La Purísima

As I sit here, on Sunday, I’m thinking back on the past couple days. I feel like I’ve been here at least a week if not longer already. Yesterday was a hectic day. I’ve been on more public buses the past few days than I was on during my four months in El Salvador. We had a health talk about the do’s and don’ts. Mom, don’t freak out but we drink water out of the tap. It’s heavily chlorinated in the city and actually tastes pretty good. I had my first market experience yesterday as well. We had so much to by because we have ten people in the house right now. The current second years aren’t leaving until the 19^th, entonces it is pretty crowded. The market was wild. You can get anything you want there. It’s kind of like Wal-Mart minus the huge-international-corporate-exploitation thing. And believe me you can still get that in Nica. One of the two “western” supermarkets is owned by Wal-Mart. You can’t escape it even here. So far the food has been good. We had enchiladas, rice and beans, eggs, and chi cha. This chi cha is much different than the chi cha of Peru. It is bright pink and very grainy. It is made of corn and is naturally sweet because of the corn syrup. We still don’t know where the bright pinkness of the drink comes from….

The church community we visited last night, Rene Cisneros, is awesome. It felt just like what I have imagined in a Christian Base Community. The priest, an exceedingly humble and kind Jesuit, helped create a great atmosphere for community and prayer. The church itself is simple and very welcoming.

I can’t write about my first days and not talk about the Purisima. This is the celebration of the Novena, and a celebration all over Nicaragua of the Virgin Mary. It is marked by constant firework explosions all week, and lots of singing. We attended a Purisima celebration yesterday at El Recreo. After singing everyone in attendance gets a small gift. We got a cup, candy, a sweet lemon, sugar cane, and chi cha. Tonight is the Gritaría.

We are planning to walk around the neighborhood, singing Purisima songs about Mary. It is kind of like Halloween because we get treats for singing. At midnight tonight, the night before the feast of the Immaculate Conception, there will be a finale of firework explosions all over the city. It is sure to be exciting. To be honest all the fire works and hullabaloo have been mildly overwhelming having just arrived.

Well, that’s all for now. Peace and happy Purísima!

An Image of Sandino from atop of Managua.
View of the city and Lake Managua.