Nicaragua: All the kids, they dance
Dry, sugary cake and Coca-Cola. No Nicaraguan celebration is complete without it. It might not even be an exaggeration to say no Nicaraguan can go through their day without one and/or the other. I recently read an article which named Mexico as the top consumer of Coca-Cola worldwide, but I am guessing that Nicaragua doesn't fall far behind.
Whether the occasion be a birthday, a going-away party, or just your average weekday lunch, there seems to be a competition called, "who can consume the most empty carbohydrates in one sitting." Rice, white flour, and sugary soda top the dietary necessities here, mainly because they are readily available and affordable (yes, soda is often the same price or cheaper than purified drinking water).
I was surprised when I first moved to my community at the end of May to find that there did not appear to be a bakery in town. "Where do people buy their carbohydrates?" I wondered. Little by little I discovered the hidden places to go to buy my simple bread and cookies...the standard, dry baked goods to which the people here are accustomed.
Yesterday was my site mate and fellow volunteer's birthday, so of course a celebration was in order. Don't think we partied with dry cake and soda, however. To our luck a new bakery has opened up in town, and it gets even better: they make a stellar chocolate cake, leaps and bounds better than every other cake I have tasted in Nicaragua thus far. They even put an extra touch by making the cake special for the occasion.
As for our beverage choice to accompany the chocolatey goodness, we went with the classic H2O. My site mate's host mother thought our choice to drink water with the chocolate cake was ridiculous, so she went out to buy a large bottle of soda to share. We, on the other hand, found the water to be quite satisfying.
Maybe at my upcoming birthday celebration we can convince our Nica friends that water is an acceptable celebratory beverage. Cross your fingers.
Whether the occasion be a birthday, a going-away party, or just your average weekday lunch, there seems to be a competition called, "who can consume the most empty carbohydrates in one sitting." Rice, white flour, and sugary soda top the dietary necessities here, mainly because they are readily available and affordable (yes, soda is often the same price or cheaper than purified drinking water).
I was surprised when I first moved to my community at the end of May to find that there did not appear to be a bakery in town. "Where do people buy their carbohydrates?" I wondered. Little by little I discovered the hidden places to go to buy my simple bread and cookies...the standard, dry baked goods to which the people here are accustomed.
Yesterday was my site mate and fellow volunteer's birthday, so of course a celebration was in order. Don't think we partied with dry cake and soda, however. To our luck a new bakery has opened up in town, and it gets even better: they make a stellar chocolate cake, leaps and bounds better than every other cake I have tasted in Nicaragua thus far. They even put an extra touch by making the cake special for the occasion.
As for our beverage choice to accompany the chocolatey goodness, we went with the classic H2O. My site mate's host mother thought our choice to drink water with the chocolate cake was ridiculous, so she went out to buy a large bottle of soda to share. We, on the other hand, found the water to be quite satisfying.
Maybe at my upcoming birthday celebration we can convince our Nica friends that water is an acceptable celebratory beverage. Cross your fingers.
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