#10 Mi Familia

When I first arrived, my host mom, Elba, was traveling home from her sister’s home in Belize. Therefore, I didn’t have that warm motherly greeting that mothers are gifted with for my first two days here. When she did arrive, she immediately turned my room into a bedroom, put up my mosquito net around my bed, cleaned the floor, and the food tasted better (kidding, Luis has skills in the kitchen too). Men are men no matter what country you are in.

My host dad, Luis, is a serious bro. He doesn’t have a serious bone in his body and I have learned to think the opposite of anything he tells me. His jokes coupled with my little Spanish make me a constant source of entertainment for friends, visiting family, and most of all Luis himself. He is a short man, like myself, but easily has an extra 40 pounds on me and enjoys showing off how skinny he actually is.

My host mom is a real sweetheart. She is maybe 5 feet tall and is such a joyous and caring person. She is always asking me if I need anything, if I want more of anything, how is the food, etc… I appreciate it so much as it really makes me feel like I’m at home.

I’m pretty sure that the Peace Corps just found the Nicaraguan replicas of my real parents. I miss you <3

I have two brothers: 5-year-old Orlando and 9 year-old Emanuel. If they’re awake, they want to play, go somewhere, or do something. I gave them a NY Yankees baseball as a gift and they always want to throw it around. Same goes for the frisbee I brought with me. They had never seen a frisbee before, called it a plate (“Plato”), and had no idea how to handle this foreign object. Emanuel loves the deck of playing cards I brought and I have taught him and his buddies ‘Go Fish’ (Va Pescado) and ‘Spit’ because those are the only two games I can remember playing as a kid. If you can think of any others, please remind me. Orlando is a character, always wrecking havoc and earning his name of “chico malo” (bad boy). I have nick named him doofus and he’s been getting a kick out of it. My two brothers sometimes just wait for me to open my door at which point I always getting a big hug and the games begin. 

I put up pics in my room with of my real family and friends from home. They are a hit here because photographs are very very rare because they are expensive. Everyone that comes by wants to hear details about each one. They especially love the ones of my dog Riley dressed up and sporting pink shades.