More randomness - may they make you laugh!

1) So it turns out that there are rats living in our ceiling. Usually you don´t hear them because they often leave the house and wander around outside. But when it starts to rain they come back into the house and can be heard scurrying around in the ceiling. There was one in the ceiling in my room last week. He stayed there making a great deal of noise for probably thirty minutes. He would run from one corner to another banging around against wires and other pieces of metal in the ceiling.

2) Francisco (my host father) and I tried to make bread and banana cake a week ago. But neither were very successful. I followed the recipe and added the right quantities of everything to the bread, but for some reason it did not rise. We tried baking it anyway and it came out rock hard although it smelled really good. The inside even tasted good, but it was too hard to eat. Francisco made a banana cake, but forgot to add eggs. While it was in the oven he asked Reyna (his wife) if the recipe calls for eggs. She said of course it does, four in fact. He smiled and said oops! He then went to the kitchen and took the banana cake out of the oven. He proceeded to add four eggs to it, mix it with the blender, and return it to the oven. He and I laughed the entire time. Reyna insisted that it would not work. Well it kind of worked. The cake tasted really good, although it also did not rise.

3) I also continue to hear that it is dangerous to be a volunteer in Nicaragua and that I will probably find my spouse. In my extended host family, three of the cousins married volunteers from abroad and one is dating a volunteer from the States. I also continue to hear stories of foreigners marrying Nicaraguans. My host mother reminds me that there are some good Nica men here. She and others say that would give me a good reason to come back or to never return to school.

4) So there are two Papa John´s in Nicaragua. But unlike Papa John´s in the states they are actual sit down restaurants and have more than just pizza. they have pastas, 6 different kinds of salads, appetizers, and even desert pizza. Also they have more varieties of pizzas than the ones in the States. The flavor was the same.

5) In one of our community visits to Nance there was another soyada. This time the women made different dishes, all of which again were very tasty. One of them is a kind of soup that is very popular and common to the rural communities. Its base was soy milk and then they added tomatoes, green bell pepers, onion, garlic, and a kind of river seashell animal. The seashell animal is still in its shell in the soup. In order to eat it you have to slightly bite the middle of the shell so as to sort of break it. You then blow on the small end to push the animal out of the other end. After blowing, you turn the shell around and suck on the other end. The animal should then slide easily out and into your mouth. Well, this is what is suppose to happen anyway. I, however, had troubles. The first one worked beautifully. But I couldn´t get any of the other five to come out. I kept trying and trying to no avail. The women, Doña Ramona, Doña Juana, and Doña Mariana realized that I was having some difficulty so they came over to help. They repeated the instructions to me and watched me try. Still no success. They then began to repeat the instructions louder and with more animation, thinking that would help. Still no success. At this point my co-workers and I were laughing at my inability. The women also began to laugh and continued to repeat the instructions. Still I couldn´t do it. By the end we were all laughing about how I couldn´t do it. I think they thought it rather funny how incompitent I was at such an easy task.

6) Three of my co-workers (Juan Carlos, Cesar, Zoilita) and I went to Naranjo. This is one of the farthest away communities. It takes thirty minutes on moto on dirt roads from the main city where we work. Overall the road is fairly smooth and there are only a couple of rough patches. I road with Juan Carlos who drives very smoothly. As Reyna says you could almost fall asleep when you are his passanger. We came to the River Caimito which is probably 25 feet wide and in the shallowest parts about a foot to a foot and a half deep. Juan Carlos and I went first. However, he did not drive quickly enough. So about ten feet into the river the moto stopped and the back wheel was entirely stuck in the mud on the bottom of the river. I looked at him and said I have to get off, don´t I. He said no no you aren´t wearing proper shoes. I said we have no choice. He said true. So I got off in the middle of the river and tried to go as quickly as I could back to shore. By the time I got there my shoes and pants were soaked. Zoila and Cesar were laughing on the shore. Juan Carlos crossed on the moto and then Cesar later, but only after Zoila got off. She and I then crossed together through the mud and water. Cesar enjoyed watching us and laughing. By the time we got to Naranjo we were muddy and wet.

7) Making nacatomales. Nacatomales are a traditional Nica food. They are similar to Mexican tamales but twice as good. Inside the corn dough they have either chicken or pork with potatoes, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and parsley. They are wrapped in banana leaves and then boiled in hot water for two hours. They have the combination of all the flavors and are incredibly tasty. We made them for the birthday of my host father and two of his siblings. none of them are twins, but they all have the same birthday. I stood with a lady from the church, my host grandmother, the guard, and my host great grandfather making the nacatamales. We stood in the outside covered kitchen of the great grandfather where they cook using firewood. We made and wrapped them on a seperate table, then passed them to the guard (Don Joel) who tied the leaves with string, and then placed them on the fire. My host grandmother decided that I was becoming Nica since I could now make nacatamales. I know I am not describing the event well, but it may be one of my favorite moments so far.

8) Dr. Green said I am beginning to sound like a Nicaraguan when I speak.