A Nicaraguan Birthday Party

So yesterday was Joey's 12th birthday. I can't believe that this time next year I will officially have a teenager! I still think of him as that little toddler with the high pitched voice an large vocabulary with a "bopu" (pacifier) in his mouth. He's definitely growing up and it is really cool to see the young man he's becoming.

He started his day "opening" presents. They were in a plastic grocery bag from the mercado and wrapped in my sarong. It felt a little "Little House on the Prairie". He received two reading books (brought from home) a pack of Oreos, a package of shrimp flavored Top Ramen (something he'd been begging for which I told him I would never buy), a bottle of Rojita Fanta (soda) and a Hershey's Cookies n Cream bar (pop and candy bar were gifts that Bridget and Gus bought with their own money). Then we found out that we were invited to a birthday party tonight for the son of the Spanish School owner. Joey really wanted a piñata so we got a really sweet one for a 12 year old boy. It's a car that is supposed to be Lightening McQueen. Really it's a boxy sedan with yellow lightning bolts on the side and it has eyes. I guess that's artistic license for you. The other option for a small piñata was like a doll's head, which upon further reflection, Joey might have enjoyed hitting with a stick more. Most of the piñatas here are big ones because birthdays here are a big deal and they invite many kids. Dora the Explorer and Diego are really popular too. In Spanish Dora and Diego teach kids English. Kids who in the US would be considered too old for Dora or Diego still wear Dora shirts and have backpacks etc. But I digress. So since we had a party to go to at 6 we did Joey's piñata after lunch.

After lunch Joey got his "big" present, surfing lessons. Joe and Joey went to another beach about 20 minutes away and spend about 1 1/2 hours surfing. They both had a great time although they got banged up a bit as the beach was rocky. I was glad I didn't have to watch that.

They got home, we ate dinner, Joey's favorite thing that I can make in Nicaragua is cabbage salad with crumbled Top Ramen. Then we walked 2 miles to the birthday party.

The party took place in a 10' X 20' upstairs room. There were 18 adults and 35 kids in attendance. Can you imagine a piñata in a room that size with that many people? It was about as crazy as it sounds. It was like no birthday party I have ever been to. Musical chairs was hysterical and since the first round was played with tiny toddler sized plastic chairs, when the music stopped, everyone went for a chair enthusiastically and you could hear the chair legs crack! Before the cake was cut and Happy Birthday sung (they sang in English and a couple of other songs in Spanish) the party favors were handed out. Each child got a ball, a plastic basket and an assortment of goodies. Each of the 35 baskets had each child's name on them. There was a chicken fried rice sort of dish passed around with a piece of white bread on top, a cabbage slaw type of salad, fried plantains and fried cheese. Tons of food for lots of people. Click here to see a video of the party.

The party lasted for 3 hours at which point cake was finally served and everyone headed out rather quickly. The kids all had a fun time at the party and Joey even said that this was one of the best birthdays ever.

As we walked back home at 9:30 PM on one of the only evenings it hasn't rained in 3 weeks, Joey said he thinks he might be bored when we go back to the states. Wow, I know that isn't true but to think that my video game playing, TV watching, computer loving kid is so taken with life in Nicaragua was a bit surprising. It has been really nice to be forced to spend so much time together as a family. We don't all go off into our our rooms here and do our own thing. We don't even have Quiet Room Time (GASP!) but we do have time in the afternoon after lunch when they need to be quiet and let me lay on the hammock and read. We may do quiet room time when we get to another house but for now the current system is working. We seem to be spending good quality time together without stepping on each others toes.

In case anyone reads this and starts to get concerned that Joe and I are going to make this a permanent move, we are definitely planning on returning. We are enjoying our adventure but don't feel the need to make a permanent lifestyle change. We feel very blessed to be living within this culture and experiencing so many new things.