I have not been all over Latin America, nor have I been to many third world countries, so I am not certain if these things are limited to Nicaragua or not, but these are things that stick out in my mind as quite different than the US.
1) Instead of throwing their garbage in a garbage can they throw it on the ground. When there is a sufficient amount they sweep it into a pile and burn it.
2) Spitting is something that they do inside or outside. I have seen old women in a rocking chair hock and spit on her dirt floor. In bars here men will regularly spit on the tile floor, this goes for restaurants too.
3) The main form of transportation here is pick-up truck. The object of the game seems to be how many people they can fit into the thing.
4) Hitch Hiking is an approved form of getting around this country. It has offered me some of the most beautiful rides, but slightly frightening at times when passing on a one lane highway around curves.
5) Bicycles are also a main form of local transportation. It is not uncommon to see an entire family of 4 people on a bike. Man peddling, woman holding a baby sitting side saddle on the cross bar and child on the rear wheel pegs.
6) Cockfighting is a Sunday, after church diversion.
7) Music here is a range of crappy 80’s music from the states or reggeton, which begins playing promptly at 4am, quite loudly.
8) Nicaraguan food mainly consists of beans, rice or anything fried.
9) Power and electricity is about as consistent as George Bush’s honesty.
10) Dogs here do not share the same privileges as they do in the states. They are rarely aloud to sleep indoors and have to fend for themselves among other territorial dogs lending to a lot of fighting. They are also not to be trusted to be friendly, it is not uncommon to have to pick up a rock and pretend to throw it at them to get them to stop charging.
11) Nicaraguans have an interesting culture of paying for dinner or bar tabs. If you ask them if they want to go out to dinner of for a drink you have to make it very clear that they have to pay for themselves and whoever else they decide to bring, otherwise you are stuck paying the tab.
12) They have a fascination with fireworks, but only the huge bottle rockets they call “bombas” which they blow off at any religious service, during prayer, after prayer, every 30 seconds when there is a street parade or pretty much any time they feel like it.
13) When walking down the street it is rude to ignore people, so the greeting is “adios” meaning “good bye”. To be honest I might implement this in the states, it is a great way to end a potential unwanted conversation.
14) When an attractive woman is walking down the street men will hiss at them to let them know they are attractive “tsss tsss”, this is also done by Nicaraguan women who want to get the attention of a gringo guy.
15) The idea of distance is unimportant here, anywhere from 10 feet to 10 kilometers is termed as “aqui no mas” which means “here, no more”.
16) Peoples names here are quite difficult to learn since they have 4 names, two first and two last and they say them all when introductions are given. If I ask them what they want to be called they look at me like, “I just told you”. Add on to this nick names and I am thoroughly confused.
17) Men with large bellies like to pull their shirt above their pouch and go about their day. It is difficult for me to have a serious conversation with someone’s huge belly in my face.
18) Women here tend to be, let’s say well fed, they are certainly not self conscious about it since they wear shirts that only little children should wear leaving their curves to hang out.
19) In the more rural areas it is not uncommon to see a naked child running around.
20) The septic systems here apparently can not handle toilet paper, so every bathroom has a waste basket to put the paper. Enough said!
21) Political correctness here is not a word. They use very direct words to describe people. A light skinned person, or gringo is called a “chele” meaning “whitey”. A dark skinned person is called “negro” meaning “blackey”. An Asian person is called a “chena” or “Chinese” this really upsets most Asian people who are not from china. A larger person is called “gordo” or “fatty”. A person who is not attractive is called “feo” or “ugly”. As a twist of cultures, it is an insult to call someone “skinny”.
22) Dental Hygiene here is a problem. Many people have missing teeth and most have shoddy medal work done to keep their teeth from falling out.
23) There are two religions here, Christian or Evangelical. If you try to explain you are anything else they will never get it.
24) They are big on body language here. To point, they pucker their lips in the direction of what they are pointing at. If they don’t understand you they squint at you.
25) The idea of time here is unimportant. If you set a meeting for a specific time, it is expected that no one will show up until about 45 minutes after.
26) Women are also not shy about breast feeding in public. I have had several conversations with women, on a bus, in a line, during dinner making sure their child is well fed. When it gets a little odd is when the child is almost 2.
I am clearly not following my Compliment sandwich rule, but I can’t be perfect in every way.
