Valentine’s Day happened. That’s one thing. It must be said that V-Day in Nicaragua is a hell of a lot easier to cope with than the horrid day in the States. In my opinion anyway. I know some of you are thinking right now “well of course it’s better because you are there with some one.” True, but not the point. First of all, it is known as El Día de los Enamorados y los Amigos – the Day of Loved Ones and Friends, more or less. And people really do take the friends part seriously. I saw one or two advertisements mentioning Valentine’s day dinner specials for two, but aside from that, the streets, malls, and public spaces were noticeably devoid of red and white. Hearts were few and far between. And no boxes of chocolate in street windows (partly I’m sure because they would melt).
Thinking I should celebrate the day even just a little bit, Luis and I decided to go see the movie Valentine’s Day. A Terrible Mistake. Awful. Again, in my opinion. The less than romantic part is that we went with the whole family – which includes Mamita, Jorge, and the new host-sister Jennifer. Mamita and Jennifer quite enjoyed the film. Jorge fell asleep. And then we met some friends to listen to music that afternoon at one of my favorite bars (the word bar somehow makes it sound seedy to me, but get that image out of your head, and replace it with an artsy little bohemian nook with brightly painted walls and african style art where good music is always playing or being played). Finally went home in the evening to eat left-over Portuguese Stone Soup, which couldn’t have been more delicious.
The next day I taught class at the American school and asked my students about Valentine’s Day and what it means to them. Pretty much everyone said that they don’t really care about it, and at most they spend the day with friends enjoying each other’s company. But then again, two of them are married and the rest are plain and simple single. So, who knows really.
And on a different note, about the weather. HOT. I know, tell me something I haven’t heard. Well I’ve been managing well enough, but now even the Nicaraguans are starting to complain and melt. They say “oh just you wait, Semana Santa [Easter Week] is about 10 times worse,” and I wonder how anyone survives it. But I suppose I will find out sooner or later. In the meantime, the crazy weird neighbors, which whom my bedroom shares a wall, decided recently to add a roof to their front patio area. In order to do that they also had to build up their wall next to ours. This resulted in the sealing up of the few air holes in my own wall which allowed for the tiniest bit of ventilation. So. Weather gets hotter, and the room is not equally as hot but perhaps 4 times more sweltering than before. During the day, it’s pretty much impossible to be there. I try to avoid it. But you know, when the house is full of guests, it can get to a point where I want to pull my hair out for lack of my own personal space.
On that note – trying still to find a house. Some of you know, others do not, that Luis and I have been trying to save money and find a house to rent with two of our friends, Angie and Ariel. It’s been slow going and now things are up in the air about whether it might in fact be best for each couple to try to rent their own apartment. Needless to say their are lots of factors that go into making these decision, and in general I’m just a little bit confused at the moment as to what is the best way to go. And while Quaker House is slowly driving me insane for lack of privacy and an inability to take advantage of free time when there are guests, I am still grateful that I have this place to stay in while we sort things out and decide where to go next.
I’m a bit tired now. I just watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s to help unwind after a very windy (read: wine-dy) day, which worked marvelously. And now seems like as good a time as any to SLEEP. So. Updates as they are relevant. Hasta la Pasta people.
