10 Charming Oddities of My Day-to-Day Life in Masaya, Nicaragua

There are some things when you live in a different place that strike you as just damn odd. Masaya, Nicaragua is no exception.

However, I've noticed that with a little time -- I've been here now almost 3 years -- I've come to appreciate some of these "oddities."

Here is my list of "charming" oddities (in no particular order):

     1) "Thank you" means "no thank you" (more often than not).

     2) The hairstylist washes your hair AFTER they finish cutting it.

     3) There are stop signs at the intersections with traffic signals.

     4) You are a gringo even if you don't come from the United States.

     5) Nicaraguans drink instant coffee even though ground Nicaraguan coffee is excellent.

     6) The taxi driver will pick up more passengers while enroute to your destination (and will sometimes drop them off before you!)

     7) The taxi driver will take you with him to buy gas, without asking.

     8) It doesn't cost anything to receive cellular phone calls.

     9) EVERYONE has a cell phone. (See #8)

     10) Obituaries via loudspeaker. Huh? Yep, it's true. I couldn't believe my ears the first time. Here in Masaya the tradition is to announce the death of your loved ones via loudspeaker on a slowly moving vehicle.

Celebrate the differences!

Paying More

How would you feel if the gardening service (or, for you Canadians, snow-shovelling service) charged you $75 and charged the neighbor $50 . . . and your yard (errr, sidewalk) was bigger?

I don't think you would like it too much. Well that happens here to me in Nicaragua.

Not always.

Not everyday.

But it happens.

I call it paying "el precio gringo" (gringo price).

It used to really bother me and I'd get really worked up about it -- especially if it something as blatant as paying a higher fare on a bus when the person sitting right beside you is paying less.

You could say it is a fact of life for me here in Nicaragua. What's a person to do?

I break it down this way. When it comes to personal expenses I have learned to accept the idea. They probably have the idea that "gringos" have more money and can afford to pay more. Guess what? Generally speaking, they are right and I can't argue with the logic.

It gets a little more complicated when it comes to BECA. I still get annoyed when "they" want to charge the BECA Foundation more for stuff just because we are a North American organization. Now we are talking about the money of donors. Moreover, we are talking about money that goes to helping Nicaraguans! Geez.

Here is a summary of my "paying more" strategy:

BECA stuff: Fortunately, we have Antonio. I stay away from negociations in the hopes that they not realize a "gringo" is involved. Sometimes it makes a difference.
Walter stuff: Pay the "precio gringo." And smile.

The BECA Brigade

This "community service as a brigade" idea is working out pretty good so far for BECA. It works like this:

1. A community project is recommended -- either by a student or by BECA administration. 
2. Some planning is done by BECA coordinator Antonio Rodriguez.
3. Invitations are sent to the current crop of technical career students.
4. The day arrives and, voila, something like this happens:

Why are these People Smiling?

You might recognize these seven Nicaraguans. They are famous for us here at BECA.

Why, you ask? Well for one, they are the home page "face" of BECA

More important than that, however, is that they are the first. The first to apply for technical career scholarships through BECA. The first to be sponsored. The first to finish their technical career course of studies.

And NOW . . . the first to begin their three-month apprenticeships: Manuel, Sorania, Maribel, Elvis - Tourism; Kenia, Francis - Secretary; Claudia - Executive Chef.

We are extremely grateful to these "Magnificent Seven" for growing with us; for being patient with us as we tried new things; for helping us nurture the "second" batch of applicants; and for hanging in there and finishing their course of studies.

Now, as they get their first taste of the "real world" we can't help but feel extremely proud of them.

The goal of BECA is that our scholarship recipients ultimately get jobs. Now they are another step closer.

Jesús is Gone

He is bright. He is articulate. He has loads of personality.

Jesús is Jesús David Flores. He received a scholarship through BECA to study Accounting and started in February. After two months, Jesús has called it quits and has withdrawn from his studies.

Jesús is the first BECA student to withdraw from technical career studies this year.

Why? Jesús told us that he had to go to work to help out his Mom, who is going through a hard time.

We've mentioned before in this space that life in Nicaragua can be complicated and for many a post-secondary education is a big luxury. The issue is the opportunity cost of not contributing to the family household financially.

As a result, we realistically expect that Jesús won't be the last student to quit BECA this year.

All, however, is not lost. BECA will apply the balance of his scholarship to another student "in need." And, 47 other students remain active (for now).

Nevertheless, it sucks to see such a promising young person quit.

BECA wishes Jesús the very best. Thanks for giving it a shot.

BECA Course One - Version 2010

BECA Course One 2010 started this week with 24 (mostly) excited young people.

[Quick refresher: Course One is a three month proving ground for the BECA program. Every student who wants to receive a scholarship to study a technical career has to "show their stuff" in Course One.]

What is my first impression of this group? It is impossible for me to say. In the past I've been wrong about students so many times, I've quit counting (and stopped guessing).

I'm quite curious how this group will turn out though because we used only word-of-mouth to attract students. That is, pretty much all of the students were referred by a Course One graduate.

Stay tuned.

Salvador Cardenal ,QEPD

Two questions: 

1. Who is Salvador Cardenal? 
2. What does the "QEPD" after his name mean?

Salvador Cardenal was a Nicaraguan singer and songwriter, born in 1960. He often sang with his sister, Katia. They formed a group, Dúo Guardabarranco, 30 years ago.

He is very special to BECA because we use one of his songs, Dias del Amar, as the background music in our student profile videos. (See example here.)

I fell in love with the song the first moment I heard it, and it was always my intention to ask him one day if it was okay if we continued to use the song.

Sadly, Salvador Cardenal died earlier this month, after years of struggling with a rare blood disease.

I had the miraculous good fortune of seeing him perform three songs with his sister in February. I suspect it was his last public performance because he didn't look very well.

On that special Granada evening, the last song Katia and Salvador performed was Dias del Amar.

Salvador Cardenal, Que En Paz Descanse.
Salvador Cardenal, Rest in Peace.