First Impressions

Hello, friends!

So, it has been a little over a week since I left Seattle, spent the night in Chicago, flew to Miami, and then stepped foot in Nicaragua… and let me tell you, much has happened in that time! I am just starting to get my bearings and adjust to a new culture and life (as the Nicaraguans would say, I´m getting settled “poco a poco”). From here on out, I should have more regular access to a computer (quizás!), and will be able to update the blog more often. So with that said… I´ll try to give a semi-brief recap of my time here so far!

I met the majority of my group (18 students in total) in the Miami airport last Wednesday, and the rest once we landed in Managua. It is a wonderful, eclectic, passionate group of people, and I have already learned much from each of them. When we arrived in Managua, we were met by our academic director, Aynn (who is phenomenal), and then began our orientation. Orientation was, in one word, a WHIRLWIND. They briefed us on the culture, the customs, gave us a thorough tour of Managua, and introduced us to Nicaraguan food.

[A quick side note on Nicaraguan food: Aynn captured it best when she said, “sometimes Nicaraguans eat beans and rice, sometimes they eat rice and beans, and sometimes they eat gallo pinto” (which, as I soon found out, is a mixture of rice and beans). And as it turns out, her description was entirely too accurate.]

Perhaps the most ridiculous part of orientation occurred on Friday (the 29th), when our group took a day trip to Leon, the former capital city of
Nicaragua. Prior to being dropped off, we knew nothing about Leon, nor did we have any sort of map or guide or ANY information about the city. But as we approached it, our bus driver pulled off to the side of the road and asked that two students volunteer to step off the bus. So, the two students closest to the exit stepped off, thinking that they were going to run into the store right there to grab food for the group or something... No. Instead, they were given a piece of paper that had a question written on it about the city, which they were supposed to somehow find the answer to by interviewing people on the street, and at the bottom of the sheet was the name of a hotel where we were all supposed to meet five hours later. That´s all- oh, and $4 for lunch. As the bus drove off with the rest of the students on it, the two left behind looked absolutely petrified (and I couldn´t blame them). But then the bus proceeded to drive across the city, stopping every five minutes or so to let another 2 people off. It was, in one word, RIDICULOUS. I think it was an hour into the experience after we had been dropped off that I realized that we had no means of communication (not to mention that we didn´t really speak the city´s language) should we have gotten lost. Terrifying. My friend Nicole pretty much hit it right on the nose when she called it “Darwin Day.” Luckily, however, everyone survived, and somehow managed to make it the hotel.

Ok, so that was orientation in a nutshell. On Sunday, we were introduced to our host families. Our host madres came to our hostel/hotel where we were staying, and they threw us a true Nicaraguan fiesta, dancing and all. It was wonderful. My host mom is this wonderful tiny little Nicaraguan woman, Doña Maria Inés, who is probably the most precious woman in the world. Every day, she feeds me enough food for the entire household, and every day, I try to tell her (as kindly as possible) that my stomach physically can´t retain all of that food. Por ejemplo, a glimpse into my daily breakfast (and this is no exaggeration): a large plate of gallo pinto, a large plate of beans, a bowl of corn flakes, a big bowl of fresh fruit, a plate of fried cheese and bread, a fried egg, a cup of coffee, and a cup of milk. EVERY MORNING. Oh, precious Doña Maria Inés.

As for the rest of the household, well, let me preface by saying that the dynamics are very confusing and difficult to figure out… then throw
Spanish in the mix, and it´s like GOOD LUCK. But here´s what I think is going on: My madre is the mother of six kids, and two of her granddaughters live with us (Karla and Jill, 24 and 19). Their cousin
Marcos (nine years old) lives there too, as does Karla´s 4 year old son,
Armando. Therefore, Marcos, at age 9, is the uncle of Armando.

Armando, by the way, is probably the most precious boy that I have ever met, in spite of the fact that he loves running around the house yelling (in Spanish), “KENDALL IS AN AMERICAN WHITE GIRL! SHE ONLY SPEAKS ENGLISH!” Thanks, Armando. He is one of those annoyingly cute kids who, even when he´s annoying, is cute. And in the meantime, we are able to bond by playing soccer on the patio and watching “La Esponga de Bob” (Sponge Bob, for my American readers).

So, the house is constantly busy and there are always people coming in and out. I was warned ahead of time that my Spanish level would probably be most equal to that of the four year old when I arrived in the house.
Instead, to my disappointment, I have found that my Spanish level is most equal to my family´s parrot, Raul (I think he´s a Mariner at heart wearing jersey #28), who knows how to say “HOLA!” y “SI!” y “BUENO!” Like Raul, when I don´t understand what my family is saying to me, I usually resort to nodding my head and saying “si!” y “bueno!” and the few Spanish phrases that I DO know.

…Which, by the way, has gotten me into some uncomfortable situations a couple of times. One in particular that comes to mind was when I accidentally asked my madre if she could show me how to LLEVAR (wear) mi ropa (clothes), instead of LAVAR (wash) mi ropa. I was completely confused when she starting showing me how to put on and pull off my socks (and other various articles of clothing), and didn´t understand until later, after little Marcos stopped laughing for long enough to explain my
mistake.

But in between my broken Spanish, the freezing bucket baths I take every morning, the gallo pinto for breakfast, and watching Esponga de Bob with
Armando, I´m going to classes and living the Nicaraguan life. It´s been quite an adventure already, and I´ll be sure to keep you all updated as it continues. Sending my love your way…

Kendall