Spanish Time in the Pueblos Blancos

Spanish Time in the Pueblos Blancos

Last week, I was away from my site for a few days for a Spanish workshop. It was a rather stressful experience, since I missed school for a week, and a lot of other things that were going on, and on top of that they were literally throwing grammar at us. But it was good to have a chance to review "proper" Spanish, for what that's worth.

In between doused with a fire hose of grammar and skyping with people back home since my host family had internet, I had a little bit of time to explore the department of Masaya and the Pueblos Blancos, the "White Towns," thusly nicknamed for their traditionally white- washed walls (although not that many of them are white anymore). Masaya is one of the smallest departments in Nicaragua, and you can get around easily by taking mototaxis, essentially motorized, covered tricycles that sort of look like beetles.

Each town in the region has its own specialty. Masaya is known for its giant market, including lots of artesania, handicrafts. Catarina is known for its vivero, colorful plant nurseries, and a mirador that overlooks the Laguna de Apoyo, a gorgeous blue lake formed where a volcano exploded a couple thousand years ago. On a clear day, you can see across to the city of Granada and gigantic Lake Nicaragua.  San Juan del Oriente is known its world class pottery, featuring pre-Colombian motifs. Masatepe is known for its wooden furniture and cajetas, sweet treats made from things like caramel, coconut, and nuts.

Niquinohomo, the town where I stayed for the workshop is known for...well, I'm not really sure what it's known for, other than being Augusto C. Sandino's birthplace. A guerrilla fighter who fought against the United States in the early 20th century, Sandino's determination to fight against imperialism and for equality have made him a ubiquitous national hero. We visited the Museum dedicated to him in Niquinohomo, which is a bit underwhelming, but has a look of cool pictures. There's also a gigantic statue of him in the central park, which depicts him in his wide brimmed hat, trousers, and boots, all decked out for asymmetrical warfare.

I stayed with a wonderful host family for 5 days, which I expected to be awkward, but it really wasn't, because they were used to random gringas traipsing through after already having hosted 3 or 4, and I was overfed to the extreme (thank goodness I had a cold and my body was craving calories) and cooed over like a baby, and had a lot of interesting conversations. Plus, I got to teach songs in English to two absolutely adorable 5 year olds.

One of the other upsides of the workshop was that we got to see other volunteers from our training group. I've seen everyone from TEFL a lot, but I hadn't seen most of the Environment volunteers since we swore in as PCVs, so it was great to catch up. It's funny to run into people after months, and feel like it hasn't been that long. Asi es la vida in Peace Corps. Any form of companionship is welcomed, whether it's been a month or three or six.