Its true! Ive grown accustomed to the creepy little crawlers. Ive encountered more than one in the bathroom-shower area over the past days. Im not quite ready to invite them in for tea... but they do seem harmless enough. The frogs on the other hand... that is a different story.
Most of my adventures here seem bathroom-toilet related. Many I am not sharing... for which you should thank me. However, the other night I was in the bathroom... it was dark... I was doing what I needed to do when the door opened and in came something large and black... it was coming straight for me. Well, what was a girl to do except scream and scream I did. The gentleman of the house rushed to my aid, turning on the lights (did I mention that I prefer to use the bathroom in the dark... ignorance is bliss). There, in the corner, was the biggest frog I have ever seen. Now, according to Nievez (the gentleman), this was not a large sized frog at all. I promise, if I do see a large size frog here... I will do more than scream!
Other than enormous frogs, cockroaches and some other very strange flying bug... the creepy things are really minimal. This should offer some reassurance to those of you travelling to Nicaragua with me next year. There are, however, two things that are causing some consternation:
1. the treatment of animals. On more than one occasion I have witnessed an animal being cruely treated. Rocks thrown at dogs, horses left standing on concrete for hours on end and starved cats. The other day there were three roosters tied on ropes in front of a house. They were tied far enough to just reach each other. The two on the outside were savagely killing the one in the centre. Also, I saw two men... one holding a chicken adn the other a rooster. They kept holding the two together and were amused by the rooster attacking the chicken. I have never liked roosters and quite despise chickens, however, this broke my heart. Yesterday I went over the deep end and burst into tears when I witnessed a man come out of his home and brutally beat his puppy with a shoe for whining. I can not understand it. Ive spoken with my teacher about this and she agrees it is not right but says it is 'cultural'. I now that this is not the behaviour of the majority but it is certainly acceptable enough that these acts are committed in public without intervention. For those of you who have travelled to other parts and have had similar experiences, I would welcome your words of wisdom for coping. I know all of this sounds terribly judgmental but the truth is, I feel terribly judgmental.
2. the treatment of women. Seriously.. I have been hissed at, whistled at, have had men make gross kissy faces at me and even had one guy waggle his tongue (seriously.. does anyone think that is sexy?) I have had 3 men stop me on the street to tell me they love me. One could find all of this flattering.. BUT... My friend, Karla, said that all Nicaraguan men are pigs. I think that is an exaggeration... Ive met at couple of really nice ones. Also, apparently violence against women is extremely common here. Domestic violence is a huge cause of death among women. Yesterday there was a march here against violence as last week two women were murdered by their husbands.
This isn't a very cheery post... I realize... but this is what has been weighing on me. Yes, I love the weather here... and my experience of the community as a whole has been incredibly positive... BUT... I love my country. Canada is far from perfect and abuse and violence certain exists there as well... but it is defintely less extreme.. and less socially acceptable... than it is here.
One of the things I value most about my time here so far is the sense of community and the simplicity of life. People here take care of each other. Everyone knows everyone. Neighbors are on the street visiting, sharing laughter. Older children are caring for younger ones. People readily offer help to one another. It just feels so beautiful. And life here really does feel more simple. That could just be because I'm not overloaded with responsibility right now... but I really really do not miss the aspect of Canadian culture that demands competition and egocentricity. Manual work is much more difficult... no washing machines, dishwashers and other fancy equipment... but as a whole the lack of all the machines and toys creates this sense of simplicity that I am really growing to love. I love getting up at 6am... handwashing the pants, underwear and shirt I wore the day before and hanging them on the line. Sounds crazy, I know... but it is just so satisfying somehow.
The other thing that is giving me great joy is my volunteer work at a school. Classrooms here are wayyy different that what I am used to. Much much less structured. The children at this school come from incredibly poor families. There is a food program and the children eat lunch there every day. I am working three days a week in the afternoons. Every day I am told that I am beautiful... I have beautiful eyes... one little girl told me I didn't look 42 (God bless her!). They are so enthusiastic about me... they love to be with me and are very curious about my life in Canada. I have no idea if I am making any difference at all in their lives but they are certainly touching mine. I feel so special. I hope I can make them feel special too.
Following this blog post, I will post another with photos. I hope you enjoy. If any of you are interested in emailing me, feel free. I'm more than happy to hear from home. My email is laurafouhse@shaw.ca. You will get an auto response back saying Im away but I am still receiving the emails.
Once again.. blessings to you all!
Laura
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