Well, the electricity is out. The good news is that I can finally make use of my backlight on my Macbook. This is one way in which Macs are better than Windows, though I’m sure there are many others. I’m confused by the fact that I still can go to the bathroom even though the electricity is gone; the sink and flush capacity on the toilet work perfectly, so Nicaraguans use some alternative way to create water pressure, I guess.
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Found a Costco here! It only sold clothes though. |
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My Oliver-Twist-esque dinner by candelight. |
Today was the same old, same old. I’m very excited however, because tomorrow we will finally get to go out to the countryside and do some of the tasks that we’ve been training for this week. We had our presentations today, during which we tried to sell the products that we are marketing and helping local entrepreneurs sold. My group focused on sunglasses and Visine drops that prevent temporary and permanent damage to the eyes after long exposure to sun and dust. I thought that our Spanish was mediocre, but our program leaders were really impressed, so I guess that’s all that counts. I also learned how to administer an eye exam to test for presbiscia, as it’s called here, a natural deterioration of the eyes that can cause near blindness. It’s the reason behind nearsightedness, so we sell glasses that correct for these effects. Everything seems very simple (or at least, it would be if it were happening in the United States), but takes so much preparation and explaining, step by step, here since the people operate and understand things much differently than we do. There’s not just a language barrier, but a cultural barrier as well.
Although I’m excited about going to the countryside (to a town called Santa Teresa and I forget the name of the other town), I’m not excited at the very early time that I have to wake up at: around 4:45 AM. Then it’s an hour and a half journey by bus to the villages that we’re visiting, in conditions, I’m told, that are not ideal. Apparently there’s no sitting room on the bus and rather crowded. To prepare, I found a supermarket and stocked up on some Gatorade; while there, a fellow group member was astounded by the fact that a six pack of Smirnoff goes for 30 cordobas here, the equivalent of about a dollar and 30 cents. I asked the bemused cashier whether the price was real (which it was).
This morning at 7 I went to the market with my home stay mother. For more expensive goods that require good sanitation, my home stay mother will go to the supermarket, which resembles a grocery store. For cheaper, more common things for which can be easily cleaned, like potatoes or dried beans, it’s often cheaper to go to the market. The market was about two streets and a warehouse space bustling with makeshift wooden stalls in which people sold overflowing bags of vegetables, fruits and stacks of shoes and clothing. The only organization I could perceive was between the fruits and the meat, which had their own very distinct sections. Otherwise, stall locations seemed to have been awarded on a first come, first served basis, with clothing stalls interspersed with cheese sellers. A newcomer would be completely overwhelmed with the disorganization. What also fascinated me was the fact that such a market comes about completely spontaneously. I imagine that some time long ago, this market gradually emerged through decentralized, word of mouth relationships between individual vendors that gradually coalesced into a collective action that convened its own unspoken rules, like establishing ownership of a specific geographic spot; although the spots seem to be randomly determined, they are also fixed, with each vendor having their own spot to return to daily.
The market in the morning. |
A shot of my home stay mother in the market. |
Since I need to go to bed early, here ends my post, though I don’t really know what to do with myself because there’s no electricity. I can’t even eat dinner...
Goodnight!
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