Alison openly ponders her ability to accept the culture here, for good. And for this culture to accept her.
"It's different here. The men - there is a lot of machismo - see, I have lots of male friends here, but they are just friends. Back in the states, we have friends of the opposite sex. That doesn't exist the same way in this country. So guys view me suspiciously. They will say, 'what are you doing hanging around him.' I will say, 'he's just a friend.' If I would marry a Nicaraguan, everything would change. I had to teach a Nicaraguan how to use a washing machine the other day. They don't know how to do it. If I would live here, I would have to learn how to do it by hand. Can I imagine myself doing that? I don't know."
She recounts working as a real estate translator. "Americans will come down here and buy up property, some of them don't want to learn the language. They say, why do I have to learn the language to buy property. It’s just a hassle to them." She talks about the type of American who ends up staying down here, who fits in. “They become the culture.”
Alison finds a young guide to travel with us. We shake his hand. He says, “So you’re with Moon Guides, huh?”
Old Highways of Peten From Belize into the jungles of Northern Guatemala, we travel with redheaded triplets who insist our theories about the Mayan past are all wrong.
The Howling Coast From the isolated Pacific Coast of Nicaragua to its bustling center.
Granada Libre Nicaragua from its tourism mecca, and the choices it faces as it enters a brave new world.
Jungle in the Sky A walk in the Nicaraguan volcanic cloud forest of Mombacho with an odd cast of characters.
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