This week I got to visit one of the nearby cities called Muy Muy. The professor who helps me with the soccer team is a professor at the agricultural institute in Muy Muy and he invited me to attend their version of field day. It was a celebration of world agriculture day and was jam packed with baseball games, volleyball, soccer, and basketball. I went with our town’s baseball team and I was excited to see another part of the country. As always it was a bumpy 2hr ride out there in the back of a flat bed truck. We were getting bounced around pretty bad and I am not quite sure my tail bone has fully recovered. Most of the team members are older, about my age or a few years older. There were 20 of us in the back of the truck and it is amazing how a bunch of guys can act. I figured it would be a quite ride since we were leaving so early, but I was way off. They were swinging from the side of the truck while we were going up what I thought were impassible roads. Of course the baseball gear was in the back with us and they were taking the bats to poke and hit each other with. It was pretty funny, but some of the jokes for them just don’t get old. A perfect example is one of the players hit an other in the butt with a bat. Of course everyone thought this was hilarious and for the next 1.5hrs this joke just got dragged on. One exciting part on the way there was that we got a flat tire, which if you saw the road would be shocked that there was only one flat tire. It took us about half an hour to replace the tire because the bolts were on so tight and it was just enough time for them to start a dirt ball fight.
Well when we finally did get to Muy Muy I got a nice tour around the facilities. It is a technical school for 3rd to 5th year high school students who want to go into farming or later become engineers. It was very well kept up and hosts about 400 students who live on the premises. I got to see their chicken coops, the dairy farm, and the new hydroponics rice field they are making. As for the baseball team, they got crushed 7-1 and I guess it was keeping up with their previous record as a site for sore eyes.
On the way back we again all piled into the back of the truck and luckily everyone seemed to be a little more tired. Yet, the butt hitting seemed to continue and was as hilarious to them as it was the first time. To make it worse we stopped so they could all go pick some jacote or small hard fruit’s the size of a large grape. Some were eaten but the majority turned into ammunition to be hurled at others in the back. I did partake in this and nailed a couple people in the head, but I got my fair share of hits as well to the head.
Even with all this excitement for one day, the most interesting part was when I got back to my house. I already had started my personal garden with the help of some of the neighborhood kids. I never solicited their help, but they just saw me in the backyard and came by because they were curious. I can’t condone child labor, but they did a great job breaking up my soil and picking out all the rocks. Well this night they came back over as soon as they saw me turn on the lights. I could hear a distant yell that “Jason ha llegado” and I knew I was going to be barraged by a group of little boys. Eight kids showed up and they were excited because the night before I told them if they brought milk we would cook flan together. Well in tow they had a liter of milk and we cooked two boxes of flan. This may seem like an insignificant step, but remember I am in a machismo culture and cooking is regarded as women’s work. They had a blast even if it was just stirring powder in with boiling milk.
Perhaps the funniest part is that it takes time for flan to set. The usual course of events at my house is that the kids come over, rummage through all my belongings, and look at the pictures I have up on the wall. I let them play checkers, Uno, or cards and it keeps them busy while I plan my lessons. Well tonight I let them look at some of my Popular Science and Car and Driver magazines. Given, the magazines are in English and they were more captivated by the pictures, but they were kind of reading the magazines; another rarity in Nicaragua.
Finally the flan had set and it was time to eat. They all loved it and I promised that we would cook pizza this upcoming week. I already got one of the kids to let me use his oven and another volunteered to buy all the supplies if we collect a small donation from each kid. They are super excited and it should be interesting to get them to do some more intensive cooking, who knows this could turn into a weekly activity with them. Now if only I can get them to ask permission before they come running through my front door and to get them to not touch all my things.
Finally the flan had set and it was time to eat. They all loved it and I promised that we would cook pizza this upcoming week. I already got one of the kids to let me use his oven and another volunteered to buy all the supplies if we collect a small donation from each kid. They are super excited and it should be interesting to get them to do some more intensive cooking, who knows this could turn into a weekly activity with them. Now if only I can get them to ask permission before they come running through my front door and to get them to not touch all my things.
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