food and happiness

it's funny how living in the developing world can change what you get excited about. what is your favorite food that you love to eat all the time?  what do you think you could do without if it came down to it and what would be considered a necessity at all costs? i was passing through estelí, a city in the north of nicaragua, and decided to stop at La Colonia- a really nice grocery store here in nicaragua that just opened a location right near the boots place.

i walked in and felt like i had entered heaven. huge displays of cheddar cheese. bacon. apples and other imported goods. it was almost overwhelming!  so many choices! so many things i miss! (like sharp  cheeses and wine!) i could have easily spent my entire month's salary buying such indulgences; however, my main goal was to find two things- peanut butter and parmesan cheese.  not like real parmesan, but the kraft kind that can last like 8 years on the shelf without anything happening to it. i found a massive, costco sized container for about $10... a fairly significant amount of my budget considering i only make just over $200 a month. next, i hunted for the most important of all- crunchy peanut butter.  i found a gloriously pound sized jar of jif peanut butter and rejoiced! another $10+ out of my budget though.

peanut butter is one of those funny things that i think many americans crave when out of the country for an extended period of time. i'm not sure why, but many of my friends here talk about the importance of having some peanut butter on hand at any given moment, regardless of the expense it levies on us. i remember my aunt and uncle in spain always wanting my grandpa to bring big jars of peanut butter over when he went to visit them because they couldn't find it here.  it's something about the taste of home i guess. something comfortable. nicas tell me they miss gallo pinto after a while. i think everyone has some kind of food that we associate with "home" and "comfortable."

food makes me happy, so i'm willing to cut out eating out once or twice in the month to cover the cost of items like peanut butter and parmesan cheese. granted there are many other things i would love to buy, but i could probably easily spend my entire month's budget just on cheddar cheese if i wanted.  so i've had to prioritize, at least a little. i walked through the grocery store with my hands above my head, a pound of peanut butter in one hand and a pound of parmesan cheese in the other, rejoicing at having found a few things that help me make this life here seem a little more like home.  my friends thought i was ridiculous, but i think it's worth it. i spend a little more on food at times than i'd like, but it means i'm much happier at the end of the day as well.

so what would your favorite food or item in your diet be that you'd keep? i bet it'd be different than what you might think at the moment.  i thought i would miss the "luxury" or "higher-class" things much more than something silly. living here has forced me to prioritize what i find to be most important, and i never thought i would get excited about kraft parmesan cheese or crunchy peanut butter. it's just that sometimes when things couldn't seem worse because of x with work, y with culture shock, or z for being frustrated without any sort of words to describe why, just eating something familiar can make all the difference in another wise terrible day. at least for me anyways.

so to close, all of that to say:
dear mom- please send peanut butter. ;)

over the river and through the woods

never know what you'll find in the campo

i've started working with local microcredit cooperatives in the campo near my site with one of my ngos.  these cooperatives are community banking and microcredit in their purest forms. the women come together on a schedule they decide and put in money to the bank.  then as members of the bank need money, they can take out loans at an interest rate set by the members and according to rules they have established.  because everyone is part of the same community it creates more motivation to pay back the loan and allows members who need extra cash to start a business endeavor or buy seed for farming to have access to the capital they need. it is really cool to see in action.

in the middle of no where 

doing an activity

my role with one of my organizations is to adapt our emprendendurismo curriculum to the more informal setting and give charlas (literally, "chats", but more of a training) on different topics related to running a business.  right now i'm doing ones on characteristics of entrepreneurs, the importance of planning (for a business or whatever they might want to take out money for), creativity, and ways to generate new ideas. the full plan for these charlas is still kind of being developed one week at a time as i decide what to talk about with the groups, but it is generally following our entrepreneurship curriculum that we have with PC.

saw this guy on the road somewhere

i've been out to several communities now, and usually it involves taking a cab to somewhere on the main road and then walking down some dirt road for a while to get to the community. literally, over the river and through the woods. sometimes with out  bridges to cross the river. once there, our setting is usually quite humble.  someone's home that has an area for people to come and sit while i talk.  usually it is between 15-20 people, mostly women.  the walls are made of bricks and mud and dirt floors. usually there is a nice smell of wood smoke wafting from the kitchen area as someone is preparing lunch. it reminds me of camping a lot.

a traditional kitchen.

i've also been helping out with some other activities in the campo for youth.  we did some charlas on self-esteem last week and also got to go on a nice long walk.  several times now when i've trekked out to the campo i arrive to find out we're either in the wrong place, or no one knew we were coming so we have to reschedule to come back later.  i've gotten to have some fun conversations and free coffee as a result though while we shoot the breeze for a while.  all in a days work here in nicaragua. haha.  as a result i spend a lot of time just chatting with rural women about their lives and how the credit co-ops have made a difference in their lives. i really enjoy that part a lot.

no one showed up for the charla? well let's chat then.
plastic furniture is a mainstay in nicaragua.

with one of my other orgs, i'm starting to develop similar courses.  one is going to be a two day workshop focused on finances and marketing for some people who have already started the process of forming a business, and then we are going to adapt the entrepreneurship course to a 3 month cycle to administer in a central location that people can come once a week to learn more.  unfortunately with that, we are going to start in october, but we'll have to stop until after christmas because the coffee harvest starts in november and the target audience will all be working in the hills picking coffee.  i got to go out to the campo and meet a few of the people they work with.  amatto, below, has a chicken farm and sells eggs in my town and some of the neighboring ones as well. 

