Here's a throw-back assignment from earlier this semester (Cultural Incident #1): I always ask my abuela how she’s doing everyday. But I'll never forget the first time I asked her the standard “¿Cómo está?” It was some time during my first week in Managua when she responded with a soft sigh that literally translated into “102 years of living is how I feel.” It was a reponse that required just as much effort and life as it expended. But cultural incidents like these aren’t unique or fleeting - at least in this household. Given that I’m supposed to be the participant [View Full Entry]

---

---

Another older assignment (Cultural Incident #2): My skin has been feeling particularly brown lately. The last time I felt this brown, it was during Welcome Week at my first frat party at USC. But of course, the context is different now. Instead of being the only brown girl in a packed, sweaty room of drunk, white college kids (myself included in the drunken stupor), now I am one of the few minorities within a group of predominantly white students, dotting a sea of Nicaraguan brown. I can't remember the number of times I've been called "chinita." Not because there have been [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok all...so here it goes. I´ve been in Managua for about 5 days, and just thinking about all of the things that I need to get down in writing makes me want to explode - and for those who know me well, yes, it´s almost like an orgasmic explosion of shock and excitement. At any rate, the trip to Managua went really well. I was able to meet all of the other 19 American students at the airport, and by now I think that we´ve gotten over all of the awkwardness at the beginning (yes, I have made my bowel movements, [View Full Entry]

---

---