My blog has been severely neglected for a long time. I’d like to say that it’s because I’m too busy, but that’s clearly not true because I have nothing but free time. I’ve been in site for a month now, and things are generally going well. I had to switch host families because my first host mom left for the US and the kids did not think the amount she had agreed I’d pay was enough to cover the costs. Now I’m living with the same host family as my site mate, and besides the very dungeon-like room without windows, the family is great. I can’t understand why the concrete floor in my room won’t dry after it was washed three weeks ago. It’s not dripping wet, but it’s definitely that darker color of wet concrete. As long as mold doesn’t grow on my stuff it’s fine.
Some of the fruit seeds I had dried were moldy however, which was really sad because I had spent lots of time drying them. I started a garden at the library with some of the kids who always hang out there and hopefully my seeds will grow! I think they’ve been pretty good about watering twice a day and I’ll go visit tomorrow when I get the chance. Apparently the water pump burned out and the water did not come today. We’re hoping someone will go out there and fix it, but with the holidays and nobody working, who knows when it will come back. I guess this is when you appreciate having a well instead of a faucet.
Yesterday my family and I went to a quince años. When girls turn 15 here, the family (if they can afford it) throws a huge party to celebrate. They invite all the friends and family to a dinner, where everything –tablecloths, dishes, utensils, decorations, even the Quinceñera is pink. There are 14 little girls dressed in matching pink dresses running around so that the birthday girl can be number 15 in her wedding-like gown. The one we had here had supposedly invited 350 people, which is huge. My host brother’s friend had planned the party, and they spent $100 on the cake alone! It was this ridiculous multi-tier cake with stairs to connect various parts, and they didn’t even cut the cake during the party! Apparently when there are that many guests, they save the cake and distribute it to VIPs the day after. Sure enough, a red-eyed Douglas who had not slept all night brought my host family a portion in the morning. Anyway there’s dinner and dancing, and I love how everyone (minus the evangelicals) dances in this country. It doesn’t matter if you’re old, young, man, woman, drunk, or sober –everyone loves to dance. It’s an aspect that I wish other cultures shared because it’s fun and people go home happy. What I don’t enjoy is the incredible number of drunkards at parties here. There was a guy who sat down on a plastic chair at our empty table, fell asleep, and then toppled over still asleep. I’m not going to start with the rest of the bolos, but there certainly are plenty of them, all the time.
My ongoing search for a house to rent has been tough. I’ve seen a ton of vacant houses or piezas (rooms sectioned off/mostly independent from the rest of the house), but most of them are far away from the center of town or out of my price range. An additional problem with the houses far away from the center of town is that water is distributed differently in different neighborhoods. The houses that are far away only get water at night for a few hours, whereas houses closer to the pump may have water almost all day. Bucket baths aren’t terrible, but having running water most of the day is so convenient. During the wet season there’s always water, but then during the dry season some areas may go weeks without water. When that happens you have to go buy water from the farms nearby that have their own wells, and then you’ve got to take it home. I would also love a flushing toilet instead of a letrine, and the only house that I’ve seen with one is the one the married couple I’m replacing lived in. The house is new, humongous and gorgeous, but too expensive for me. And my search continues.
It’s hard to believe my birthday and Christmas are just around the corner. Having spent many Christmas’ away from my family, I feel fairly desensitized about the holidays. Last year I was with my parents, but the year before that I was in Costa Rica with Debra and Jess, and the year before that I was in New York with Ro and her sister. Still there’s a part of me that wishes we could do one of those extended family get-togethers with lots of food and baby cousins running around. My nuclear family’s missed out on that sort of thing for a long time now since we’ve lived in Taiwan for so long. I guess I’m looking forward to the Christmas when that’s a reality, and since I’ll be in Nicaragua until 2011, it won’t happen for a long time. Chinese New Year is the holiday that really kills me because you spend two weeks eating delicious food that I am constantly missing. Maybe I’ll aim to make it to Taipei for Chinese New Year in two years.
BTW I can’t believe I’m turning 23! EEK! I’m quite jealous about missing snowboarding, fortunately I have the beach and tropical fruit to make me feel better.
Happy Holidays folks! Hope your days are filled with Christmas music, fresh baked cookies with good coffee, and good company to pass the time.
