The “Brie Exhibit” will be showing for the next 2 years

Bienvenido a San Juan Del Sur: For my birthday I spent a wonderful day at the beach. Clear blue water, sunny skies and a peaceful atmosphere (what more can a birthday girl ask for?)¿Qué Paso?:

My radio is currently tuned to: Radio Romantico, this station consists of classic American tunes dubbed in Spanish…it always puts a smile on my face to hear “Take My Breath Away” sung in Spanish!

Sign Sighting: Crammed in the back of a routa (local bus) I was able to catch a glimpse of the following shop sign, which read: ¨We Make Shoes, Tacos, and Orthopedic Shoe Inserts.¨ Where else can you eat a fresh taco while having shoes and orthopedic-wear made?

Regalos (gifts) that I have received this week: Squash, pig meat, gallo pinto, and shredded chicken

Interesting question I’ve been asked: Why don’t I have more names? (apparently a first, last and middle name are not enough…most people here have 5 official names and countless nicknames)

Minor Misunderstanding: Someone asked me, “Quire un carmelo (would you like a candy)” To my dismay, the candy in question was really a medicinal cough drop. So apparently, cough drops are also considered candy…I learn something new everyday!

Recent purchase: A plant cleverly called “Sandía (watermelon),” because the leaves look like the rind of a watermelon. I purchased the plant in Estelí, at a little restaurant called La Casita, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for fresh and healthy food. They serve wheat bread, Swiss cheese, brie cheese, tea, coffee, homemade yogurt and homemade granola. They also sell a variety of plants and seeds. My meal cost 30 cords (or $1.66) and my potted plant also cost 30 cords, what a deal!

The sunset at San Juan Del Sur

News flash, I just had a birthday and I am now 23…man, do I feel old. The good news about growing older in Nicaragua is that I am still considered a “youth.” In fact, I will be considered a “youth” up till age 30 or 33ish. My birthday was a lot of fun; I went to teach at my local school and was serenaded with the most bizarre (but wonderful) birthday song I’ve ever heard. The song included lots of clapping, a fast tempo and then a slower tempo, some yelling and then some singing, and to boot it lasted around 7 minutes. Good thing I didn’t have a cake with candles burning, because the candles would have burnt out long before I had a chance to blow them out (7 minutes later). During the song, I was seated in the middle of the room (not by choice, this was where the students placed me). It was a bit uncomfortable to sit in a chair and smile around the room for what seemed like a ridiculously long time, but the song was a wonderful gesture. I ended my day with a dinner of rice and shredded chicken, altogether it was a happy day!

I have recently been hassled by a 20 year old chavalo, whom I will call “Juan Doe”…don’t worry this is not his real name…I am trying to protect his identity. He drives a bus route up North and wants me to come visit him (he’ll even drive me on the big yellow bus for free). He has offered to take me to dinner, to the movies, and to las fiestas. Need less to say, I am not interested. I try to convey this feeling as kindly as possible but it is difficult when the guy is following me everywhere around town on his bicycle. I went into the internet café for 1 hour, and the guy waited outside until I was done. Then he biked (in slow motion) right next to me as I was walking home. In fact, I was surprised that the bike didn’t just tip over, because of the slow pace, but he managed to keep his balance (simply amazing). So, Juan Doe also wants to buy me a cell phone in hopes that he can reach me exclusively. I don’t want to lead this guy on, and I don’t believe I am, because I continue to turn down all of his offers/gestures. But when will he leave me alone?! Obviously, “no” is just not quite getting through to him, and that’s when a brilliant idea popped into my head. Feign ignorance, and tell him that in fact I am married and when he originally asked the question “Usted tiene un novio (do you have a boyfriend),” I misinterpreted it as meaning do I own a “novillo (a young bull),” which obviously I do not, and therefore would answer a definitive “no” to this question. Then I can add, “Oh, but I do have a novio, whoops, I’m still learning Spanish…sorry for the mix-up.” My problem will be solved! “No, I don’t own a young bull but, oh ya, I just remembered I have a boyfriend!”

Central Cathedral in Rivas

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this already in a previous blog, but it’s hot here! After reiterating the obvious, let me get to my point, I have had this occur several times on bus trips, and it absolutely horrifies me: I board a bus, chances are I am taking a minimum 1 hour ride, and strangely the windows of the bus are all rolled up. WHY, WHY, WHY? It’s hot, there is no need to ever roll up the windows, unless rain is pouring in through them, and even then it better be raining really hard to warrant a “window roll-up.” However, I have been on several very unfortunate bus rides where the windows remain rolled up for the entire ride. The reason behind this logic: Women don’t want their hair to be messed up by the wind. My counter-argument: Dripping sweat, to the point where it appears that a person has just stepped out of a pool or a shower, is just gross. It is preferable to have a bad hair day verses a smelly sweaty day. However, this logic clearly does not carry through to others on the bus, because they proceed to roll their windows up. I also feel that heat exhaustion is a likely side effect, due to the lack of free flowing air through the bus. I have yet to find a solution to this conundrum. Yes, I have asked the conductor if I can roll down my individual window…and the answer is NO (because the women around me protest). So this is my next idea: maybe I will have someone ship me my authentic “Sea World handheld fan that shoots out water from the mouth of Shamu the whale.” Perfect, I’ll see how this approach goes over with the people sitting around me…I feel they will finally see the light and allow me to open the window rather than get splashed with whale water mist from my fan.

