Mi Familia Nicaraguense

Hope everyone had a very enjoyable weekend – I know I did! Friday afternoon, I moved in with my homestay family and immediately knew that I had made the right decision. I already knew my homestay “mom”, Melba, who works in the kitchen at La Mariposa, but the rest of the family was new to me. Suffice it to say that I love them all and am very much looking forward to 3 weeks of fun and continuous activity.

In addition to Melba, the family consists of her three sons and Inez, a relative of her husband’s who is currently living with them to assist with the kids while Melba’s husband is working elsewhere in Nicaragua. The three boys have distinct personalities: Yader, the oldest at 13, is fairly reserved and quiet, although likes to practice speaking in English and is an avid reader, currently working his way through Moby Dick (!). Christopher, 8, always has a huge smile on his face, loves running around with his friends, drawing and, I’ve recently learned, reading aloud. Yaser, soon to turn 4, is the youngest and wildest of the bunch. His nickname is el Terremoto (“the earthquake”) because he is FULL of energy and will often come steaming through the house like a freight train. He is also ridiculously cute! Inez, at 18, loves to chat and giggle at my halting Spanish. As for Melba, she is an extremely gracious host who loves to ask questions about my life in the States and my travels around the globe.

The house is simple but comfortable and neat as a pin, and since many of the teachers and staff from the school live in close proximity to the house, I have plenty of people to chat with on the way to and from school. It’s the neighborhood I’ve been craving for so long!

Saturday was our trip to Granada and I must say that the city lived up to the expectations I had going in. I really think the city is best conveyed in photos and will post some soon, but for a brief recap: Granada is the oldest city in Central America, settle by the Spaniards in the 1500s. It is known for being particularly picturesque and a popular place for expats (especially Americans) to retire in relative comfort at bargain prices. Within Nicaragua, it’s also known as the Conservative heart of the country and, indeed, it is the first place that I’ve encountered that does not seem ebullient in its revery of Sandino and the Sandinista party.

Our first stop was the old cemetery on the outskirts of Granada, a lovely space where members of some of the wealthiest families in Nicaragua as well as several ex-Presidents are buried. After that, we visited the Fortoleza la Polvora, a fort built by the Spanish in 1748 to defend their interests against English invaders and later commandeered by Somoza to serve as a prison and center of torture for his political opponents. Paulette pointed out a tree near the entrance with some metal posts sticking out of it; apparently, this tree once served as the support for a jail cell where prisoners were brought when family and friends came to visit, the idea being to showcase the often bloody and mangled figures of the prisoners in order to send a message to would-be opponents. Nice guy, Somoza.

From the fort, we strolled into downtown Granada, stopping in for a visit at the Dona Elba cigar factory. Turns out Arnold Schwarzenegger orders his cigars from here; they showed us the mold for his enormous cigars as well as a photo of him with the owner. We checked out a couple of gorgeous historic churches, a cultural center that displayed work from local artists (some of which was quite impressive) and then grabbed a frapuccino – yes, a frapuccino; we’re not in La Concha anymore) from a café on the central plaza. Lunch was at a small café operated by a couple, he from the U.S. and she from Managua, that was full of expats and tourists and served fresh, healthy salads and sandwiches. I admit that I savored every bite of my Mediterranean pita!

After lunch, we took a lancha (small boat) out on Lake Nicaragua to tour its many small islands, lots of which contain big houses of some of Nicaragua’s (as well as other countries’) most prosperous families. Because this has been a particularly rainy year, the water table was about two and a half meters above normal, and some of the houses appeared to be in danger of getting soaked. I know a lot of people there are hoping things will settle down from here on out…

Sunday was a relaxing day with the family, and they all seemed very excited when I mentioned that I know how to bake cookies, so I think we’re going to make an attempt at that in the next couple of weeks. This afternoon, as one of the perks of being one of the only students currently at the school, I was treated to my own private salsa lesson with – who else? – Bergman. He had his work cut out for him, but we had a lot of fun and I think I’ll be able to retain a couple of the steps, so it was definitely worth it.

Gotta sign off now and head home to see the family. Hope the week started on the right foot for everyone!