Nicaragua

 

Different is just different

I just got back from my second trip to Guatemala (which also included a couple of days in Nicaragua). This time, we were a smaller group and I travelled with a coworker who'd never been on our trips before, one who has lived in the US for ages but is natively from a Latin America country. And so she had some awesome insights. 

One day, as we were driving, she commented how much she liked the houses. Now, if you have always lived in the US, Latin America houses do not seem that impressive. But, she pointed out, those houses are built for security and US homes are built to look nice. She pointed out that her home would burn down in an instant and probably wouldn't survive an earthquake, unlike these Guatemalan homes. The Guatemalans build for security, not looks. 

I've never actually been inside one of their homes, and so I can't speak to the interiors, but I was grateful for that insight. I had always assumed that the difference in construction was a question of money and I'm grateful to have a better understanding now of what else is at play. 

It was also a reminder that I still sometimes see different and don't realize that I'm also making a value judgment. I see a home that doesn't look American/Western European and without even realizing it am thinking it's less than--less sturdy than, less quality than, less comfortable than, etc. Rather than just different than. Or, I attribute the difference to the wrong thing, like money or a poor economy or a disorganized government, without really knowing. Maybe the difference is much more practical: Central America is NOT the US, in climate, geography, and culture. What works here might literally be the dumbest option for there. 

I think the same thing applies not just in national differences, but in all sorts of things. And I hope I'm getting better at asking the right questions (like, why might it be different? What am I assuming without really understanding?) and remembering that different is value neutral. It's not inherently good or bad. It is just different. 

Here's to the lost socks

Today is National Lost Sock Memorial Day. Which, apparently, is the day to say good-bye to all the single socks you've been holding onto hoping their mate will pop up. Which sounds way easier than it actually is. 

First, what do I do with the extra socks? Just toss them in the trash? That just leads to guilt for tossing stuff into landfills, right? I guess I can use them for dusting. That could actually be good. One of my socks is a no-show ankle sock, and it would make a great dust rag. 

But, also, one of my lone socks is one of a pair of sloth socks, and I'm just not ready to give up on it yet. I know, it's silly, but it might show up! It's only been a couple of weeks and it may be in my room somewhere (it is possible. If you've seen the state of my room, you'd get it.)

And I guess that's why it's a memorial day, and not just a "get rid of those lone socks" day. Someone knew that it's not as easy as it seems to toss those extra socks. So today, take a moment to remember those lost socks, to wonder where they might be now (seriously! Will that mystery every be solved?!), and to let their mates go. 

Cozy mystery

On the way to pick up my niece from her dorm (and on the way back), I always passed Friendship Manor. 

Guys, it's a cozy mystery that writes itself.

"Everyone is friends at Friendship Manor. Or so it seems, until Lucy Harberden is found dead in her kitchen. As Inspector Gibbs investigates, he uncovers a trove of lies and duplicity. Friendship Manor is not the friendly building it seems."

It could also be an old friends plot--a bunch of old ladies, living life in Friendship manor a la Golden Girls. 

Or, a romance involving the building manager and one of the residents' kids or something like that. 

I mean, seriously. So many options. Friendship Manor, my friends.