Whenever I meet a new person, which is every single day, the first few questions they always ask are: are you married, do you have kids, how old are you, and what are you doing here???? I always answer truthfully, however I have been contemplating spicing up my life a little and making a few things up (namely, creating a spouse (Harry) and kids (Hermione and Ron). What, I just got finished reading the final Harry Potter (thanks mom for shipping that out) and those are the names that happen to be on my mind…hopefully no one with notice, maybe I should me more conspicuous? Anyway, the truth has gotten me absolutely nowhere, because once I say the magic words “I’m single,” people start trying to fix me up with their hermano, tio, amigo, cousin, second cousin, …. Basically, they feel sorry for me, and think that I should be dating one of their relatives immediately to alleviate my loneliness. I always try to politely refuse these numerous offers, but it is just an awkward situation. Therefore, I am going to invent a family. My husband, Harry, lives in the United States. He is about 6’ 4” and plays football; he will be visiting me very soon and is also the jealous type (this addition will help to prevent the local guys from hassling me). It’s that simple, all that I need is a ring, which I will purchase for 20 cords at a local market! I haven’t put this plan into action, yet, but I am very tempted!

The U.S. might have Pizza Hut but in Nicaragua we have the Pizza Hot!

The front part of my house serves as my living room, kitchen, dinning room, and occasionally my nap area (thanks to the addition of a hamaca). It is a multipurpose area, and often I open up my front door and windows to let the air flow through the house. However, lately as I’ve gotten to know more of the neighborhood chavalos I have found that opening up my door and windows inadvertently creates the “Brie Exhibit.” Come marvel at the gringa, she cooks, cleans, studies, reads…a very rare species indeed! The children gather outside of my door (usually a group of 5 to 6) and they just stare. Of course, I approach them and ask them questions (how are you, what’s new etc. etc.) but after a while they would rather watch me in my natural domestic habitat. Maybe to entertain the kids I should start making some fun animal noises in my “cage” (but this wouldn’t bode well for the “American” image…so maybe I will resist).

Yesterday, a young girl (age 9) asked what I was going to do with the small bolsa (bag) of huevos (eggs) I had just purchased. I responded “I am going to eat them.” Her face lit up and she said, “Really, when do you eat eggs?” I told her I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Then she asked what other Nicaraguan foods I liked (when I responded that I like everything, I realized this answer was just not sufficient. She wanted the exact names of comidas (foods)…so I started naming off everything…pollo, huevos, gallo pinto (the mention of this typical dish always elicits a laugh from whomever I’m talking with…still no clue why), sopa de cerdo, sopa de pollo, nacatamal….and the list goes on!

Apparently, there is a big fiesta in December (go figure) and my dance card is already full. My teachers have already planned for me to visit their rural towns and participate in the fiestas. They have proceeded to show me pictures of last year’s festival and the festival from 3 years prior (the both looked the same to me). They are also prepping me for the festival by telling me all the things that go on during the month of December. The excitement exudes from their faces, and it’s rubbing off on me too…now I just have to wait a few months! However, Deciembre will be here before I know it!

Another recipe…the corn tortilla is extremely popular and sells for 1 cord/tortilla in the market place and all around town.

Dish name: Tortilla de Maiz

When do you eat it: Morning, noon and night!!!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes/tortilla

Ingredients:

- 2 tazas Harina de maiz (2 cups corn flour)

- Sal (pinch of salt)

- Bicarbonate de sodio (1/4 tsp. baking soda)

- ½ taza agua (1/2 cup water)

- Aceite (2 tbsp. vegetable oil)

Directions:

1) In a small bowl mix all dry ingredients: corn flour, salt, and baking soda.

2) Slowly add water in water to form a ball of dough. Be careful not to add too much water.

3) Meanwhile, heat oil in frying pan over low heat.

4) Make 3 inch balls of dough (masa). Flatten the balls into a round flat tortilla shape approximately ¼ inch thick (mas o menos). The dough is sticky, so it is recommend that the dough is flattened on the surface of a large plastic zip-lock bag.

5) Put uncooked tortilla onto heated frying pan. The dough should bubble up a little while it’s cooking. Don’t forget to flip and cook both sides evenly until browned.

This is the dirt road I walk down to reach one of my more rural schools...tranquilo!