Jeremy and I are known as "Los Babosos" in Nicaragua. It started with me awhile back, and then when we started dating, Jeremy also aquired the name. The word baboso is a funny way to say "fool"...but its become a term of endearment. We want to share a couple of Los Babosos Adventures from the past few weeks....its nice that we can look back and laugh now....
The Pipe Fiasco. We will have an 8 foot fence around our house (sad, but safe). Parts of the fence are made of 2 different kinds of metal pipe that will be welded together. So, one Saturday Jeremy and I hop in the big truck and head over to the big supply store (the only supply store that accepts credit cards). We buy the pipe we need, load it up, and drop it off at the house. Monday morning we find out that we were sold the most expensive pipe in the store. The assumption in any 3rd world country is that gringos have pockets full of cash. Ha...obviously they don't know the Amigos gringos. So, we load up the pipes and take them back to exchange for the more economic-friendly kind...except in Nicaragua there's no such thing as getting your money back...we bargain for store credit and they finally accept. Everything is good, right? Wednesday rolls around and the fence builder shows up and asks why we bought this pipe. Frustration is one thing, but getting that frustration across in Spanish can be difficult...he tells us exactly what we need and living up to our Nicaraguan nicknames, Los Babosos, we take the pipe back....again. This time, our friend and co-worker Luis does all of the talking. Finally, we have the correct pipe and the welder starts tomorrow.
The Bible Lesson. We employ an older Nicaraguan man to watch over the materials at night and on the weekends. His name is Julio Ceasar, but we like to call him Julius Ceasar...it just sounds better. We went to pay Julius Ceasar and there was a little misunderstanding...he wanted more than what we had agreed to. We paid him what we originally agreed to, and told him we would bring Luis (our problem solver) the next day to discuss whether or not he was receiving fair pay. Julius Ceasar said ok, and then proceeded to pull out his Bible. He told us a skewed version of a popular bible story..."we shouldn't store up our treasures on earth because you don't get to take them to heaven with you...we should share them with everyone...including him...and thats why we should pay him more". Jeremy and I just smiled and nodded....once again, appearing and acting like "los babosos". There was some awkward silence and then we changed the subject. Luis confirmed that Julius Ceasar is receiving more than fair pay.
There's a popular phrase we all have in Nicaragua - "tiempo real o tiempo Nica"....meaning "real time or Nica time". Nica time typically means arriving at least an hour late, even for really important events. (Mom, are you sure you're not Nicaraguan?) So, you can imagine what "Nica time" means when building a house. Construction has been a little slow this past week because of other Amigos projects...but will pick back up at full pace next week...we'll update this more often...
Love,
Kristin & Jeremy
The Pipe Fiasco. We will have an 8 foot fence around our house (sad, but safe). Parts of the fence are made of 2 different kinds of metal pipe that will be welded together. So, one Saturday Jeremy and I hop in the big truck and head over to the big supply store (the only supply store that accepts credit cards). We buy the pipe we need, load it up, and drop it off at the house. Monday morning we find out that we were sold the most expensive pipe in the store. The assumption in any 3rd world country is that gringos have pockets full of cash. Ha...obviously they don't know the Amigos gringos. So, we load up the pipes and take them back to exchange for the more economic-friendly kind...except in Nicaragua there's no such thing as getting your money back...we bargain for store credit and they finally accept. Everything is good, right? Wednesday rolls around and the fence builder shows up and asks why we bought this pipe. Frustration is one thing, but getting that frustration across in Spanish can be difficult...he tells us exactly what we need and living up to our Nicaraguan nicknames, Los Babosos, we take the pipe back....again. This time, our friend and co-worker Luis does all of the talking. Finally, we have the correct pipe and the welder starts tomorrow.
The Bible Lesson. We employ an older Nicaraguan man to watch over the materials at night and on the weekends. His name is Julio Ceasar, but we like to call him Julius Ceasar...it just sounds better. We went to pay Julius Ceasar and there was a little misunderstanding...he wanted more than what we had agreed to. We paid him what we originally agreed to, and told him we would bring Luis (our problem solver) the next day to discuss whether or not he was receiving fair pay. Julius Ceasar said ok, and then proceeded to pull out his Bible. He told us a skewed version of a popular bible story..."we shouldn't store up our treasures on earth because you don't get to take them to heaven with you...we should share them with everyone...including him...and thats why we should pay him more". Jeremy and I just smiled and nodded....once again, appearing and acting like "los babosos". There was some awkward silence and then we changed the subject. Luis confirmed that Julius Ceasar is receiving more than fair pay.
There's a popular phrase we all have in Nicaragua - "tiempo real o tiempo Nica"....meaning "real time or Nica time". Nica time typically means arriving at least an hour late, even for really important events. (Mom, are you sure you're not Nicaraguan?) So, you can imagine what "Nica time" means when building a house. Construction has been a little slow this past week because of other Amigos projects...but will pick back up at full pace next week...we'll update this more often...
Love,
Kristin & Jeremy
These are a few of the guys that are working on the house...Bernardo, Maestro, and Rider.
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