My training site sits about 500 feet above sea level which means we get some breezes sometimes to relieve the heat. But this past week it has rained nearly continuously and hard, scary hard sometimes. When it rains like this mothers keep their children home from school. When I questioned my language facilitator about this she explained that the theory is that rains bring down unhealthy dirt and pollen from the central jungles and these have bacteria that infect the children. I was skeptical, but this view is widely held and may be the experience of countless NICA mamas. I’ve always liked big weather but this insistent rain gives one pause. It hasn’t affected me much. My towel doesn’t dry, my carefully placed pictures of home fall off the wall, it’s cooler and I am more tired and hungry. Minor compared to the big rain.
Nature is pretty real here. Dealing with it takes up a lot of family time. Even in the houses of middle class people the indoors is very close to outdoor. The houses are built to let air in. Many are barn-like to the extent that they have peaked roofs covered with sheets of undulating zinc roofing. The eves are not closed in so the air can come in. Inside walls are built up 7feet high to divide up rooms. That way air can circulate. Windows are high on the walls so that when it rains the extended roof protects the rooms. My house has walls that meet the roof. Nevertheless, three doors are always open as are the windows. Needless to say the house is permeable to nature. We have cats to take care of rodent nature, but the flies love it inside and a major concern of my host mom is combating their hated presence. People don’t kill them. They wave them away from food and cover anything people will eat so that the flies can’t get to it. This protects health and discourages the flies. But at night, when we don’t get water and the dishes stay in the sink until they can be washed in the morning, the moscas (flies) get to them.
Staying clean and presentable is important in Nicaragua. It’s kind of defining. The floors of my house are washed (with soap) and rinsed at least once a day, sometimes more. This includes the patio and porch and the walk up to the house. The groundcover is kept close by machete wielded by my host dad. He also cleans up dog poop—nothing dirty near the house. We have a modern family. When he gets home from work in Mangua after his hour long motorcycle ride, he irons his clothes for the next day and then sometimes just goes to bed. But he would not think of leaving the house in unpressed pants. The same is true of the women in the house. The PC places a lot of emphasis on looking professional for this reason, although a polo shirt and clean jeans passes for professional.
If you google it, I bet you’ll find stories about the rains this past week. There is concern for people in the rains. I thought of flooding, but the real concern is more economic. My family explains that much of the work in Nicaragua is “daily” work, that is work for which you get paid if you do it. Examples: farm work, street vendors (there are many of these because the job situation is so terrible—50% unemployment or underemployment e.g. street vending), the lady who comes to wash the clothes (can’t be washed if they can’t be put out to dry). These folks face real immediated problems like no food because they are likely to spend for food what they earned during the day. No work, no money. Hence the rain hurts.
On a lighter note, I can report that I advanced in the mid-training evaluation of language ability, but still have a ways to go. The next 4 weeks will be busy in the regard. I am not discouraged. I’ve learned a lot. Also, I had an interview with my program director about where my permanent site will be. I asked for the mountains to the north. I also said I’d go anywhere. There are no deal breakers for me. I should know about that by the end of next week. The good news is that he didn’t say, “We’ve been talking, Carol, and we’re sorry to say your Spanish isn’t good enough.” Barring something extraordinary, I’m going someplace for 2 years.
Finally, we got to go to volcano Masaya yesterday. It rained of course, but it was amazing to be at the rim looking in. No red magma, but lots of sulpherous smoke. And the best part-- I got to climb to the peak, not much of a hike, but after so much of the sedentary, I loved the slight burn in my thighs. Between the heat and the rain, it’s hard to stay active. Having said that, I’m losing weight. Why? My host mom like fruits and vegetables, we have 3 squares a day ,modest portions, no snacks, no deserts. Imagine if I could exercise more!
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