The People I´ve Met
I´ve got a little secret. The truth of the matter is that I like living in a place much more than I like traveling through one. You get to know people, and over the course of my travels in the developing world I´ve enjoyed the feeling of having a routine, seeing the same people each day, and crafting a relationship with them. They aren´t friends, exactly -- I´ve made lots of Nica friends through my work and through other friends -- but these are people with whom I share an experience on an almost-daily basis, and it´s a joy for me to forge a relationship with them. Here are some of my favorite characters from my time living in León:
Flor de Maria:
Flor de Maria is the proprietor of a small fritanga around the corner from my house. She´s a middle-aged woman, a little thin, but always with a smile. I used to go to her a lot in February, the first month I was living in my new house. The food she makes is simply delicious. Her table is laid-out like a buffet: I always ate two spoonfuls of gallo pinto, three pieces of grilled beef in a tomato sauce; if I was feeling really hungry, I might have a pollo fritter. All really good. And cheap: My normal meal cost only C$12, which is unbeatable.
I was for a while her most devoted customer, and brought Harry with me a bunch too. But as time went on I started going there a little less often: The reasons were that I started cooking for myself in my kitchen, and then I started cooking a lot with my friends too. This left sometimes only one night a week to patronize Flor´s establishment. I felt a little like I deserted her, especially since she was sick and having a rough time. Flor works as hard as any person I´ve met: In addition to cooking for her fritanga each night, she cleans clothing in the morning to make a little extra money. We used to chat a lot, and I liked having a friendly face down the block. She´s an avid church-goer and used to speak often of her children. We tried to stop in whenever we could, but it was hard to know that she was struggling a bit these last few months.
Favio Vega:
Those who read my correspondence from India know how I appreciate a good barber. I need I can trust, someone friendly and capable, to cut my beard once a week. Favio Vega is that man. I first passed his shop on a run through a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of town. He did a good job, and was excited to meet me because I could help him with his English. So I came once a week for a shave and taught him a few words and corrected his pronunciation of those he knew at the same time. He so appreciated the help that he only charged me C$10 for a shave instead of the usual rate, C$25. Very friendly guy and a good barber too.
Veronica:
Veronica is my favorite lady who makes frescoes in the market. Obviously, this alone makes her very important to me. She always asks me how I´m doing and we chat a little. She also gets excited for me if she has melón fresco for me that day because she knows I like it. One day we sat down together and made a list of all the possible frescoes and talked about her favorites. Even though I sometimes visit the other ladies if they have the flavors I like best, I am always sure to stop in and talk with Veronica as well.
Rudy:
Rudy is the Internet guy at the Casa de Cultura, where they have the best rates in town. Since I work there, it´s pretty convenient for me. He´s always got a friendly greeting and I enjoy seeing him.
The old lady at La Buena Cuchara:
This lady cooks up the best food in town everyday for lunch. The fish, frijoles, and frescoes are outstanding. In addition, she´s one of the sweetest characters in the city, always with a smile and a bit of conversation. Also, a couple of times I haven´t had the correct change and she´s let me pay the next day. It is just nice to go to a quiet place between work, sit in the quiet garden, and eat delicious food. It´s always nice to see her.
The ladies at the Green Door Comedor:
These sisters own a very nice establishment not far from my house. When I wasn´t eating lunch at La Buena Cuchara, I ate here. They had a good variety, and lunch came with a free fresco. Most of all, they always had a smiley greeting and chided me for being absent. During my last week in León, I popped in for lunch and to say goodbye to them. The sisters insisted on a picture: First one of the two of them, then one of them and me, then the other of me and then. But when this second sister went to take the photo, she held the camera the wrong way and took a photo of herself instead while we watched!
Guadelupe:
Guadelupe is a small lady who walks around León selling bags of cookies. She makes a daily route that includes the market, the Quetzal Trekkers house, and Via Via; this means I´m bound to run into her several times a week. She´s got one of the hardest jobs in the city, I think, but always is in good spirits, waving her bags of cookies and carrying her bucket on her arm. Luckily, some of my friends like the cookies and she sells to them. Even though I don´t like them that much and thus don´t usually buy them, I always say hi to her.
