Es que la vida es más tranquila en Nicaragua

     The first time I visited Nicaragua, in 1999 when I was 7, I was in awe seeing the freedom kids had. They were running around in the streets, walking on their own, and going places without their parents! Of course, as a sheltered 7 year old I thought that was the best way a kid could grow up, and I begged my mom to let us live like that. But it takes more, I found out, than just having parents that are less strict. In the towns like Diriamba and Estelí (the ones I've spent most time in so far), most people know one another, everything is within walking distance, and there isn't too much danger (apart from younger folks stirring up small trouble maybe). Another thing is that folks take it easy. Bianca, the Spanish teacher I had, would argue that a lot of Nicaraguans are conformist and will settle for what they have instead of seeking out or demanding bigger and better things. But I think it's a wonderful thing that there is such tranquility around. The classic contrast is New Yorkers crowding the sidewalks rushing to and from work, or families that worry (or care) so much about money that they put more emphasis on  working than spending time with family or just relaxing. 

      My dad, for example, works all day and we hardly see him, but he has the goal of retiring in Nicaragua. "La vida es más tranquila en Nicaragua," (life is more calm in Nicaragua) Bianca and him agree. I like the calmer pace of life here, and I wonder if that's what is fueling my interest in recording Nicaraguan childhood stories while I'm here. I'm sure there are places or there were times just like the ones here back in the US, and I'd be interested in hearing those stories as well. But what's different in Nicaragua, I feel, is that the people don't get caught up in living a life ruled by money, and in the US, for some people, it is too easy to fall into that trap in which you work and work to afford or achieve something new but then there is always something else that comes up that you need to continue to work for, and it never ends.