Sunday, March 25, 2007

How the Time Flies

I can't believe another week has gone by since my last blog. Now I have so much to write about! Still no photos (I got too frustrated trying and failing to get them online today) but hopefully within the week. If anyone has suggestions or advice, please let me know.

Monday afternoon, I went with my teacher, Xavier, to the cemetery. It was really huge and interesting because there are three parts to it--one for the rich, one for middle class, and one for the poor, which was by far the biggest section. The first six or so of the country's presidents are buried here and some of the mausoleums are much bigger than a lot of people's homes. There are also a lot of graves of people who died in the war ~20 years ago and this is when I found out that Xavier was drafted at 18 to fight for three hard years in a war (against US-backed anti-revolutionary forces, aka Contras) that he didn't believe in. I have pictures of all the different parts of the cemetery and will post them when I get things straighted out.

Tuesday, I watched a DVD at the school about the war in El Salvador (which has a lot of parallels to the war in Nicaragua) called Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices). It's from the perspective of an 11 year old boy during a war where all boys were drafted by the army when they turned 12. It was really well done and really sad, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the history of Central America.

Wednesday, Xavier and I went to a nearby town called Catolina where artisans make all kinds of pottery and baskets. It is also a place with a lot of nurseries full of flowers to buy. I would love to buy some art--it's really beautiful, well-crafted, and cheap--but don't know how I'd get it home. I suppose I'll have to look into shipping options. This pueblo also has a really great view of Laguna Apoyo, a clear blue crater lake.

Thursday, two other students--Emanuel and Aline--and I went with two teachers from the school to the nearby city of Masaya for their weekly cultural night. This city is the shopping capital of the area and the markets are HUGE. We got there just as things were closing down for the evening, which was fine with me as I don't need to buy any stuff since I'm still at the beginning of my trip. Then we walked over to a nearby view point over another lake, behind which one can see the smoking Vulcan Masaya. One of my friends said she did a tour to that volcano and the fumes are so strong you have to wear a gas mask! Then it was back to the city center for the cultural presentation. We ordered a variety platter of typical Nicaraguan foods, mostly of which were pretty good, and some beers, then sat back to watch the show. The first part consisted of traditional dances from different parts of the country. All Latinos are great dancers and the costumes were colorful and fun. Afterwards, a band came on and played American and Latino songs. The director of the school thought one of the singers was really hot and screamed so much she lost her voice! We left around 11:00, after about 3 hours of entertainment (which cost ~$1.00 each). The show was still going on but everyone was tired.

Friday evening I had a salsa class with Alfredo, one of the teachers from the school. I was disgustingly dripping with sweat, but he still looked cool at the end of it. It was pretty fun and I think I'll do a couple more before I leave because I need the practice! Afterwards, to cool off, I went to the movie theatre, the only place I've found (besides the bank) that has AC. Ghost Rider (El Vengador Fantasma) was playing this weekend and it was kinda cheesy but entertaining and I would have paid the $1.50 for the AC alone.

Saturday, Aline and I went with her friend Sabina to do a canopy zip line tour on the nearby Vulcan Mombacho. The road there was the craziest I have ever been on in my life--the entire trip full of bumps and potholes that, among other things, made everyone's breasts ache! The guides explained that the owners (it is all private property) fix the road somewhat every year, but it gets ruined by the annual rains so they don't try too hard. They also told us that the tires on the Land Rover have to be replaced every month! The zip line rides were great fun and I have some photos, though unfortunately not the video I requested. Later, we went for a short hike around the middle of three peaks on this dormant volcano. There was a nice wind and a great view of Granada, the lake Cocibolca and islets, and the smoldering Vulcan Masaya.

Saturday night, I met up with Aline and Emanuel again and we took some of the teachers out for pizza and then to Cafe Nuit for dancing. I spent most of the night dancing with a cute little gay boy named Juan, who loves to give high fives. I probably did a hundred high fives last night! It was really fun, even though I feel like an incredibly awkward dancer around all the slick and smooth Nicas.

Today I had a lazy day wandering around the city, drinking coffee, and trying to study all the various kinds of Spanish pronouns, my homework for the weekend. I bought lunch for a street kid named Gorge, who told me all about his life and troubles. It was sad and interesting and I feel like I learned a lot about this city and country. I also learned from him that my name, "Tacha" as pronounced by Latinos since Spanish is lacking in the "SH" sound, means flaw or blemish!

2 comments:

sharon said...

I look forward to hearing about your adventures. How utterly fun!

¡Holly! said...

Oh my, this all sounds so lovely! Really, darling, I am enjoying this stuff. And I seriously can't wait to see you in Buenos Aires. I will start sending you links to 2-bedroom apartments that we could possibly share for a period of time and you let me know what you think of them. This is going to be great. I love you, chicoca!