Flor de Maria:
Flor de Maria is the proprietor of a small fritanga around the corner from my house. She´s a middle-aged woman, a little thin, but always with a smile. I used to go to her a lot in February, the first month I was living in my new house. The food she makes is simply delicious. Her table is laid-out like a buffet: I always ate two spoonfuls of gallo pinto, three pieces of grilled beef in a tomato sauce; if I was feeling really hungry, I might have a pollo fritter. All really good. And cheap: My normal meal cost only C$12, which is unbeatable.
I was for a while her most devoted customer, and brought Harry with me a bunch too. But as time went on I started going there a little less often: The reasons were that I started cooking for myself in my kitchen, and then I started cooking a lot with my friends too. This left sometimes only one night a week to patronize Flor´s establishment. I felt a little like I deserted her, especially since she was sick and having a rough time. Flor works as hard as any person I´ve met: In addition to cooking for her fritanga each night, she cleans clothing in the morning to make a little extra money. We used to chat a lot, and I liked having a friendly face down the block. She´s an avid church-goer and used to speak often of her children. We tried to stop in whenever we could, but it was hard to know that she was struggling a bit these last few months.
Favio Vega:
Those who read my correspondence from India know how I appreciate a good barber. I need I can trust, someone friendly and capable, to cut my beard once a week. Favio Vega is that man. I first passed his shop on a run through a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of town. He did a good job, and was excited to meet me because I could help him with his English. So I came once a week for a shave and taught him a few words and corrected his pronunciation of those he knew at the same time. He so appreciated the help that he only charged me C$10 for a shave instead of the usual rate, C$25. Very friendly guy and a good barber too.
Veronica:
Veronica is my favorite lady who makes frescoes in the market. Obviously, this alone makes her very important to me. She always asks me how I´m doing and we chat a little. She also gets excited for me if she has melón fresco for me that day because she knows I like it. One day we sat down together and made a list of all the possible frescoes and talked about her favorites. Even though I sometimes visit the other ladies if they have the flavors I like best, I am always sure to stop in and talk with Veronica as well.
Rudy:
Rudy is the Internet guy at the Casa de Cultura, where they have the best rates in town. Since I work there, it´s pretty convenient for me. He´s always got a friendly greeting and I enjoy seeing him.
The old lady at La Buena Cuchara:
This lady cooks up the best food in town everyday for lunch. The fish, frijoles, and frescoes are outstanding. In addition, she´s one of the sweetest characters in the city, always with a smile and a bit of conversation. Also, a couple of times I haven´t had the correct change and she´s let me pay the next day. It is just nice to go to a quiet place between work, sit in the quiet garden, and eat delicious food. It´s always nice to see her.
The ladies at the Green Door Comedor:
These sisters own a very nice establishment not far from my house. When I wasn´t eating lunch at La Buena Cuchara, I ate here. They had a good variety, and lunch came with a free fresco. Most of all, they always had a smiley greeting and chided me for being absent. During my last week in León, I popped in for lunch and to say goodbye to them. The sisters insisted on a picture: First one of the two of them, then one of them and me, then the other of me and then. But when this second sister went to take the photo, she held the camera the wrong way and took a photo of herself instead while we watched!
Guadelupe:
Guadelupe is a small lady who walks around León selling bags of cookies. She makes a daily route that includes the market, the Quetzal Trekkers house, and Via Via; this means I´m bound to run into her several times a week. She´s got one of the hardest jobs in the city, I think, but always is in good spirits, waving her bags of cookies and carrying her bucket on her arm. Luckily, some of my friends like the cookies and she sells to them. Even though I don´t like them that much and thus don´t usually buy them, I always say hi to her.
posted by Hayden @ 1:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home