Fiestas Patronales

Two of the pueblos near Masaya are in their fiestas patronales right now. These are celebrations for the saints that are associated with the pueblos Nindiri and Niquinohmo, the churches get all decorated and its very pretty. Its also kind of like a fair, there is a ferris wheel in Nindiri which I refuse to ride and lots of candy and food for sale everywhere. I went to some of the parties on Tuesday night (look at me, going out on a Tuesday!) and it was a lot of fun. First we went to Nindiri and hung out there for a while, and then we went to Niquinohmo which was more fun. There was a dance in the community center there so we danced for a while and then came back to Masaya. All in all it was a good night.

Yesterday I went to the Verbena with my friend Sarah. Every Thursday there is a dance presenation at the Mercado Viejo, which is actually an old castle here in Masaya. It was fun, there was lots of folkloric dancing and singing. Carlos and Edwin came a bit later, and they were telling us all about the history of the dances and stuff...I think most of the folkloric dances originated with locals making fun of traditional Spanish dances during colonization. Later there was a competition with local youths (every time I use that word I think of My Cousin Vinny). First there was a singing competition, very similar to American Idol. Then there was a break dancing competition, and I have to say it was really impressive. There were two teams who first presented a choreographed dance and then they had a dance off, I don`t know what you would call it really...each member had to go against one from the other team. I don`t know how they do some of the moves, spinning on their heads and flopping around all over the place. It was really entertaining.

Big news...today I am going to make BROWNIES. Brownies are not common here, but I found a mix so we`re making some today, I`m VERY excited about it. Nothing like Betty Crocker!

Dia del Triumfo de la Revolución

July 19 was the day of the Triumph of the Revolution...that would be the Sandinista Revoluation in 1979. It was a national holiday and I had a lovely day off.

In the morning I went to a concert that was here in Masaya, there were a lot of national celebrities singing and folkloric dancing. I went with Edwin and Diana (she lives at the house with me)...we had a blast. There were lots of people there so we all held hands and wove through the crowd to get a good view. It was hot and sunny and lots of people but really, quite fun.

In the afternoon I was exhausted so I went to the farm with Carlos and we slept on hammocks all afternoon. It was LOVELY. I think my favorite part was when Carlos told me that the chickens were fighting with the rats. I didn`t believe him until I saw it...really, chickens pecking at the rats.

The first group of participants left on Sunday, so there were goodbye parties for them last week. It was fun, we went to one of the miradores (overlooks) for one of the parties. At the mirador you can see the Laguna de Apoyo and Lake Nicaragua...there was a storm coming in and it was amazing to see the clouds roll in over the lakes. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries so there are no pictures. But you can imagine.

It looks like it is going to rain here...so I gotta get home before I get soaked!

La laguna!

This weekend I was supposed to go to Ometepe, but the trip didn´t work out so instead we went to the laguna again. I love going to the laguna. Its so beautiful...and this time I brought my camera. The second picture is my friend Carlos with the laguna in the background. You can see the volcano behind Carlos, its a little cloudy but you get the idea. After we took the picture you drive down this steep road to get to the lake. On the way down Edwin saw monkeys so we stopped for a while and took picture of the monkeys. It was very cool to be standing there surrounded by monkeys, listening to them hoot. When we got to the laguna it started to rain but we got in the water anyway...the sun came out in a bit and it was a lovely afternoon.

When we got back we were famished so we went to get some classic Nicaraguan food in the market (plasita de Magdalena). We ate atol and yoltamale. I´m in love with yoltamales, they´re awesome. I haven´t figured out how to make them yet, but I will. Its sweet corn and some sugar, and its wrappedin palm leaves. The other picture is me and my friend Megan eating the yoltamales...delicious.

After that we went home, showered and changed and went dancing. We had a great time, got very sweaty with all the people there but it was fun just the same. I´ve never sweat so much in my life. Megan is a terrific dancer, seriously. I´ve never seen anyone move like that. There was a dance competition, and we convinced her to compete. I think she was a little nervous but she got up on stage anyway. There were three girls in the competition, and Megan won hands down. It was pretty funny because at the end the crowd had to vote on who won. Megan got the most applause and won a free drink...she was quite pleased with herself. All in all it was a good Saturday.

Midnight at the hospital

Last night I was happily sleeping in my mosquito netted bed when my host brother knocked on the door. He told me that there was a phone call for me from one of the participants who has been sick. So I got up, put on my glasses and went to answer the phone. She was sick and wanted to go to the hospital and wanted me to accompany her. I told her I would meet her there.

Yesterday evening it was raining, and when it rains here no one goes outside. Even the taxistas. So, I waited on the corner for a taxi to pass...and finally one did and he took me to the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital the security guard did not want to let me in. I explained to him that I had a friend in there and she needed my help because she didn`t speak good spanish. That was kind of a lie, she speaks fine spanish, but I knew she didn`t want to be alone so I lied. And it didn`t work. He refused to let me in and said that she would be out in a minute...which was really about an hour.

During my time waiting outside the hospital I watched the other people who were there. It was a really interesting mix. A group of three people arrived, one very pregnant woman, a man I assume is her husband, and an older woman who was either a sister or someone`s mom. The pregnant woman entered the hospital, and her husband whispered something in her ear and she went on alone. The husband and the other woman explained to me that no one can accompany those that go in. We kept peeking in when the door would open to see if we could see anyone. I saw that there was a puddle of water on the floor and pointed it out to them, and the woman told me that must mean that her water broke. The husband was quiet but you could tell he was excited. The other woman was talking to me about her day and how she had been feeling sick or whatever it was, and then the man, kind of out of the blue said, trece de julio, or July 13. It was more to himself than to anyone, a little reminder that that date would be the birthday of his child.

