So the wedding: she had specifically told me I had to stay in Wale on Saturday so I could dance at her wedding. How do you say no to that? So I did stay, and it was fun. The ceremony they had was really simple. They just sat down at a table in the living room with two witnesses and the officiator (what do you call them?). They were read some info about legally being married and the expectations involved, which are all about the same types of things they say at American weddings, that they must respect and love their partner for the rest of their lives, and stuff like that. They each had to stand up and raise their right hand as they replied "yes" to the contract. Then they were married! Real simple, short and sweet. They did give each other a little kiss at the end, but seemed embarrassed about it. I made sure to hoot and holler at them to make it a little more fun, since most people there were super quiet. Then the food was served, which was some delicious stewed beef with rice and a typical Nicaraguan salad of shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I felt kind of out of place just sitting around waiting for food, so I got up to help serve the plates of food to the rest of the party.
After eating, people were just kind of sitting around staring at each other while the music was blasting. It was obvious people wanted to dance but no one wanted to be the first one on the dance floor, including me. So we all just waited for something to happen. Then the groom came over to me and asked me to dance, which was a nice surprise, so we hit the dance floor while everyone starting really gathering around to see the gringa dance with the groom. I wasn't embarrassed, I was actually glad that someone did something to get the party started. I did some funny moves and people were laughing and the mood started to change a bit, and after that people started getting up to dance. Which basically meant that from that point on I was the hit of the dance party with all the men, who kept coming up after every single song to force their hand into my face to ask me to dance. It was a repeat of the "Nica dance party" I attended a month or so back. I couldn't sit down for one second without people bursting my personal bubble to ask me to dance. It was actually really annoying and I had to leave and hide in the kitchen a few times to get a break. Men are pushy here, and won't take no for an answer, at least when it comes to dancing. Don't worry, I won't get myself into any dangerous situations, if that previous statement sounded a little scary.
I had asked Esmeralda what a proper wedding gift was here in Nica, and she said dishes for the woman, which was expected I guess. We do that in the States too. So I bought her a set of white tea cups and plates with red flowers on them. She called me after the wedding to say thanks and that we would use them for Christmas Eve, which in Nica is a bigger day than Christmas Day, so she must have liked them. So overall the wedding was fun and I'm glad I stayed to be there to dance at her wedding.
So on Sunday I took the bus into Managua to spend some time at the Peace Corps office. We were all given reservations at the hotel there so the whole ag group stayed there and got to catch up a bit before starting the taller on Monday. We had to take an early bus to Diriamba since classes started at 8am. I arrived at my house right on time, but when I got there the lady of the house was on the phone, and I wasn't sure if it was the right house, so I just stood in the doorway like a dork until she would acknowledge me. Then all of a sudden she handed me the phone and said it was for me, which totally caught me off guard, but made me realize that I had indeed found the right house. The woman on the phone was the head language trainer telling me that Paige's home-stay family for the week had just had a death in the family, which was where we were going to have our classes, so we would have classes at my house instead. They also had to scramble to find another family for her to stay with. She ended up going back to her original family for training at the last minute. So when Ryan, the other person in my group, showed up to my house, it had at that point been decided by our language facilitator that we would have more space having class at his house instead of mine, so after he walked half way across town to get to my house, we all walked back to his house, and are now having classes there. So it was a crazy, confusing start to our first day of the taller, but it all figured itself out. And the house that he's staying in is actually really nice, very American in it's layout, which is a weird sight. The layout of the kitchen with the counter tops and the toaster oven and microwave and glass-paneled cabinets is not very Nica, but very American. The living room also has a nice formal sitting area of couches around a coffee table that faces the TV, also very American in appearance. Plus, the master bedroom has a big plasma TV, which is so not typical of the setup in Nicaragua. She's got a nice place!
The house I'm currently staying in is much different than the past house. I prefer the setup of the past house, to be honest. I was super spoiled with my wireless internet, private bathroom and bedroom in the back of the private patio. In my current house, the bedroom walls don't reach the ceiling, so there's absolutely no sound barrier to the rest of the house. It has been raining a ton here in Diriamba for the past few months, which means it's hard to do laundry since nothing dries when it's rainy. And I think the bedding they had to wash for me for this week didn't dry all the way, so my bed smells like mold and mildew, especially the pillows. I couldn't sleep on them they're so bad, so I make-shifted a pillow from an extra blanket I found and my sweatshirt. The one bathroom of the house shares a wall with my room, and also has no ceiling, so EVERYTHING can be heard while you're on the john, which is terrible when you have really bad diarrhea, like I do right now. I got sick with something yesterday and woke up at 3am having to run to the bathroom more than once before getting up for the morning. I was super nauseous and thought I was going to throw up, but never did, so I just felt terrible all morning lying in bed trying to fall asleep again. Plus, I've got the sulfer-burps, which means I probably have giardia. Yuck. I called the med office and they had me drop off a stool sample at the local lab. Trying to poop in a cup without crapping on your hand is a disturbing experience, let me just say, and virtually impossible as well. So that was fun. I still haven't heard back the results, however, so I guess tomorrow I'll see what kind of remedy of pills they'll subscribe me.
Well, I've gotta go eat some dinner with the new fam, so I'll cut this short here. Love and miss you all!
~Sarah~
Giardia, that sucks! I hope you feel better REAL soon!!!
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