Nicaraguan Myths, Legends, Beliefs, etc.

Sometimes people believe weird things.  There are people that believe you have to throw salt over your shoulder if you spill it, that you have bad luck on Friday the 13th, or that you shouldn't open an umbrella indoors.  Usually we just call those people superstitious and let them believe what they want.  Here in Nicaragua, there are so many weird beliefs that almost EVERYONE believes and NO ONE questions (except maybe a brave Peace Corps volunteer).  Here's just a selection of some of them.

• You shouldn't bathe while you're "agitated" (like after being outside when it's hot or exercising) because it will make you sick.
• I've also heard something about not bathing after exercising that has to do with your pores and the soap that you use causing problems when your pores are open
• If you have a cold or cough you should not drink anything cold, only hot beverages
• You should not bathe at night, it will make you sick
• If you are eating nacatameles, you must accompany it with bread or tortillas (even though it's already a big huge hunk of carbs) and coffee.  No cold beverages.
• A change in climate can make you sick (as if there's really any changes in climate here...warm or warmer?)
• Tomatoes and tomato juice cure diabetes....but insulin makes you blind (from my host mom in training, whose husband passed away from diabetes)
• If your baby hasn't started walking yet, you should rub goat fat on his knees
• My host uncle here at my site had some kind of eye infection.  My host mom said he needed to put a woman's breastmilk in it...and she was serious.
• My friend Chelsea's host mom in training always made her drink Coca Cola when she was eating eggs because "it helps with digestion"
• You should not bathe after eating, you'll vomit (seriously...when are you allowed to bathe?)

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting, but that's a pretty decent list for now.  Just gives you an idea of some of the crazy stuff I've been hearing all the time since I got here in September).  Because I'm a gringa, I'm allowed to violate most of these rules whenever I want and just say I didn't know any better or that "I'm used to bathing after exercising" (because, seriously, who isn't?). 


On a serious note, my home state was hit by a unimaginably terrible tragedy a week ago today.  As soon as I heard about it, I called my friend Emily who is also a Nica60 Environment volunteer and also from Connecticut.  We both were on the internet at the same time and in complete disbelief, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.  Since last Friday, I have seen the story on the news here in Nicaragua multiple times.  I used to get strange looks every time I told someone what state I was from, because no one had heard of Connecticut.  Now they've heard about it, and unfortunately for a awful, tragic reason.  I still have all of my Connecticut friends and family in my prayers and all of those affected by the shooting in Newtown. 

"In the hard days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as Americans, and I will do everything in my power as president to help, because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their memories, but also in ours." -President Obama

Random Thoughts and Happenings, Volume 1

So, a lot of times stuff happens or things pop into my head that I think would be cool to share, but not cool enough to write a blog post about.  I figure every so often I can give you some completely random tidbits for your entertainment or to make you think.

• Last night was the "purisima" here in Nicaragua.  That means people decorate altars to the virgin Mary in front of their houses and groups of people walk around singing songs.  Some houses, like mine, give out little packages of candies.  Picture tons of kids, adults, and old ladies scrambling and pushing just to get a few lollipops and hard candies.  We also gave out a traditional drink...agualoja...which is made of ginger, fermented corn juice, and dulce (kind of like brown sugar, but made from sugar cane).  Fermented=can get you drunk.  According to my host sister, there were quite a few tipsy children on Thursday night after the mayor's office gave out their purisima gifts.  There are also fireworks and a lot of drinking.  My host uncle made a concoction of about 3 gallons of guaro (really gross, strong rum), a couple bottles of coke, and a liter of beer.  It was pretty awful, but he insisted that we give it out to the people "so that they can sing better" haha
• At the 6th grade graduation yesterday, they called me up to sit on the stage as a special invited guest.  Which also means I had to kiss all 21 of the graduates and their parents on the cheek as they received their diploma.  Luckily most of the dads opted for the handshake or awkward Nicaraguan upper-arm-grab instead of the kiss. 
• Nicaraguans, when talking about people, a lot of times will put "el" or "la" in front of the name.  This is something that I have noticed here that I never really noticed in Honduras.  For example they'll say "La Sara" (The Sarah) instead of just using the plain name.  I think it's kind of cool.  Makes you feel like one of those celebrities that just goes by their first name, like Madonna.
• People are really into taking medicine.  When I have a cold, sometimes I'll take a decongestant or something if it's really bothering me, but mostly I'll just rest and drink lots of water.  If a Nicaraguan notices that you're sniffling, coughing, or sneezing, their first reaction is to tell you to take something for it.  Here, injections are just as common as taking pills for things.  I've started to just lie and tell people that I'm taking pills for things when I haven't (because I know that there's no pill that will cure a cold!).
•  My host family is obsessed with asking me if I'm bored.  It seems like they ask me every hour or so, every single day.  Yes, of course there are times when I'm bored-- I'm living in a very small town where there's not much going on most of the time.  I just keep telling them I'm not, but I'm not sure how convincing I am.
• The use of nicknames here is out of control.  Everyone in my extended host family has a nickname and rarely goes by their real name.  In fact, I don't even know most of their real names...Pucha, Paco, Pucho, Pulga, Pelota....  and until this very moment, I hadn't realized that almost all of the nicknames start with P.  Interesting.
• In case you were wondering, I now answer to Sara, Sarita, Chela, y Chelita.  Even people who know my name still call me Chela when they see me on the streeet (chele and chela are terms for men and women with light skin)
• I started my garden yesterday-- the soil kind of sucks, so we decided to dig out big trenches so that we can mix the soil we dug out with cow manure and then put it back in and plant.  Apparently that's not how it's done here, and I had to explain my reasoning multiple times.  I also may have gotten a neighbor in trouble.  He was helping dig out the trenches (which I thoroughly appreciated, because what he did in 10 minutes would have taken my host sister and I 3 hours) when his girlfriend/wife/mujer comes over yelling.  The only part I caught was her saying, "Candil de la calle, oscuridad de la casa," which is a Nicaraguan dicho which means "Lamp of the street, darkness of the house"---referring to people who help other people but don't do anything in their own home....woops!
• Last, and most importantly....I now have an address of a post office box in the departmental capital that's only about an hour away from me.  So, instead of sending stuff to the PC office in the capital city (4 hours away), I can get my mail a lot easier there.  I posted the address on the right side of this page!  I brought a couple of photos from home, but I'd love it if you threw in a few photos if you're going to send me a letter.  That way I can brighten up my tiny little bare-walled, cement floor room!