It’s raining it’s pouring, I think I could have a foot fungus?

This week all 9 of my counterpart teachers gathered under one roof to discuss the goals and objectives for the following school year. Unfortunately, the conversation never progressed passed the topic of “What foods does Brie like to eat?” It has been determined that I will eat any foods (Except Sopa de Mondongo…I don’t even want to go into details concerning what this soup is made out of but lets just say it’s an acquired taste…that I hope never to acquire!) Another big topic of discussion was the fact that I am not a vegetarian. Apparently, the last volunteer (who left 4 years ago) was a vegetarian. I asked my counterparts what other details they could give me about the volunteer (for example what projects the volunteer worked on in the community) but it seems that the only thing clearly remembered is the fact that the volunteer did not eat meat. It makes me ponder, what will I be remembered as (Girl who ate everything except Sopa de Mondongo…if curiosity is still itching concerning the mysterious Mondongo soup, I suggest a Google search with the key words: “mondongo” “Central America” and “Pictures”!). All of my counterparts laugh when I tell them how much I enjoy Gallo Pinto (rice and beans), crema (thick milk cream) and other typical Nicaraguan foods. I am not quite in on this joke, and still haven’t figured out what they are all laughing about, but I assume the jokes on me! After the teachers planned out whose house I would be eating at for the next 5 weeks, we finally discussed our goals for the upcoming school year and then ate a lunch of rice, salad and Res (beef). Once again I was laughed at while eating, and I am starting to think that this reoccurring cackle could have something to do with the manner in which I eat my food? Still not sure, and I am looking into exploring this topic further in upcoming blogs titled: “The Gringa Eats Again” and “Eating isn’t a Laughing Matter, Unless There Happens to be a Parasite the Food.”

Before the rooster had a chance to crow and long before the neighborhood kids had a chance to set off the morning dose of firecrackers (both of which act as my usual alarm clock) I awoke to a real alarm clock at 4:30am. Beep, Beep, Beep…I and almost forgot that I was suppose to wake up to that weak beeping noise. Why on earth would I wake up so early? To do laundry of course! I share a wash basin with two families (around 7 people). Every morning a lavandera (woman who washes cloths) arrives at 6am to wash around 20 pairs of pants, 30 shirts/blouses, sabanas (bed sheets) and underwear galore. Now due to the fact that the water stops at around 7am this leaves me with a small window of opportunity in which to do my own laundry. Therefore, I woke up super early to wash my clothes, sheets and toallas (towels). It never ceases to amaze me what I will do for clean clothes. However, I am smelling good once again and will have to repeat this laundry fiasco for the next few weeks (just until I get my own wash basin). But until then it’s a race to beat the laundry lady.

The lion of León. This fountain is in the central park of León. There are 3 more identical lions that surround this fountain that I was unable to ¨capture¨ in this picture (because they were so fierce).

I am taking cooking classes every Friday from local families in the community so that I can fully integrate. So far I can make cheese, tortillas, tacos, enchiladas, nacatamal (a tamale), indio viejo (translates into Old Indian, however the name does not faithfully reflect the flavor of this dish…it tastes more like a beef stew with cornmeal). I am compiling the recipes for my own use and finally finding out how much time and effort goes into their specialty foods. Since I enjoy cooking, I find it helpful to have hands on lessons. Plus, I always walk away with lots of goodies. For example, after my lesson I was fed lunch and then given 2 fresocs, enchiladas, tacos, 1 nacatamal and beef to take home with me for cenar (supper). Yum.

The weekend couldn’t have come soon enough because a group of business volunteers (including myself) gathered in León (the city of the lion…roar/grrr) to take a bit of a break from our various sites. It was nice to see everyone, as well as to talk about the different successes and difficulties we are all encountering (trying to teach and integrate are the two main problem areas). León is a fun colonial city in Nicaragua that has beautiful cathedrals and colonial buildings. However, I did not go to León to be a typical tourist, I went León to dance. Think of my dancing style as Napoleon Dynamite meets Frankenstein, because that’s the extent of my dancing capability, some flailing stiff arms and maybe an occasional moon walk or robot. Maybe, I am a little better than that but it’s hard to overlook that fact that I am a white girl in a Latin American country…and quite frankly when I dance next to these Latinos that is how I believe they view my unique American dancing style! I do not have the rhythm of the Salsa and I am certainly no Shakira, but I suppose I have 2 years to work on it!

A view of the top...this picture shows the upper part of the main Catholic Cathedral in León.

The past few days have been very rainy, probably backsplash from the hurricane that bypassed Nicaragua and headed towards México. Every afternoon around 3pm a heavy rain falls and continues to fall throughout the night. It floods the streets while simultaneously clearing the street of all inhabitants. No Nicaraguan in their rightful mind would go walking around in this weather. Good thing I’m a gringa. While in León the rain came pouring down, and like a typical American nothing could stop me from my pre-planned agenda. The rain started out as a drizzle but soon turned into a monsoon. I was wearing flip-flops and had no umbrella or raincoat. As the water surged out of the gutters and flowed down the street I was forced to walk through a river of germs. (Note: I do not consider myself germ phobic, but in Nicaragua the streets are not very sanitary…think big city + animals roaming the street + big open markets with meat/fish/food products = dirty streets). As I waded through the water in my flimsy flip-flops it occurred to me that I probably was contracting all sorts of bacteria, fungus and various forms of mutated diseases. During the next few weeks the germs will incubate and I will find out for sure what I have contracted. I will provide the necessary updates and can only hope that my feet will not have to be removed. Seriously, I doubt I have foot fungus but there is always a chance (I swear I am not turning into a hypochondriac). I have learned yet another valuable lesson: When it is raining follow suite with the Nicaraguans, and just stay inside where it’s dry and sanitary.

A full view of the main Catholic Cathedral in León (the upper part of the cathedral can be see in more detail in the picture above).