a cordoba more (approximately 2.5 cents), so as you can imagine, right around the same amount. I may have to make my budget $10.50 or $11 per day, though it doesn´t sound as good lol.

Opinions? Suggestions? I would love to hear what you think about this, and all the innate questions that come along with it. Please share!

Funny Tidbit

So this morning I hop on the second bus to go to work and all of the sudden I feel someone reaching into my pocket. I freak out, not sure how to respond. As I reach down to swat the hand away, I hear someone giggling. It was Yamilette, one of the women who works with me at the Center (and the same one who asked me point blank why I had not brought her anything from the U.S. I had to scramble to find an extra Bath and Body Works soap that I'd brought.) Ah, la vida Nica.

You Know You Missed Me

Hola mi gente,

APOLOGIES for the rather long sabbatical…I was having too much fun in the U.S., what with being able to see again and all =) I promise to be a more faithful writer again, now that my friend and family pool has once again been drastically reduced lol. But, before you start feeling sorry for me, let me share with you some of the funny little things I am once again enjoying about life here in Nicaragua, Nicaraguita…(it’s a song)

1. I saw a guy walking down the street sporting a white shirt with the word “Bride” sprawled across it in fancy-schmancy gold cursive lettering. This amused me because I’m sure he probably thought it said something cool, like “Pimp” or “Playa.” Adam reminded me, however, that maybe he was a bride, and that I should not be so judgmental.

2. I take two school buses to work. Though I am still mastering the art of getting on and off while the bus is moving (it practically tore my arm off the other day, but pride would not allow me to show this), the grand total for my round trip voyage each day is 25 cents, slightly cheaper than the Metro.

3. I love the family I am living with. It is a 78-year-old grandmother, Dona Chepita, with her two single daughters and a niece from another daughter that lives there on the weekends. We sat in rocking chairs the other night and the grandmother starts recounting how they had a male U.S. volunteer who lived with them, and who ended up falling in love with her oldest daughter, proposing to her, and whisking her away to the U.S. Sitting there with the other two daughters, I started to feel slightly like I was in a Nicaraguan version of Pride & Prejudice. I am still waiting for Darcy to walk through the door.

3a. Also, the family that I live with is Evangelical Mennonite. I have never heard of such a preposterous combination, but it seems to work. I went to church with them this morning, only knowing that they were Mennonite, and they began singing new age Christian songs, so I thought, okay, maybe they just like the more contemporary stuff. Then the children started singing about telling the Devil to go away because they had Jesus in their heart. This is when I began to suspect that perhaps there was some kind of Evangelical influence. Finally, the pastor got up and started yelling at the congregation and then I knew. A glimpse at one of their hymnals confirmed it: La Iglesia Evangelica Mennonita. This is not to say it was a completely bad thing; the pastor had a good message about how we need to show more conviction in our daily lives and not just pray at night when we are tired and cranky. It is only to say that I was expecting white people in bonnets and traditional dress who had “converted” the people and instead it was an all Nicaraguan crowd breaking it down with praise and Amens, Aleluyias, etc. I am convinced that God has a sense of humor.

OK, I won’t completely bombard you. But, I promise to share in the following posts some of my oh-so only-in-Nicaragua stories about Teustepe and about my new plan for a budget that I hope will make me feel more connected here (I want to hear what you think about it). Anyway, I love you for continuing to follow my blog, even though I suck =), and I will write more soon!