The next group of people that arrived was a mother, her young daughter, and her husband. The mom and daughter went in, and the husband stayed outside. (When I say outside I don`t mean in the waiting room, I mean outside the hospital.) Soon the woman came out alone, she looked panicked and told her husband that the doctors had scolded her for not bringing the girl in sooner and that they were going to operate on her. She instructed him to stay put and wait for them to come out. The husband began to talk to me and the soon to be father, telling us that they had taken his daughter to a doctor but they said everything was alright. He then told us that they had decided to come to the hospital hours earlier, but had to walk in the rain, then take a bike, and then get on a truck to arrive. Then the mom came out once more, and was giving information to the intake nurse, the nurse asked for the birthdate of the girl. The mom came over to the dad and said, if she turned ten in June, what year was she born?

So all in all it was an interesting night. Eventually my student appeared and she was doing much better. I took her home and then I went home and collapsed in my bed, thinking about birthdays.

Gallo Pinto

Gallo pinto in Nicaragua, casiamiento in El Salvador, and casado in Costa Rica....black beans and rice. I finally learned how to make it. I am posting the recipe in case any of you are interested.

Cook the beans. This is an important step. Beatriz (the cooking whiz who is teaching me) cooks one part beans and two parts water for 2 hours or until the beans are soft. Then the whole thing goes into the refridgerator...beans and the ¨sopita¨ or juice that they were cooking in.

Cook the rice. Make sure its nice and soft.

When you are ready to make gallo pinto, put some onions and oil in a frying pan and fry. Add the beans and the sopita and simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Add the rice, and mix it up. Cook a bit more.

And there you go...gallo pinto. Good for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Selva Negra part two

The second group had their midterm trip this weekend to Selva Negra. It rained the whole weekend, thus I did not get to go horseback riding again. But everyone else went and just got soaked...I think they had a good time though.

The highlight of the weekend without a doubt was that I got to take a hot shower. I haven`t had a hot shower since I left the states...it was amazing! Generally there is no need for a hot shower here since it`s so hot, but in Selva Negra its colder so the hot shower was quite necessary. Also, there were no pancakes at the buffet this time...there was french toast, or something similar and fully of sugary goodness.

We stayed a bit extra in the hotel to watch the World Cup finals on the communal tv. It was quite exciting, I`m glad that I was able to see it. I was wondering...which do you think makes more money...the cities that host the olympics or those that host the world cup? I haven`t made up my mind about that yet.

When we got back yesterday the streets of Masaya were FULL of water. It had been raining all weekend here as well...and the drainage is less than functional. So I puddle hopped my way home...I got wet but I felt like I was in a life size board game, trying to find where I could cross the gushing streams of water. I won the game, home safe and sound.

Fourth of July...

Fourth of July in other countries is not quite the same...but entertaining nonetheless. Sarah and Helen and I got together to celebrate a little bit. I was feeling quite sweaty and gross during the day, so before I went to Sarah`s I showered and put on makeup, which I rarely do here. I also put on a cute shirt. I stopped by the cyber cafe that I usually go to on the way there to say happy fourth and they all gave me a hard time because they didn`t recognize me. Sad really...when I`m showered and presentable no one recognizes me.

Helen brought over apple cake...not quite the same as apple pie I know...but there is no apple pie here. We were happily eating and hanging out and Helen put on some music. Just as the music started the electricity went out. Perfect. It was ok though, we hung out for a while longer and then went home. I missed watermelon and firecrackers, but you can`t have everything.

San Juan del Sur

As you can see, I went to the beach this weekend. It was lovely! The picture with the palm tree is from my hostel in San Juan del Sur...$5 a night to overlook the ocean, not to shabby. We arrived on Friday night and went to the beach to eat dinner and watch the sunset. After dinner we walked along the beach and looked at the stars, they are pretty amazing there. I went to bed early, but I watched the moon set over the ocean first. The moon was orange and red, it was breathtaking.

On Saturday morning we woke up and looked for breakfast. To my delight, we found a place that serves pancakes. The pancakes were delicious...everyone else was jealous of me because they didn`t have the good sense to order pancakes. Then we lazed by the beach a bit, and walked around looking and rocks and shells. After lunch we looked for a taxi to take us to this other bay we read about, it was supposed to be isolated and beautiful. We bargained with the taxista for a while, and finally agreed that he would take us 3/4 of the way and we would walk the rest along the beach. The beach was amazing, totally isolated and full of cool rocks and tidepools. We arrived at our destination tired and sweaty, but in awe of the bay. Once we got our room we all changed into bathing suits and ran into the water, it was my favorite part of the day.

Sunday morning we went back to San Juan del Sur ate pancakes for breakfast again and hopped on a bus to Masaya. The bus was delayed 20 minutes waiting for the horse parade, also known as ipica, to pass. It was pretty cool to see all the horses decked out for the show. The bus ride took and hour and half longer than expected to get back to Masaya...so I treated myself to a Twix and a Gatorade at the gas station. It hit the spot.

Here I am on the horse...this is from last weekend at Selva Negra.