he even hammed it up with a smile. i was shocked!

finally, even if nothing works out on a day out in the campo, i still get some great views. i love being up in the hills of nicaragua.

big boys and domestic duties

i think as americans we often forget the many conveniences we have. we have washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, etc. or even services that we can find to do all of that for us. or even things more basic like constant running water and constant electricity.  all things that make our lives much easier and facilitate us doing other things. here in nicaragua, that isn't the case.  everything is by hand, and everything takes longer. i could pay someone to wash my clothes, but i don't want to pay for something i can easily to on my own. plus my financial resources are now much less than before.  it has been one of the less exciting adjustments of life over the last few months.

prepping the shirt for washing with soap.

my first experience with laundry was after over a week of being on site.  i had avoided it long enough, but realized i had no idea what to do.  i asked my host mom what i needed.  she said i needed soap to clean the laundry (obviously) and fabric softener so it would smell good after.  i went and bought my supplies and then the next morning brought my laundry to the lavandero and said, "ok, now what?" she laughed and then demonstrated the process of cleaning.

the line drying all day afterwards. no dryers here!

laundry here is a much more involved process. you either have to rub an inordinate amount of soap on every piece of clothing and then scrub it on the cement washboard like kneading bread for a while or you can soak it in powdered soap and water for a while... and then do the same thing on the cement washboard.  in the states, i'd do laundry maybe once a week and just load up the washer, hit start and then go watch sportscenter or start it up at night so it would be clean in the morning.  not here. i'm spending a good hour plus each time i wash laundry... two or three times a week. the goal is to not let laundry build up too much otherwise it's a montón de ropa sucia and a good morning workout before the water goes off.  she said i caught on quickly... it still doesn't make it go any faster though.

so consider that the next time someone complains to you about "hating" laundry day.  it's a lot easier with a machine to do the work for you.

second, the machista culture means that men don't do much around the house, so it's crazy that i wash all of my own laundry.  added to my craziness of washing laundry, the family is fascinated that i can iron, use a broom, mop, and especially cook. two of my sobrinos (nephews) were fascinated by me making my own food one day.  i told them that guys who know how to cook get the better girls.  they told me i was crazy. and then the younger one came and whispered to me, "my dad only makes coffee." i chuckled and told him that's why he should learn how to do more.

the family thinks it's great though, probably because it means that it's less work for them. i joke with them about who gets to wash the dishes because often they beat me too it, and i argue that it was my responsibility since i made them dirty.  usually it just ends with them laughing and saying, "oh aarón." i'm glad that we have a good relationship and can joke about it.  hopefully, i can rub off a little on my little nephews and teach them a thing or two.

the funny part to me is that all of those things are normal to me. washing laundry (granted, with a washing machine), ironing, washing dishes, cleaning, etc.  they're all things i was raised to do as a kid.  i am apparently challenging gender roles every day of the week, and i'll take it even if it means breaking a sweat a few mornings a week washing my clothes.


i've been no stranger to domestic duties such as laundry washing, cooking, etc.  my mom had me using a washing machine when i was like 5 or 6.  i wouldn't be surprised if she had a picture of me standing on my "big boy" stool to reach into the drum to pull out my clothes and put them in the dryer.  she tricked me by telling me that big boys did their own laundry. i, of course, wanted to be a big boy, so i enthusiastically started doing my own laundry. she did the same thing around 8 when i always wanted mac and cheese.  "big boys make their own mac and cheese." this happened with several things until i caught on that most other big boys didn't do any of these things, but by then i had mastered mac and cheese, the art of cooking things with a toaster oven, and enjoyed making what i wanted. her trick worked (and i'm thankful for it).

funny story about big boys and laundry- when i moved to college my freshman year at nc state university and lived with my first roommate. he was a funny guy, slightly ocd, but a nice guy.  we developed a good living relationship by the end of the year... albeit with some funny interactions in between.  i remember the first time he had to do laundry in the dorm. it must have been the most terrifying experience ever for him.  i think he had to call his mom for help several times for instructions on what to do next.  it must have been traumatic for him because he ended up paying for a laundry service after that.  apparently his mom didn't tell him what big boys did. i can't imagine what would have happened if he had to hand wash his clothes...


in summation, life is a little slower here.  things take longer, and lot of times it's more difficult. i have less appliances and conveniences that i used to have in the states.  i spend more time on things like laundry, cooking, and cleaning, but just by doing those things for myself i'm enjoying showing the fam that guys can take care of themselves and be self-sufficient. i poke fun at my host brother about it since he does very little around the house, and he just bellows out a big laugh each time and then tells me i should iron his clothes for him.  i tell him only if he pays me, and then he laughs more.  they think i'm crazy, but it's part of the cultural exchange that we have living together, even if it doesn't represent all guys everywhere (in any place, see my roommate from freshman year).  i owe that to my parents who always made me learn the importance of responsibility and how to take care of myself.

so thanks mom and dad for telling me what big boys should do, even if it wasn't exactly what big boys really did.  i think it has helped me adjust to life here and show that guys can take care of themselves too.

and don't even get me started on the impact "toy jail" had on picking up my toys. $.25 is a hefty sum to break your favorite toys out of jail when you're only getting an allowance of $2.50! i mean... 25 penny candies or favorite toy???? the horror!  i learned to pick up my toys though... or at least prioritize the ones i really wanted and how to save my money...