天美麻豆

What are some quirky things that you have noticed; those things you only find when you go out on the streets and not in any encyclopedia or dictionary. What are things that you find amusing?

Here's some quirks and amusing things I've noticed:

* Point with the lips or a head tilt, as opposed to pointing with your finger which is generally 谤耻诲别听

* Scrunch your brow and nose quickly to say "what"

* Beckoning someone to come by either nodding your head down once or flicking your hand down-wards (don't do it with your pointer finger like North Americans normally do)

* "Idiey" along with the huge and growing list of caliche that you hear

*Phrases that if you translate make no sense but are part of everyday life here
聽 聽 que onda prix?
聽 聽->Matando la culebra <-
Como estas?
->De humo<-聽 ............................

* The accent: Drop the 's' and trade it for an 'h' sound. "Vamoh al cahtillo". Who needs an 's' anyway, right?

* Going to someone's house: instead of knocking on the door or saying "hola?" it's "Buenas! from the door or gate"

*Go to out to the boonies and you'll see a cute little but very respectful interaction between People and elders called the "santito".

*Words: know the difference!
Madre = mom or a respectful title for an older lady
Mamita = grandma
Mamacita = sexy thang

*The men at home wearing their button down shirts but only have the first few buttoned with their belly hanging out. That gets me every time and I suppose my husband will do that one day. My husband's grandpa does this :-P

* The men working outside will wear long sleeves and long pants. Didn't understand til later that it actually keeps them cooler and is an inexpensive form of sunscreen.

*Walmart in Managua聽 whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? It's just a glorified Pali anway

* Trying to learn Miskito or Mayagnas. Despite being in Nicaragua these native languages are not even close to Spanish. Uffdah!

*Managua traffic聽 Man if you can drive there, I think you'll make it anywhere! It's gotten way more congested since when I first went there in '04

*Girls hold each others' hands walking down the street because they're good friends. I have a few friends that do that with me.

*Lime is EVERYTHING.聽 I always gotta have some around for my Nica husband. His first question is almost always "do we have lime?"

*The ketchup! If you are like me and it's a common "seasoning" for things don't be fooled! It has a sweeter taste to it and it's not like the North American ketchup which I'm obviously more privvy to. Throws me off every time.

*Brand names: such a big deal to many people. Names like American Eagle, Ambercrombie, Puma, Totti etc. The big name nowadays is John Deere. Will be interesting to see what the next big name that people look for.

That's all that come to mind. What are some things that you find amusing etc?