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 Hola! Greetings from Nicaragua! This page is meant to give you a better idea of my daily life in San Juan de Oriente. I try to send out a newsletter every few months to give people a feel for what’s going on, so please add your name to the mailing list if you’d like to receive updates. People always seem to ask two questions about life in Nicaragua: Is it dangerous and where do you live? I know, some of you want to know about getting illegal fireworks and Cuban cigars, but I’ll go ahead and just focus on the first two questions. As far as safety goes, Nicaragua actually feels incredibly safe, especially in small villages like San Juan de Oriente. You’ll probably laugh, but the biggest danger I seem to face is walking into the barbed wire clotheslines. Yes, they actually do used barbed wire for clotheslines, and being 6’-3” in Nicaragua means that they seem to be conveniently placed right at neck level. I live in a small, one bedroom house located in the middle of town. This makes life quite entertaining, as I’m the only foreigner who lives in the village and also the only one who speaks English. For some reason, the novelty of having a tall, white guy in town doesn’t seem to get old for the locals. They still find it amusing to say, “Aroooon” or “Peeex” (an attempt to say Pick) as I stroll down the street. I think it probably seems normal that I play in the town’s soccer league at this point, but in the beginning they used to clap anytime the ball came within ten feet of me. For me, being part of the San Juan de Oriente community is the only real way to know and experience the needs of the people. While it is easy to miss some of the things I often took for granted, like consistent running water, a warm shower, or even a night of sleep without crowing roosters and barking dogs, it’s a lot of fun to be able partner with a group of people who are working to make their community a better place. |
