This was the house where I stayed while in Ochomogo, Nicaragua. It is one of the fancier ones in town. It is set off the road a bit, but is located along a pathway to at least 4 other houses on the property. My host, Esmirna (guessing on all the spellings) lived there with her mother (Irma) and father (Alphonse)and a niece (Yancy). Her brothers (Jose, Manuel, and Miguel) lived in the houses surrounding this one with their families. To the left is the outdoor kitchen (most cooking was done over an open fire). To the right is the green porch with the house behind. It had 4 rooms and 2 porches. One room and one porch were added on to the original cement block house. Less affluent houses would be made out of scraps of wood or metal. All were open air, very few glass windows in the whole town. Most often the cement was left unpainted, but some walls had colors like: seafoam green, white, yellow ochre, or a pepto-bismol pink. Some had tiled or cement floors, but most had dirt floors. Folks spent most of their time outdoors working, sitting on the porch in plastic chairs, or watching tv...not in the "bedrooms." Radios/stereos were also prevalent.
This is the view of the house from the back. My room was on the right corner. The sink/washstand is visible behind the red bucket. This family farms and sells produce which they would put in the baskets you see beside the house. You can also see a more modern set of bins on the front porch in the previous picture. As you approach the house, you yell "Buena" to get the attention of Esmirna in order to make your purchase. They sold wild plums, plantains, limes, tomatoes, something like a slushy (they had one of the few refrigerators), onions, maybe baby chickens too. There are also a ton of chickens running around if you have good eyes! Every house would bring in all furniture and produce and lock all the doors at night (padlocks or internal latches). I was told that this was a precaution against others stealing their stuff as are the barking dogs.
I'm in the same location in the backyard, but I rotated 180 degrees. They would hook brahma bulls up to the cart (the rubber wheels are a recent addition--previously hand-cut wooden wheels) to carry around crops, building materials, and us (the Roanoke College group/cheles or chelas "fair or blonde") on occasion. To the right is the family outhouse.
This is the view of the house from the back. My room was on the right corner. The sink/washstand is visible behind the red bucket. This family farms and sells produce which they would put in the baskets you see beside the house. You can also see a more modern set of bins on the front porch in the previous picture. As you approach the house, you yell "Buena" to get the attention of Esmirna in order to make your purchase. They sold wild plums, plantains, limes, tomatoes, something like a slushy (they had one of the few refrigerators), onions, maybe baby chickens too. There are also a ton of chickens running around if you have good eyes! Every house would bring in all furniture and produce and lock all the doors at night (padlocks or internal latches). I was told that this was a precaution against others stealing their stuff as are the barking dogs.I'm in the same location in the backyard, but I rotated 180 degrees. They would hook brahma bulls up to the cart (the rubber wheels are a recent addition--previously hand-cut wooden wheels) to carry around crops, building materials, and us (the Roanoke College group/cheles or chelas "fair or blonde") on occasion. To the right is the family outhouse. 
This is a view of the front yard. In the center is a brick enclosure that was the shower. You would fill a bucket from the well and take it to the shower. The well is just to the left of the shower in the picture. A flicking technique using a smaller water bowl was the best method of getting soap off. There was a drain in the corner to sweep the water out. Most people shower during the day (your head and shoulders would be visible above the walls) but I found it quite lovely to shower at night under an incredible night sky.
No comments:
Post a Comment