Stay Sane

This is the beginning of a How To on how to "fit" into Nicaraguan society.

During the 1930s depression in the U.S., the WPA was created by the government. It could best be described as a busywork agency. While I wasn't around then, I have been told that counting cracks in the sidewalk was a project. Does this make any sense? It depends on how you look at it. There were lots of unemployed people. You could let them starve, pay them to do nothing or pay them to do something. The third choice was selected.

In Nicaragua today you have a similar problem. That is, high unemployment. In the short term, you have the same three choices. Unfortunately, Nicaragua today does not have the resources that the U.S. had to pay people for nothing. Equally unfortunate, what really got the US out of the depression was a war.

Why did I present this example? Because it was something my parents talked about. Or, more accurately, complained about. My dad had sold a business and my parents lived on savings during this time. Thus, they didn't appreciate that not everyone could afford to not have any income for five years.

When you try to live in Nicaragua (or in this region) there will be lots of things like this that don't make sense to you. If you try to "fix them" or "make them work like they do where you came from" you will likely be very frustrated. The items below are here to help you appreciate that things are not "wrong here" but just different. These are all just examples. There will be lots more things that you can add to the list. In fact, I encourage you to add them here as comments.

The streets are paved with blocks, not cement or asphalt.

There are many reasons for this. When the paving is done it can be done by a crew of people with nothing more than shovels and wheelbarrows. The materials will be dropped on on site in a flat-bed truck. Thus, labor (which is pleantiful and cheap is maximized and equipment minimized. In addition, if a pipe needs to be accessed under the street, people can dig up the street, fix the pipe and put the pavement back. No equipment other than a shovel and pry bar is needed.

There are no windows on the sides of the houses.

It is common to build to the property line. Thus, there can't be. This is the same as row houses in many US cities.

Directions tend to be relative to places that may no longer exist.

Think about someone in Los Angeles telling you that Imperial Highway is south of Century Boulavard and the place you are looking for is between Hoover and Vermont. If you don't know which way is south you immediately have a problem. Telling you that a place is relative to something that no longer exists is no different. When someone says "3.5 cuadras este de el Texaco viejo" they are giving you a point, direction and distance. Just like having to learn that Vermont is east of Normandy, you learn that the corner where there is currently a Petronic station in Estelí is "Texaco viejo".

I was meeting someone and they were an hour late.

In the U.S. many people are on time, but not all. In Nicaragua, many people are not on time but not all. Most people here have more time than money. Stopping for a conversation with someone when you are on your way to an appointment is just normal. On the other hand, you can usually walk into a dentist's or lawyer's office without an appointment and not wait as long as you do in the U.S. when you do have an appointment.

I left my garden hose out and someone stole it.

Theft here is a crime of opportunity. The general attitude is that it was the fault of the victim.

They wash that old junker car every day.

People may not be able to afford a new car or even a paint job for their old car but that doesn't mean they don't have pride. Lots of things here are old and warn but most things are also clean.

Varas, meters, feet, pounds, liters, ... Huh?

For those of you in the U.S. who can't tell me how many rods there are in a chain or even how many yards in a mile, chill out. Then, go read http://www.nicaliving.com/node/view/68 and chill out some more. Jimmy Carter promised that the US would be on the metric system by 1978. He lied. Here, there was no such promise.

I work at home and people keep interrupting me.

While businesses in a home are very popular (pulpurias--small grocery stores--for example) if you are home then it is generally assumed that you don't have anything more pressing to do then talk to someone. Think positive, it's good Spanish practice.

The water and/or power is off a lot more then when I lived in Portland.

Yup, it is. But, when most people don't have refrigerators, they cook with wood or gas and you don't need heating or air conditioning, it just isn't a big deal. If you need to be on-line all the time (like me) get a UPS and some big batteries. Or a generator. And a water tank.

I got a Bell South cell phone because it had the cheapest service. But, it doesn't work in most of the country.

Yup, true. Now you know why it is cheap. For the best coverage, pick Enitel. Otherwise, stop complaining.

It doesn't feel safe to walk home at night.

Maybe it isn't. If you lived in a city in the U.S. you would likely come to the same conclusion. The biggest difference is that in U.S. cities you get killed. Here you might get robbed. So, take a cab. They are dirt cheap.

People stare at me as if I was different or something.

You are. So, talk to them. Some Nicaraguans are black and their first language is English. Different here seems to be a lot less important than when I was growing up in the U.S.