Yesterday was one of the coolest birthdays I ever had. I’m not gonna lie; initially the idea of turning 21 on a day that I had to work (a Saturday, mind you), in a country without my friends or family wasn’t really my idea of an awesome birthday. (I mean, I wasn’t being a downer, I just figured it would kind of be like any other day, and wouldn’t really feel like a birthday). Boy oh boy, was I wrong. Zoila came to pick me up for work and had a wonderful card that she made for me. Then at work she made a wonderful lunch of steak and rice. (We ate the steak with our hands…that is a out-of-comfort-zone experience right there!) Then Guillermo (my english-speaking friend) gave me a hard candy and asked me to help with English a little bit. The elderly home workers give him labels and things when they’re in English- so he had one that I think was for a vacuum belt and he was asking me to explain different things on the label, for example how you say ‘performance’ and then what ‘high-performance’ means. It was really fun. Then, after work, I went to Alma’s mom’s house and watched a wedding- what?!?!?! (okay, technically it was a ‘civil ceremony’ because it was a legal ceremony and not like in a church with a priest or anything- but it was still sooo cool—hearing vows in Spanish, wow).
Then we had a traditional Nicaraguan dinner, which I think is called caballo vallo (no it’s not horse…) which was UHHH-MAZE-ING!!! Then since it was my birthday, the groom (who is a dance instructor) taught me how to salsa…while all the other 30-40 people watched. I love learning dances, but the whole having an audience who isn’t dancing thing made me feel slightly awkward… now I feel like I need to learn a bunch of traditional dances so that in case this sort of situation should arise again I can just blow everyone away with my advanced abilities.
The night’s not over yet- because next they came out with a cake with a candle in it for me and they sang happy birthday (first in English) and then 2 happy birthday songs in Spanish. (I almost accidentally blew out the candle prematurely- my bad). (I felt kind of guilty, like I was stealing the thunder of the wedding, but Alma assured me that it wasn’t a big deal since it was a civil ceremony- and a lot of the guests left (and so did the Bride and Groom) before the birthday cake part).
[Note- I will eventually try to upload pics, but my internet connection here is slow, so uploading isn't overly plausible in this moment]
[Note- I will eventually try to upload pics, but my internet connection here is slow, so uploading isn't overly plausible in this moment]
Today Alma is going to pick me up and take me somewhere. (I don’t know where yet- I think it’s going to be a surprise). But today is also a bad day, a sad and disgusting day. The two guys who were staying here left this morning, and on the way out the Nicaraguan boy stole my host-mom’s phone. (which was a pretty good, and very expensive phone). My heart kind of sank- I mean the guys, and myself, all stay here for free. She provides our meals, lets us use her internet, we shower, and sleep here, and her maid even did their laundry (and will do mine in the future). And she doesn’t ask for anything. She isn’t paid back in any way- she just hosts us because she wants to; she wants to help out, and so she does so at her own expense. How someone can come and stay and eat and be friendly with someone and then steal from them is just beyond me. I know that times are tough for a lot of people, but I just can’t imagine stealing from someone who opens their heart and home and is nothing but kind and generous to me. So that’s the rain cloud over the day.
Anyhow, I must be off! I hope you have a most beautiful day!
<3 Rachel
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