Cultural Adjustments - Part I

 

As our training is wrapping up, Peace Corps asked us to reflect on three cultural adjustments we had made since arriving in Nicaragua. The paragraphs below are expanded versions of what I turned in to Peace Corps. I liked this assignment a lot and plan to continue it. Therefore, I think this is just a first shot at writing about the ways life in Nicaragua differs from life in the States.

The dog with the saddest eyes in the world anticipates the chicken bone I'll toss him.

1.     In the USA I’m a bit of a “foodie”. I like to cook, I like eating out, I seek out culinary experiences like finding a new, interesting restaurant, and, at times, I read about food and watch food shows on TV. Food for me is a social activity, a form of entertainment, and a kind of self-expression. None of that applies in the Nicaraguan context. In my host family, food is just about sustenance. Neither variety nor uniqueness is valued. What counts is eating something familiar – rice and beans, tortillas, chicken, cheese, eggs - and getting full. Eating the same basic foods many times a week is fine. Also food is not a social event. Typically, in my household, no one sits down to a meal together. People get handed a plate, at a time convenient for them and the cook, and they concentrate on eating. (Often I have conversations while I’m eating, but usually I’m the only one eating.) So, I have adjusted to a very different set of cultural norms about food and eating. (And I love Nicaraguan food!)

The family I’m living with is better off than the majority of Nicaraguan families. Peace Corps pays for my food, but everyone in my extended household eats three meals a day. For the country as a whole and especially in the rural areas, this is not the case.

This is Pedro's attire around the house, but he doesn't go out without an ironed shirt and jeans and his boots.

2.     I have modified my dress and grooming to meet Nicaraguan cultural norms. I am a very casual dresser, especially during hot weather. My summer uniform in the USA is a tee shirt, gym shorts, and flip-flops. Here, this is fine around the house. In fact, usually, the men don’t bother with shirts at all. However, away from home, Nicaraguans dress up. Back in the States, if the temperature was in the nineties and I was going somewhere without air conditioning, it wouldn’t occur to me to wear long pants, a collared shirt and closed shoes. However, I have adopted “business casual” dress for any professional activities, including language classes, charlas, and meetings. I also follow the lead of my hosts. If the father in my host family, Pedro, puts on pants and a shirt, I do too. Reyna, the mother in my host family, feels free to tell me if my dress is too casual.

Great importance is put on personal hygiene. I typically take two showers a day just because it is a way to cool off, but Nicaraguans are always clean and groomed. In the larger cities there is a small contingent of punk, intentionally disheveled kids, but this is far from the norm.

Wilma, me and Brigit.

3.     I have adjusted to being taken care of by domestic employees. It has been years since somebody cooked for me, washed my close, or cleaned my room. In the USA, Deb and I share household responsibilities in a fluid way that emphasis equality. We hire some work done in our home, but these are contracts for very specific jobs and the contract is strictly an economic one. In my host family there are two domestic employees who are very much part of the social structure of the house. In many ways they are family members, but with a lower socio-economic status. These women, Wilma and Bridget, take care of me. I think it is a significant part of their responsibility. It seems to me that it is important to them to do this and do it well. They are very warm and welcoming to me and seem genuinely concerned about my wellbeing. I think that the thing for me to do is graciously accept this care and let them know that I appreciate it.