Street Scenes

Without having the luxury of photographic support, here are a couple of observations from the streets here in Jinotepe:

Cambistas:
Yesterday afternoon, Austin, one of the GC students, helpfully showed us the way to the main market where we could change our American dollars into the Nicaraguan cordoba at one of the many 'cambistas' that station themselves at the street corners. These men stand with large wads of cash in their hands, often waving the bills at passersby as they solicit business. 22.5 cordobas buy you one American dollar so you can imagine that changing money can lead to very full wallets.

Funeral Observances:
As a couple of us were returning from the afternoon lecture (Goshen students study Spanish in the morning and then often have an afternoon lecture on a variety of subjects), we noticed a procession passing a few blocks ahead. In place of our kind of limo-hearse, there was a small pick up truck with a coffin placed in the back. It processed through the streets slowly as the mourners followed behind on foot.

Whistles in the night:
Our first two nights in the country were quite quiet and pleasant. Nicaraguans have a penchant for fireworks so other than occasional blasts sounding off, the night has not been too noisy. Last night however, our attempts at falling asleep were interrupted by shrill whistles from out on the street. These whistles would continue for a number of blasts followed by silence until another round of blasts sounded again. When I looked out the window, I saw what looked like our hotel's night security guard pacing the street with a rifle slung over one shoulder and a whistle in his mouth. After a number of sleepless hours, I finally made my way downstairs around 1:30 a.m. and I guess the hotel staff asked him to stop because thankfully silence soon followed. I'm hoping for a quieter night tonight!