10 Things "We've observed" about Nicaragua

Hola mis amigos, this is Josh here. Mary Frances has been keeping y'all up to date on our happenings, so I'll try to keep it as interesting and lively this week as she has faithfully done. It has been so enjoyable to hear from you all and receive your encouragement. We can't express how much we love hearing from you. It is truly amazing that we are able to communicate using this forum. Thank you Lord for technology! Can you image, before the dawn of the internet only being able to communicate through snail mail.

I thought we might take a diversion this week and use this entry to share with you some of the cultural idiosyncrasies that we have observed while being in Nicaragua. If you haven't had the chance to live or spend time in another cultural you may want to prepare yourself for a shock. No Travis, going to Cabo doesn't count. But if you've had the pleasure of living abroad, you will probably recognize a lot the things we have seen. So what is life like in Nicaragua?

10 Things "We've observed" about Nicaragua:

1. Fire is nothing to be afraid of. Seriously, you feel like mowing that grass do ya? Why not light it on fire instead. In the Nicaraguan worldview, unlike our western view, fire is a tool, not something that is reserved to singing cumbyaha around the campsite. Fire is used for cooking food, burning piles of leaves in the front yard, and yes, clearing that field that is overgrown.

2. If you can hear yourself sing or talk to your neighbor in church, that means that the music is not turned up loud enough. In Nicaraguan churches the sound system only has two levels, off, and completely pegged at maximum volume. I am not sure how the small children in front manage to escape permanent hearing damage, but I know I haven't.

3. Garbage is disposed in two places: in the garbage can or out the car window. I would say 10 percent it is placed actually in a garbage can, the remaining 90 percent somehow finds its way onto the ground. It really is sad to see all the trash.

4. Policemen will pull you over for no reason whatsoever. If you are driving and you get pulled over and you can't think of any reason why, that is probably because there isn't one. Just give the cop what he is looking for, a little respect, let him know he is in charge, and he will probably let you go scotch-free. Slipping him an Abraham Lincoln might help too. Just kidding.

5. Electrical work is always done while the current is hot and dangerously close to blasting you into the next room. I don't know why it is, but Nicaraguan electricians must be incredibly brave or incredibly under trained, but either way, they are all very young. Humm?

6. Next to the steering wheel and the brake pedal the most important part of a car is the horn. While passing pedestrians or other cars you have to assume that they are not aware of your presence. You should use your horn frequently to announce yourself to all.

7. Water should be replaced by oil in just about every recipe. Although we have come to really love the Nicaraguan recipes that we have had the pleasure to try, it is shocking how much oil is loaded into each meal. "I've never been able to see my reflection in my food before."

8. Your head is not only used for directing you body in the direction you wanna go, it is also a handy place to carry heavy objects like 100 pound bricks and 5 gallon jugs of water. I don't know where this strategy developed, but is awesome and believe it or not actually works. I don't know if it is the reason why Nicaraguans tend be shorter on average than North Americans, but my theory is that it has something to do with it.

9. Motorcycles are given out to those people who couldn't pass their drivers ed class in hopes that they will remove themselves from the gene pool. Just about every serious accident involves a motorcycle here. In that way, it's not to much different from the States, but there does seem to be an IQ difference between those on motorcycles and those in cars.

10. When something is broken, the number one way to fix it is by hitting it really hard with your hand or some blunt object. This is my favorite one, and the one that matches my own philosophy of handy-man work. Oh, what's wrong with your TV? Smack it. Oh, you can get that keyboard working? Hit it with a hammer. What's that, your washing machine isn't working? Slam it on the grounds as hard as you can.

Hopefully some of these "light hearted" but true cultural observations will help you gain a better understanding of the world of Nicaragua. Everyday is truly a new adventure. Continue to pray for Mary Frances as she is trying to figure out how to deal with disciplining some of her rowdier children. Also, please pray that my ability to pick up Spanish will come quickly and I will be able to step out fearlessly to you use what little I know.