June 17, 2009
It is June 14th and several exciting things have happened this week. On Thursday and Saturday local experts on the legal creation of corporations in Nicaragua gave presentations to Las Mujeres Solares. Las Mujeres Solares, the women’s group at the Solar Center, are currently utilizing grant money to legally establish themselves as a business. The presentations were extremely interesting and gave me some insight into the business world in Nicaragua. Later this week Las Mujeres Solares are going to select which type of organization they would like to become legally. It is very cool to have the chance to see the women make important decisions that will form the foundation for their organization. And the excitement today is that two more volunteers have arrived here at The Solar Center. Their names are Erin and Maria and they are the other two students participating in the ETHOS immersion with Dan and me. It has been really fun to talk with them and reflect a lot on the time that I have spent here. And the added bonus is that now we have our full group and are able to travel to the best spots in Nicaragua which we have been saving!
Now that I am more than halfway through my experience in Nicaragua, I have gotten to know my family very well. I have waited to write about them all because I wanted to talk with them more and get to know each one of their personalities. My family is amazing and I want to share a little about each member and the house that we live in.
The House is located at the base of a beautiful, green mountain in Sabana Grande. My home has three separate buildings. In the center is the old house. The old house is the largest of the three buildings. On the back of the old house there is a lean-to kitchen (my mom cook using a fire within a clay stove top). The old house has one large room that I would call the family room. It has a small table, a hammock (so comfortable) and some plastic chairs. The family room is where we eat and where my family and I spend most of our nights talking or listening to music. In addition, the family room doubles as a bedroom for an uncle in my family. The old house has three bedrooms. One is for me (for volunteers). The other two are used by 9 people! I have not been in the other two bedrooms so I do not know the setup. The only thing that I know is that 9 people fit in them, how I am not sure. At times I feel bad that I have my own room when everyone else is living close together in the other rooms. The old house does not have electricity but has a solar panel that powers 4 lights in the separate rooms of the house. A small one room building was built to the left of old house for my brother, his wife, and their child. They do not use this house yet because its roof is still being constructed. To the right of the old house is the new house. The new house is made of cement and has a large room, new kitchen, and a porch. The new house has beautiful wooden doors and windows. It currently is used for very little since it was only finished several days ago. The yard of the house is rather large. The yard is home to a variety of animals. We have about 7 chicks, 4 chickens, 1 dog, and a pig. There is an outside shower located behind the house and three outhouses in the right side of the yard. It is a small simple house and I find it a perfect place for just relaxing and thinking.
My Mom’s name is Hilda. She is one of the sweetest people that I have meet in my life. She is the heart of my Nicaraguan family. Without her the family could not function from day to day. She cooks, cleans, washes, and cares for the entire family. She also is extremely fun, loves to laugh and talk with everyone. When ever I look at her I can’t help but smile. Hilda is a deeply religious woman, too. She is evangelical and has a church activity at least every other day. She is very passionate about faith. She has blessed my room, my food, and once even said a prayer holding a Tums I was about to take.
My Papa’s name is Marcio. He is the strong, quick type. He does tons of work for the family. He has helped build both of the newer buildings beside their old house and he works weekdays in the field. He also is the one that fixes the solar panel if they run into any problems with it. I see him normally only at night and really haven’t talked with him that much. When I do talk with him he seems extremely nice. Many nights he just lies back in the hammock and listens to some music. Last Sunday was his birthday and I bought some pop for the occasion. It made him smile and I felt great that I could make his day a little more special.
Darling is the oldest daughter of the family. She is in her twenties and lives across town with her boyfriend. She has visited several times and I have stopped by her house. She is very friendly like the rest of the family and is great with children. She teaches preschool in the town and I can tell that she loves working younger children. It’s perfect when she talks with me, since she is use to working with children who have limited vocabulary.
Marcel is my older brother (well actually..). He is only 19 which makes him one year younger than me but he has a wife and a 5 year old son. Therefore, in my mind he is older than I am. Marcel loves music and has a radio which is on constantly. He has a personality that is similar to his father’s. He is a hard worker and doesn’t really talk with me that much. But he is always smiling and looks to be very happy. We had one bonding moment when we talked about the different bars in Ocatol, so that was exciting!
Deyse is my “older” brother’s wife and I believe that she is about 25. She is fun and taught me how to make and cook tortillas. She laughs a lot and likes to joke around with me. For awhile we had a joke going that I was pregnant (long story) and it was great.
Luis is the 5 year old son of Marcel and Deyse. I am tempted to say that Luis is my favorite. He is always fll of energy and wanting to play games. We play tag all the time and other random games. Oh and he likes when I lift him up way high over my head. He is the person that makes me laugh most here. Sometimes he will just go ‘loco’ and start dancing crazy or running around (sometimes I swear he has ADD). Basically Luis and I are best friends because we are at the same level of speaking Spanish.
Yaritza is my sister and is 18. She is the spitting image of her mother. She is always smiling, laughing and talking with me. Also, she often goes with her mother to church. Yaritza helps with cooking and spends a lot of time at the house. I love talking with her. She is very easy to understand. Once she told me that her mom will allow her to date now that she is 18. So now every time a boy passes, I ask her if he is her boyfriend.
Meyling is the next oldest sister and is in high school. She is more conservative than her other siblings and doesn’t like playing around too much. She loves to talk and at times is extremely funny. When she grows up she wants to be a doctor (impressive). All her siblings always tell me that she likes me (hahaha). I don’t know if it is true or if they are just trying to make her feel awkward. Oh and she is a Populare (let me explain)! In Nicaragua there is this music, television phenomenon called Petito Feo. Petito Feo is a show that centers around two groups of people the Populares and the Divinas. The Populares are the more nerdy kids that love to dance and have fun. The Divinas are the stuck up cool kids that dance more dirty and are always dressed in the latest fashions. The crazy thing is that these television groups have crossed over into real life. Many high schools and cities have both types of people. I’m just thankful that I live with Populares, I don’t know how well I would get along with Divinas.
Yoelbi is my younger brother who is in high school. When I first arrived in Nicaragua he was the one that talked with me the most and really made me feel welcomed. He plays often with other local boys in the campo (field). They play soccer and volleyball. I like playing cards with him and joking around. Oh and I found out that he has a girlfriend named Jenny but his mom doesn’t know so shhhh.
Mayeli is that youngest daughter of Hilda and is the final member of the family. Mayeli is in middle school and likes to laugh at me a lot (actually like all the time). She is just very smiley and no matter what I say she usually will laugh. It’s tons of fun playing games with her and just laughing. Basically Mayeli and I are pretty tight.
Overall my family is amazing. I have learned an immense amount of things from them and have had countless wonderful experiences. I am extremely lucky that I was placed with them. They have made my trip tremendously meaningful.
More to come,
Nat-tan
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2 Responses to “My Nicaraguan House and Family”
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Thanks for sharing the info about your family. Nine people in two bedrooms is hard to imagine for this spoiled american, who grew up complaining because she had to share her double bed with a younger sister. We have no idea how fortunate we are until we travel the world and experience the life of other cultures.
The funny thing is, they don’t think of it as having a tough life; it’s just life as they know it. I often wonder what their reaction to our culture would be, should they ever visit us here.
Keep up the blogging and good luck to you all.
Nathan. I wanted to say Hi and to thank you for your writings. I am so glad Erin is with you and is surrounded by such good people doing good things. You are opening our eyes and seeing what you are seeing. We all look forward to your blogs to know of your thoughts, adventures, mishaps and daily flavor of the country and its people. Thanks again.
Joyce