Que Barbaridad!

I´m going to upload some pictures to this later, for now, text only!

Que barbaridad is a frequently uttered expression which literally translates to "What barbarity!" but means something roughly equivalent to "How absurd!" "How silly!" "How stupid!" It is by far my favorite of all the words I've learned in "Nicañol" so far. One interesting thing I've noticed here is that because multiple generations of families spend so much time together, there isn't as much of a distinctive youth culture. It's about as likely that you'll hear a teenager say "Que barbaridad" as to hear her grandmother say it.

Been here in El Rosario for over a week now! I really like it here. We've (myself and two other trainees in El Rosario, Brooke and Jamey) been pretty busy with Spanish classes and putting together a youth group. In the downtime though, I've definitely had to adjust to an entirely different pace of life, but honestly, I think all the time I've spent sitting  around getting to know people and enjoying simpler pleasures has probably been good for me. I haven't really been stressed at all, which is practically incomprehensible compared to how I am back home.

This weekend, I got to witness another slice of Nicaraguan culture during the Fiestas Patrias, Nicaraguan Independence Day. Over two days, there are parades, put on by students, with costumes, drums and traditional music. On the 14th, Nicaraguans celebrate the Battle of San Jancinto, when their national hero, Andres Castro, killed American adventurer- mercenary William Walker with a stone, drawing a war between Nicaragua's Liberal and Conservative parties to a close in 1856. The 15th is a celebration of the Independence from Spain of the "5 brother countries" of Central America, including Nicaragua of course. Basically, it's a two day holiday to celebrate and reaffirm Nicaraguan national pride.

My awesome host family loves to travel, and so since it was a long weekend, we went to get to know some new places (some new to me, and some new to them as well). We drove down the Pan American highway, past gorgeous landscapes that looked like savanah with mountains thrown in, to San Jorge, a town that is next to Cochibolca (also known as Lake Nicaragua). In the gigantic fresh water lake is an island called Ometepe, formed by two volcanoes. We had incredible views from the shoreline, and went swimming in the "waves." 

After that, we drove to Tola, a beachside town on the Pacific Coast with a growing tourism industry. In the town plaza, we found a statue of the "novia de Tola," There's an expression here "I got stood up like Tola's girlfriend" but my host family thought it was hilarious that there was an actual statue.

After a while driving down beautiful dirt roads, we made it out to Playa Gigante, an incredibly beautiful beach on the Pacific Coast,where apparently some surfing championships had recently been held. There were trees that reached right onto the beach, olas bravas (rough surf),cliffs nearby, and chickens running around looking for food, which my host mom said were wild.

Nicaragua is an unbelievably beautiful country. I will probably continue to write that in every single blog post. It is also still very much a country in transition, although from what to what is not really a straightforward question, especially from an economic perspective. While traveling down near the coast, we witnessed four completely different economic models in the span of about 30 minutes. Next to luxury tourism resorts with private beaches was a Sandinista co-op farm, with a sign proudly declaring that its foundation in 1980. Just up the highway were USAID funded export agriculture projects. And all around, there were families just scratching out a living from subsistence agriculture.

Getting a more intimate look at Nicaraguan culture has been fascinating. One thing that has been fascinating me lately is the concept of space and how it is demarcated. For instance, the confines of houses matter so much less here- neighbors and extended family members swirl through each other's houses, providing friendship, food and support. At the same time, it's fascinating to see how some other spaces are segregated, by gender, sect or out of respect. The billards hall next door and the cantina (sketchy bar) is a space that is almost exclusively the province of men. Each of the 7 or 8 churches here stakes its claim on its own gathering of souls. Different rooms within homes are spaces that outsiders like myself will never enter.

One thing I've really liked about the way Peace Corps trainings frame the way we approach Nicaragua. Nicaragua is a poor country, there's not any way to avoid the fact, but neither is there much utility in belaboring the point. But so much of what Nicaragua lacks in GDP, it makes up in color, beauty (land and people), generosity, resilience, and dry, dry humor.  Our training has barely used the word poor at all. Instead, it has emphasized that Nicaragua is a country with a rich language and culture, which we have a duty to try and understand better. It has also encouraged us to dig beyond surface appearances to seek out the resources, both human and otherwise, that exist in Nicaraguan communities and think of creative ways to build from these strengths.