My Experience in Nicaragua

My experience in Nicaragua has been quite an experience. Whether it’s taking the bus, getting stranded in random locations, ordering a bean burrito, or attempting to cross the street, every day is packed with adventure for the happy blonde "gringa" that I am. At a party the other night, my other exchange-student friends were talking about their complete lack of culture shock. I cannot boast the same situation. Perhaps because I am an extremely nervous person, perhaps because I have not previously spent more than 3 weeks at a time in any country other than the U.S., or perhaps just because I’m the worst at hiding extreme terror, I seem to have suffered more culture shock than anyone else I know studying with ISEP.

There were many obstacles I had to overcome (and many more I still have to overcome) since being here. Buses were very difficult. I refused to take any by myself for a good two weeks at the beginning. I didn’t like how packed they are, and how everyone on the bus always looked at me like I had just crawled out of a spaceship. Yet, I am happily now taking buses like a pro. The Nica time is also something that took some getting used to. After being punctual for the first few weeks, I showed up to my nine o’clock at fifteen after this morning (the traffic was awful, another aspect of life here that is difficult to deal get used to), but I was early compared to others. Spanish is another thing that is very difficult for me because it is the second other thing I fear besides taking a bus. If I hate anything, I hate knowing I’m doing something very badly. And I speak Spanish very badly. I know that the only way to get better is to keep practicing, and I am improving marginally every day (I hope). The other real hardship I faced was my diet. I am a vegan (a very strict vegetarian who does not eat milk or eggs) and finding food to eat here has not been easy. As opposed to Nicaragua, in the United States there are plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, and products that cater specifically to those types of dietary restrictions. After a week of eating nothing but veggie sushi and granola bars, however, I discovered the burrito stand at school and the wonderfully delicious avocado sandwich. Adjusting to my new diet here has been hard, but very manageable.

That being said, I love it here! It is a beautiful place with the kindest, happiest, most accepting people that I have ever yet encountered. While it is mildly horrifying at times trying to deal with the many differences between this culture and my native one (most notably the lack of tasty vegan meat-substitutes, like Tofurkey), it is also very exhilarating and rewarding. I have made a lot of friends here who are pretty amazing and most everyone is helpful and accommodating (with the exception of some bus and taxi drivers) in spite of it being quite obvious by my appearance and by everything silly I do that I am not Nicaraguan. Sometimes people will come up and talk to me (many of them actually assume I am German), and ask me where I’m from and what I’m doing in Nicaragua. Often these people are children, and one time when (inevitably, this happens in every conversation with a child), I said something stupid like, “Repite, por favor. Mi español no es muy buena...” (my favorite phrase), the youngest child in the group looked at me and said, “Uno, dos, tres...” while holding up corresponding fingers. It was not very helpful, but super adorable! 

I am only one and a half months into this experience, but I can already tell it was a great decision to come to Nicaragua. Though it was (and still is!) difficult to adjust, I am finding the short time I have spent here is one of the most educational and beneficial things I have ever done for myself. I love my classes and my professors, my roommates and friends, and even all the crazy little things that mortified me not very long ago (like the bus and the cheek-kiss greeting). I am learning Spanish (very slowly) and learning about a culture vastly different from my own. There are really no words to describe how rewarding this experience has been so far. This article does my experience little justice. There are really know words to describe it, but I will try: I love Nicaragua!

- Tricia Lebkuecher