Life of Luxury

Sunday morning I got up and ready to go to Masaya to meet up with our counterpart. I went to Kellie’s and then we waited at the church in town. We found out that our counterpart’s cousin drives a taxi so she had him come pick us up and take us to her house in Masaya, which was really nice. We had a private taxi ride (with a safe driver) and didn’t have to crowd next to anyone on this hot day. Lovely. We arrived at her doorstep and we took a seat in the front room. It was pretty big and full of rocking chairs (these are a necessity in every house here). We met her mom and grandma and chatted with them for a little. Our counterpart’s grandma set up a fan by us—I think Nicaraguans assume we gringos need fans in this heat, which I guess is true haha We talked with our counterpart and somehow we got on the topic of cake and we said that we liked cake too. She told us to wait a minute and she left the room. When she came back, she said that her aunt was going to make a cake and it would be ready by 2pm. What?! This was pretty darn funny, but who can say no to cake? She then woke up her toddler to get her ready and we met her husband. Then, we headed out to the market. We wanted to look for leather sandals and I needed to get another mouthwash (this is pretty darn expensive here, because not many people buy it). We cruised around the market, tried on sandals, and then Kellie and I bought matching ones.

I also bought some small purple maracas that say Nicaragua on them. We were also looking at some earrings and then our counterpart told us her friend had a shop in the market with jewelry so we went over there. As we were looking at this collection, our counterpart told us that she wanted to buy us earrings and one of the cool wooden bracelets there. Well, cool. We picked out earrings and bracelets, and then got a bracelet for Jess since she was at home sick.

After we got what we needed in that market, our counterpart wanted to show us the other market in town, which is known as the tourist market. We took a coche (horse-drawn carriage) over to the other market, which was a fun experience. The difference between the two markets is remarkable—the tourist one is much nicer, cleaner, less crowded, more expensive, and has police guards. This one is actually called the old market because it’s inside what kind of looks like a colonial castle without a roof.

We looked around for awhile, but of course didn’t buy anything because it’s a lot more expensive. *Tip to Nicaraguan tourists: ask to go to the new (covered) market—it has a lot of the same things for a whole lot cheaper! Anyway, our counterpart wanted to take us out to lunch and she apologized that her mother doesn’t like to cook on Sundays because she wants to take a break—she says that on Sundays she usually goes out to a restaurant or orders food to the house (she doesn’t cook). So, we went to a restaurant in the market, which was really nice. The food was great! I tried cacao, which is a chocolaty milk drink and it was delicious. I ate grilled steak (which is pretty thin here, but I like that) served on a hot plate, with pico de gallo on top, and a fried plantain on the side. It also came with rice, refried beans, cheese, and tostones (another form of fried plantains that are round slices that have been squished, fried, and taste like potatoes). It was all awesome! I couldn’t eat it all but I wanted to because it was sooo good.

We then walked over to the central park and then to Pali, which is the local chain of supermarkets. I got my mouthwash there and we found their snack section! We bought some animal crackers and decided we have to come back when we have more money. We then went back to the park and hung out. Kellie & I got a scoop of ice cream from the Eskimo, and then we headed back to their house. On the way back, we found some dancers. Here, the dancers go from house to house doing their dances and sharing food. We watched the end of one of the dances and then walked to another house with them to watch the full dance. These dancers were kids, which is pretty common. They do traditional Nicaraguan dances.

When we got back to their house, we drank some cold sprite, which was so refreshing on this very hot day. Her husband went and picked up the cake and brought it in. We were shocked to see this cake.

It is beautiful, as you can see. Apparently, her aunt makes and sells cakes, so she knows how it’s done. Could we have been spoiled anymore today? We enjoyed the beautiful cake and then planned some lessons for this week (we had to do something professional after shopping and eating cake and ice cream). After the plans were set, and we hung out for awhile, she called her cousin, gave us a slice of cake to take to Jess, and her cousin took us back to San Juan in the taxi. We definitely felt like we were living the life today, and then realized we were still poor Peace Corps volunteers living in a humble town. I love it though. It was a nice break today, but what really was fun was going to Jess’ house after and hanging out with her, sharing funny stories from the day, and then coming back to my house and watching Friends together. I love our San Juan group—we really have become good friends and I’m so happy to be with these wonderful girls.