May 2002: Leaving Nicaragua after so many years it has long since felt like home to me. After such a long and lovely stay, and wondering when it is I'll return to this place I love so much, I'm intensely aware of how much I'll miss.
Here's just a taste of it:
- Sense of humanity, connection, personality, 'confianza'
- That pervasive, brute sexuality: a flowered skirt, a blouse tight against the hip, a touch of lace, long hair flowing down over smooth, muscular skin, that strong femininity
- soft, flowery fabrics
- affection, touching, cariño
- People still dress up, the concept of your 'Sunday best' still exists, and for a reason
- A nation, a people, a culture that still makes the best use possible of the little it has: cobblers, tailors, guys who fix electronics, not to mention the intense recycling that goes on in the countryside
- A people that still pays attention to its children, 'padres orgullosos' carrying their little ones around on their shoulders or the handles of their bicycles
- The lack makes things easier to appreciate; scarcity leads to value
- The tropical colors, Latin architecture of open houses set around courtyards, patios full of palms, the ironwork, the openness of everything
And the list goes on and on ...
