Nicaragua: 93 million miles from the sun
I expected to experience reverse culture shock. I expected to be overwhelmed by reuniting with family and friends. I expected that the time would fly by ever-so-quickly. Perhaps a blog post will help me process what happened during the past few weeks while on vacation back home in Minnesota.
The first weekend of the trip consisted of my brother's wedding and accompanying activities; the last weekend involved the wedding of one of my best friends. In between there were dinner dates, bike rides, baseball games, ice cream snacks, shopping, and all the fun that is central Minnesota.
Now let's talk a bit about what struck me as different...whether angering, pleasing, or simply different in an observational kind of way.
One of the first ordinary objects I saw which immediately seemed outrageous in my mind (and even made me a little bitter) was the lawn sprinkler. Vibrantly-colored green grass pleases my eye as much as the next person, may that not be misunderstood. However, using a lawn sprinkler means there is extra water available to shower over the outside ground of one's home. My perspective on the matter has changed after living through a three-month period in which no rain fell and the well ran dry, amounting to limited bathing and lots of discomfort. Every drop of water has become precious to me, and therefore every lawn sprinkler user should sing a little song of gratitude every time he or she connects the hose to a water source and precipitation starts pouring down like magic.
Another difference between here and there involves outdoor exercise. My peak running days have long passed, but that did not stop me from enjoying a few outdoor jogs in which cars stopped to let me cross the street first, dogs did not chase me (I did receive one bark, but that was it), and people did not even think twice about a person going for a jog through town. I had also forgotten what it was like to ride on a paved bicycle trail. For the record, it is beyond luxurious.
Pet groomers, puppy spas, and cat toys exist? Wait, you mean some people treat their pets the same as/better than human beings? That's different.
Minnesotans truly do check the weather forecasts on an hourly basis and keep it as one of the first items mentioned in any conversation. Now, you must be wondering how my body reacted to the weather difference from Central America to the Upper-Midwest. Moving furniture and boxes into my brother and sister-in-law's new house on a 90-degree day was a piece of cake, meanwhile watching a baseball game on a 63-degree evening required me to wear a long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, the lining of a winter jacket, cover myself in two blankets, and put on a pair of thin gloves.
While perusing the aisles of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, respectively, I realized three things about food in the U.S.: 1. Pre-packaged food is the norm. If it's not pre-made and ready to pop in the microwave or "just add water," why bother? 2. Products come from literally all over the world and there is absolutely no lack of variety. 3. Coconut products, including coconut flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and coconut nectar are all the rage. Most of those products come from Thailand, Indonesia, or other places in Southeast Asia, and the reason this caught my attention is because Nicaragua has high potential for the production and sales of these items, but is just starting to tap into the coconut oil industry.
Thank you, Minnesota, for allowing me to view you through my anthropological lens these past few weeks.
It was nice to be spoiled for a brief moment, and I will miss the "comforts" of home during my final 10 months of service. The time is going to fly by, however, as there are lots of projects to check off the To-do List between now and then. Here's to continued piano lessons, more conversations at Cafe Caribe, this year's series of National Business Plan Competitions, taking the GRE, applying to grad school, another summer Leadership Camp, hosting more visiting friends, and appreciating all that this experience has left to offer.
The first weekend of the trip consisted of my brother's wedding and accompanying activities; the last weekend involved the wedding of one of my best friends. In between there were dinner dates, bike rides, baseball games, ice cream snacks, shopping, and all the fun that is central Minnesota.
Now let's talk a bit about what struck me as different...whether angering, pleasing, or simply different in an observational kind of way.
One of the first ordinary objects I saw which immediately seemed outrageous in my mind (and even made me a little bitter) was the lawn sprinkler. Vibrantly-colored green grass pleases my eye as much as the next person, may that not be misunderstood. However, using a lawn sprinkler means there is extra water available to shower over the outside ground of one's home. My perspective on the matter has changed after living through a three-month period in which no rain fell and the well ran dry, amounting to limited bathing and lots of discomfort. Every drop of water has become precious to me, and therefore every lawn sprinkler user should sing a little song of gratitude every time he or she connects the hose to a water source and precipitation starts pouring down like magic.
Another difference between here and there involves outdoor exercise. My peak running days have long passed, but that did not stop me from enjoying a few outdoor jogs in which cars stopped to let me cross the street first, dogs did not chase me (I did receive one bark, but that was it), and people did not even think twice about a person going for a jog through town. I had also forgotten what it was like to ride on a paved bicycle trail. For the record, it is beyond luxurious.
Pet groomers, puppy spas, and cat toys exist? Wait, you mean some people treat their pets the same as/better than human beings? That's different.
Minnesotans truly do check the weather forecasts on an hourly basis and keep it as one of the first items mentioned in any conversation. Now, you must be wondering how my body reacted to the weather difference from Central America to the Upper-Midwest. Moving furniture and boxes into my brother and sister-in-law's new house on a 90-degree day was a piece of cake, meanwhile watching a baseball game on a 63-degree evening required me to wear a long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, the lining of a winter jacket, cover myself in two blankets, and put on a pair of thin gloves.
While perusing the aisles of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, respectively, I realized three things about food in the U.S.: 1. Pre-packaged food is the norm. If it's not pre-made and ready to pop in the microwave or "just add water," why bother? 2. Products come from literally all over the world and there is absolutely no lack of variety. 3. Coconut products, including coconut flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and coconut nectar are all the rage. Most of those products come from Thailand, Indonesia, or other places in Southeast Asia, and the reason this caught my attention is because Nicaragua has high potential for the production and sales of these items, but is just starting to tap into the coconut oil industry.
Thank you, Minnesota, for allowing me to view you through my anthropological lens these past few weeks.
It was nice to be spoiled for a brief moment, and I will miss the "comforts" of home during my final 10 months of service. The time is going to fly by, however, as there are lots of projects to check off the To-do List between now and then. Here's to continued piano lessons, more conversations at Cafe Caribe, this year's series of National Business Plan Competitions, taking the GRE, applying to grad school, another summer Leadership Camp, hosting more visiting friends, and appreciating all that this experience has left to offer.
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