We Live So Well So Long

Alrrriiiight.

Apologies for the length of time it’s taken me to post this entry, but it’s been an insane few weeks and I haven’t had much time to sit down and write. Also, I’m lazy.

Where to begin?

It’s been a weird few weeks health-wise. Two weeks ago, I had a late-night visit to a health clinic as the result of a fall I took a few days prior. Truthfully, it’s not even a cool story. I was playing with the five-year-old boy next door and tripped over my flip-flop. I took one of those freak falls and received a nice black eye, a few scratches, and some serious muscle spasms. I’m fine now, thankfully, but I’m just going to continue to practice walking and maybe stay away from five-year-olds for awhile? I also had the flu a few days ago. It sucked. It always sucks to be sick, but it sucks even more when it’s dark out (why is everything more dramatic at night?) and you’re alone in a foreign country. I had to reassure myself that it wasn’t meningitis, or typhoid, or testicular cancer. A few sleepless nights and lots of water later and I’m back to normal. But boy, I’m never taking good health for granted ever again.

Maddie and I ran into some American (!) boys the other day. I felt like a Nicaraguan because I seriously couldn’t stop staring at them. I mean, we really do stick out here...kind of like the way somebody in a Spiderman costume would stick out in church. One of the guys heard us speaking English and turned around (in the middle of the road) and was like, ENGLISH! We stopped and talked to them for a few minutes. They were both around our age and they’re Mormons and stationed here for two years (!!) Oh, and get this: they can only call their parents twice a year. Ah!! I don’t think I could do that. They can at least email friends once a week, but still. Twice a year? No, thanks. Anyway, it was nice talking to fellow English-speakers. It’s such a relaxing thing to be able to communicate effortlessly with someone else. Like good health, I’m never taking communication for granted either.

That’s the thing about language. It’s so freakin’ hard when you have to start from square one. It’s like learning grammar and spelling and pronunciation all over again, just with different rules and exceptions and inflictions. I mean, English grammar is a living nightmare for me. I don’t even know when to properly use commas…and then you get into all this other language business…it seems beyond the realm of my ability. Agh. I know it’s going to be an uphill battle, but one I think is worth fighting. I have a new respect for people who are trying to learn the English language...or any language for that matter, especially now that I understand how hard it is.


On to TV. I personally am not a huge fan of the ol’ boob tube. I mean, I can’t lie, I’ve been known to occasionally veg out in front of Family Guy or Eli Stone or Planet Earth (and okay, sometimes Spongebob—that show is actually really funny), but I’ve never been able to waste a whole day watching TV. But here… it’s different. I’ve developed this strange need to watch American TV. The TV in my house has a few channels in English (when the cable is working, that is) so sometimes I indulge in an episode of Friends or 90210 or CSI. I mean, I would never do that at home. But here, I can’t help it. I think maybe because watching American television and hearing people talk in English is a comfort or maybe because I’ve been kind of deprived of it I need it that much more. Or both. It’s weird, I know. Don’t judge. Oh, and the other thing... boy do the Latin American women love their novellas. Novellas are soap operas and everyone, I mean everyone, watches them. Virtually everyday all of the women in the house gather together in the same room and watch Jose declare his undying love to Maria in the morning, and then Jorge break up with Rosa in the afternoon. I mean, I don’t even speak the language but I can tell what’s going on because let me tell you, United States or Nicaragua, soap operas are soap operas. But for some reason the soap operas here just seem so much more dramatic. Maybe it’s the language.
The kids’ shows are all in Spanish (obviously) which has proven to be a good way for me to practice the language, mainly because cartoon characters have to talk slower and use less-complicated words so kids can understand them. I feel like a five year old. But let me tell you, if you thought Hannah Montana was bad in English, then imagine what it’s like in Spanish. Ugh. I also read the subtitles on some of the channels. I’m learning a lot that way. Some things get lost in translation, but I’m starting to understand concepts and conjugation. Which is good. I feel like there may be hope for me, after all.

I’ve also discovered I’m going through a withdrawal stage. It’s more of an ongoing thing than a stage, really, but I’m really craving the strangest things. Like American TV. And brewed coffee. And driving. And broccoli. And pastries. And restaurants. But I’ve discovered some new favorites. Like Tang. Yes, Tang. Like the #1 drink from 1999. It’s soooooo good. It’s like Crystal Light only with fifty times more flavor and fifty times more sugar. And they have pretty much every flavor. Fresa (Strawberry). Poncha de Frutas (Fruit Punch). Naranja (Orange). Durazno (Peach), which is my personal favorite this week. It tastes like melted peach rings. Oh. My. Gosh. They also have really good crackers (galletas), and fruit drinks (fresco), and these things called picos. They’re like sugar donuts only better because they’re Nicaraguan and Nicaraguans could trump Southerners in deep-fried foods any day. They also have a fruit called plantaina. It looks identical to a banana, just bigger and green but it tastes absolutely nothing like a banana. Nicaraguans can prepare it a million different ways. Fried. Raw. Smashed. Shaved. Chunked. Chopped. They’re so good. There’s really no way to describe how it tastes…America doesn’t really have a food equivalent to it. It’s purely a Latin American thing.

Ah, I feel like there’s always so much to say but never enough time or energy to fit it all in. I still have to tell you about cultural things. The guys. The girls. The food (of course). My host family. The Project. School. The kids. Cast of Characters. Orange Juice. Guitar songs. Ah!! There will be more to come, I promise. So stay tuned!

Stay blessed, everyone!!!