Nicaragua: Perhaps my heart is farce

Another school day had ended. The students were packing up their belongings, rearranging their desks, tidying up the classroom, and anxiously bolting for the door to run home and eat lunch. Meanwhile us teachers stuck around for a while and spent a few minutes shooting the breeze, as per usual. We like to reflect on how that day's class had gone, plan ahead for the next class, teach each other new words and phrases in each other's languages, and talk about culture. On this day in particular one of my counterparts had an interesting question for me.

"What do you not like about the Nicaraguan culture?" he asked with a curious smile.

"Profe, I'm not sure we should talk about that right now..." I hesitated. Lying in order to "save face" is always the better option here when faced with such a question. Being bluntly honest oftentimes leads to bad consequences.  

"Come on," he pressured. "You don't have to worry. Just tell me."

I paused with my breath held for a few moments more, then decided to let the truth come out. "I don't like Nicaraguan men." 

Our proceeding conversation was an interesting but good crossroads of two different perspectives; a dialogue I wish I could have with more men here. It is perhaps inaccurate to make a general statement that I dislike all Nicaraguan men. My fellow male teachers and I are successfully able to maintain professional relationships. It is extremely accurate, however, to say that the machista (or male-dominated) culture and I do not get along. A daily reality for me, other female volunteers here, and Nicaraguan women included is that we receive a whole lot of unwanted attention just for being physiologically female. Such attention reduces us women to mere collector's items for the unfaithful, "dominant" man to conquer.

Countless hours of girl talk have led me to the conclusion that none of us appreciate being whistled at while walking down the street or being called any combination of princess, doll, and/or my love by the Nicaraguan man. It is truly befuddling to me how a guy here could think that he is going to receive good feedback from such behavior. 

Take the following experience, for example: The other day I was boarding the bus and asked the driver what time it was going to leave. I thought it was a simple question but, "You have beautiful eyes," was the response I received. "That doesn't answer my question," my sassy self responded back without missing a beat. 

Many more stories on the same topic could be and will be shared, but I will save them for another day. In the short term it will be impossible for us to change an entire culture of machismo, but that does not mean we are unable to make even a small difference. Conversations with my male counterparts and students will be my beginning strategy. Progress reports to be continued...