Nica Time...

If there's one thing that I've learned in my three weeks of training thus far, it's Nica time. Oh I'd heard stories about this "Nica time," but now I've seen it with my own eyes. In America, we've got phrases like "time is money" and "early bird gets the worm." Well, in Nicaragua, it's "hay mas tiempo que vida.." meaning "there's more time than life."

My host family is amazingly social and loves brining me along for the ride, so I've already gotten to attend a baby presentation at the church, a baby shower, a wedding, a open house for Ferany's school. I'll use the wedding for an example of what a Nicaraguan's perception of time is.... I read this beautiful wedding invitation saying the time and date.

As you can see, it was Saturday at 5pm... So I was questioning our attendance around 5:30 when everyone's still just chilling at the house. However, 6 pm rolls around and we start meandering down to the iglesia and lo and behold, everyones still standing outside the church! It was a beautiful wedding (and the first time I ever got to throw rice at the bride, which is really fun!) and ended with all the wedding guests piling into the back of a big farm truck which took us to the reception.

Anyways, things just don't start on time here. The 3:30 pm birthday party started at 4:30, so I'm starting to see a pattern of anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 and a half hours behind schedule. Once you just learn and accept the pattern, the better everyone is. As long as it's not my wedding, I think I'll manage.