Things that make us go "hmmm"

So I wanted to share a blog post I wrote a long time ago but never had time to post. At one of our weekly workshop sessions, the topic of one of the discussions was Cultural Adaptation. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, since I consider myself kind of a pro by this point, but it turned out to be quite entertaining. Our assignment was to break into groups and write a list of “Things that make us go ‘hmmm’”. This could be done in a variety of styles; some groups made lists; some drew representative pictures; we thought of appropriate song titles. My favorites were “Who Let the Dogs Out?” (a reference to street dogs and other animals) and “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (a double reference to arriving during rainy season and the many parades we saw in the month of September). Some of the stories that my fellow trainees told were hilarious examples of adapting to the new culture and customs around us, and I took it upon myself to write them down and share them. Some are simply observations that I may have forgotten in earlier posts, some are more comical, all serve to paint a picture of where I am

-          Carbs. Each meal features a carb dish, with at least one side dish of carbs. I personally don’t worry about this since I have a good relationship with Luisa, who is in charge of cooking for me, and she understands my food needs while not feeling offended.

-          Buses. I had a personal moment of culture shock when I rode an inter-city bus for the first time last week, which was in reality an old school bus. It was odd to see a school bus full of adults. But most of the transport within regions in Nicaragua is via “micros”, which are 12-16 passenger vans similar to the tro-tros I rode in Ghana, but a little smaller. They are manned by a driver and a money-collector, who hangs out the door shouting the destination until someone hails him. I find the fares very cheap, but apparently there has been a national increase recently that has many people, especially students who have to commute, protesting.

-          Drunks. We’ve been told since day one that moderation doesn’t exist in Nicaragua, and that women usually don’t drink in public. My friends have stories of almost tripping over drunks passed out on the sidewalk, or of cab drivers swerving around them lying in the street. Volunteers share stories of having to take longer, alternate walking routes to avoid street corners where drunks typically congregate.

-          Piropos. This is the Spanish word for the obnoxious things men say to women they find attractive, especially foreign women, even if they are completely disgusting and sweaty from their morning run. A strategy for avoiding this is to beat them to the punch by greeting them politely before they can say anything, though this is not always 100% effective. (On a side note, the standard Nica greeting is “adios”, which of course usually means good-bye. I wonder if it’s a reflection of the religiosity of the country since the literal meaning is “to God”.) Two of the best examples of piropos received so far are “shake it don’t break it girl” and “you are a rainbow in my sky”.

-          Treat? One friend told a story of how her young host sister offered her a piece of her “sweet”, which came in a Play-doh container. Sure enough, the treat was Play-doh, and the mother bought it for the daughter as a special treat periodically. (Another side note: small snack stores here are called “pulperias”, and no one has been able to tell me why. I know that “pulpo” means octopus…but that can’t be it, right?)

-          Large spider found in bed. I’m not sure how it got through the mosquito net. Also, lots of people are covered with bug bites, despite layering on the bug spray (which the Peace Corps supplies for free). I swear I haven’t seen a mosquito this entire time, knock on wood.

-          Baby food. Trainees with babies or infants in their host families repeatedly report coffee and Coke being served to them, sometimes in a bottle.

-          Ovens. Most kitchens have an oven, but I have yet to see one actually used for its intended purpose. Instead, they are used to store pots, pans, and other cookware. I thought this was just my family, but word on the street is it’s universal.

-          Pets? Some friends have cows, pigs, and chickens that live within the housing compound. One boy reported having his leg pecked by a chicken while eating breakfast.

-          Stuffed alligators. One volunteer reported that they sold stuffed alligators in his site.

-          Bathing rituals. We were told from the beginning that Nicaraguans bathe in the morning, and that it is against cultural norms to do otherwise. I haven’t tried bathing at nighttime, since I rn in the mornings so it is convenient to me to bathe after that, but those who have report that their families found them to be very strange, and couldn’t understand why. Since there is never running water in our neighborhood between the hours of 6 am and noon, roughly, bathing at night would seem to be logical; but this is not the case. One girl caught a cold, and her mother told her it was because she had bathed in the evening. This seems illogical to us, but I wonder if there is a reason for this belief.

-          Plastic bags. Juices, soda, and ice cream are typically served in plastic sandwich bags. To drink, you tear a hole in the corner with your teeth and suckle. I had experience with this with water bags in Ghana, but watching my friends attempt to figure it out at our first group meeting was hilarious. Ice cream is still tricky for me though, and I always seem to puncture the bag somewhere and make a mess.

-          Dietary beliefs. Some report that their host mothers have given them some interesting dietary advice, such as that one must drink Coke after eating eggs to aid digestion. Another belief is that women are not allowed to open the refrigerator while on their period. One family had a 1-yr-old who came down with a cold, and their attempt to cure it was to bathe him/her in alcohol.

-          Titanic. One environment trainee reported that the first question a group of kids in the community who were helping build their garden asked was, do you know the Titanic song? Will you sing it for us? She refused (I would have done it), but they persistently asked. A current volunteer reported that, in his 2 years in site, his host family has probably watched Titanic over 300 times, sometimes starting before breakfast.

-          Bicycles. 2-3 people on a bicycle is not an uncommon site. I appreciate this fact more after attempting to be both a driver and passenger in this scenario while in Hangzhou and failing miserably. But I’ve heard reports of up to 5 people on a bicycle, and I can’t fathom how they do that.

-          Noise. We were told that noise was an unavoidable part of life, but it still surprises us. I heard reports of parades, complete with drumming marching bands, starting at 4AM, most likely to commemorate a saint’s day. I’ve also heard that mariachi bands begin making the rounds at midnight on Mother’s Day. One of my friends had a carnival spring up on the street outside her doorstep virtually overnight, complete with a very unsafe-looking Ferris wheel constructed of car tires and metal.

-          Cancellations. One volunteer we talked to estimated that only 70% of scheduled classes actually take place. We witnessed a lot of cancellations during September, which is a whole month of celebrating Nicaraguan-ness. And substitute teaching doesn’t seem to exist in here, so if a teacher is ever sick or has to attend an impromptu teachers’ meeting, class simply doesn’t happen. I’ve heard that many classes don’t happen when it rains, too, since students simply don’t show up. This is a stark contrast to China, where if the government benevolently decided to grant us a day off on Monday, we would have to compensate them by working on Saturday. One time before New Year’s, I had to work Saturday AND Sunday to make up for 2 days off (I think I called in sick on Sunday…).

-          Markets. I’ve walked through my fair share of meat markets in my day, but here there is a very real possibility that you will turn around and be confronted by a hanging pig’s head, and it’s accompanying entourage of flies. Bleh.

-          Bathrooms. I share my bathroom with 4 other people, and I believe I have already talked about how I have to go through my host mother’s room to get there. However, I am more appreciative of my situation after hearing about some of my friends who share with up to 7 people, or who don’t have locks on their doors.

-          Clothing. One friend’s host mom routinely hangs out in the house topless.

-          Dinner. A girl answered the door one day, and the woman next door handed her a paper bag to give to her host mom. To her surprise, it started to move, and the neighbor informed her that it was a duck. She dutifully delivered it to her host mom, whose response was “Oh good, we’ll make soup.”

-          Silence. Nicaraguans are apparently much more comfortable with silence than Americans, who feel compelled to make conversation during pauses. This will take some getting used to.

-          Anniversaries. I don’t know if this is more of a Nicaraguan thing or a Catholic thing, but family members and their friends attend church to commemorate every month anniversary after the death of a loved one for the first year, then a mass to commemorate the anniversary of their passing every year. For these ones, I think the closest family members offer food to all attendees afterwards.