Lessons from Nicaragua

As I head towards the end of my second week in Nicaragua, I try to summarize what I have learned about the locals and their culture so far:

1. It´s OK to be a single mom with two or more kids at 23 but it´s not OK not to be (or not to have been) married at 29. People react with surprise at the latter but find the former a pretty regular thing.

2. Nicas´ favorite piece of clothing is jeans. Even in the hottest of days, you will see most people (including women) wearing jeans. And shorts are unheard of, except of course among “cheles” (the term used by Nicas to refer to whites).

3. Nicas are in love with American culture – from baseball to hip hop to English names. I never expected to meet so many Judiths, Williams, Jennys, Marjories, Leonards, and Lisettes here.

4. Unless you are craving male attention, it´s better to tell Nica men that you are married. It´s usually one of the first things they ask after inquiring about age. Boyfriends, fiances, etc. are not an adequate reason for stopping their advances. I have gotten this advice from several women already, so I think I may actually take heed.

5. People here love to dance. And, I mean, really love to dance (usually to reggaetón, salsa, merengue, bachata). Last Friday, the office was celebrating it´s second anniversary. Along with lots of food and drink (starting at 2 pm), the festivities included a talent show and lots of dancing. Nothing could stop my 49-yr old supervisor and the rest of the management from taking over the dance floor.

6. Flor de Caña (the pride of Nicaragua) is the best rum I have ever tasted.

And aside from that, I thought you might find the following article interesting. Some of you may have heard or read about the LifeStraw – a simple, easy-to-use device for purifying water. Here is the story of its inception. A very smart idea.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121372818319181665.html?mod=loomia&loomia_si=t0:a31:g2:r4:c0.192655

-denitza