Confession: I bought a Mango Snapple and a box of chicken fajita Lean Pockets today. I know, I know. You are thinking one of two things right now. Either (1) How in the world did Pamela find Snapple and Lean Pockets in the middle of Nicaragua or (2) Why in the world would Pam buy such American products when there is so much good Nicaraguan food to enjoy? The answer to question (1) is simple: Walmart recently became the majority owner of La Union, the grocery store near my house. Thus, in addition to the aforementioned products, you can now find any Equate product, honey mustard barbeque sauce, a ridiculous selection of shampoo and other beauty products, and lots of other American brands (Starkist, Nestle, Dove, Smuckers, just to name a few). The answer to question (2) is a bit more complicated, but can be summed up in two words: culture stress. Sometimes, as much as I enjoy my Nica lunches (typically rice, beans, grilled chicken or beef, and cabbage salad), I just want to eat something that tastes like home. I don’t know if I should feel guilty about that or not, but there is the truth folks. Sometimes I just want to be (and act like) an American.
Rewinding about 5 days, on my bus ride to Chinandega last Tuesday—the fullest bus I have ever been on, I might add—I was sandwiched between a number of women who cook various kinds of foods (ranging from desserts to quesillos, these really neat cheese and onion in a tortilla concoctions) and travel to key points to sell them. I struck up a conversation with one of them who was headed to Chinandega to deliver some clothing and shoes to a store that buys products from her. Pretty soon all the women in earshot were listening to our conversation and wanted to know where I was from and what I was doing in Nicaragua (it’s a pretty rare thing for Americans to travel by bus here, so I was attracting more attention than usual). I was really enjoying these few minutes of small talk with these hardworking Nica woman, but as I got up to leave, one of the younger ones said to me, “Your eyes are beautiful. I wish I could bleach my eyes to be that color.” I was momentarily stunned, but recovered from my astonishment in time to reply earnestly, “Your eyes are beautiful! Why would you want to change them? Brown is a beautiful color.” The girl smiled, but I don’t know if she really believed me or not. In Nicaragua there is this subtle subtext everywhere that “the lighter your skin, the better”. Most of the commercials on TV and the billboards around town feature light-skinned Nicaraguans. But I was still surprised that this beautiful Nica woman would want to change her eye color—that is probably the one thing I have never wished to change about myself. The whole incident brought home another disturbing reality for me—that, sadly, all over the world, women struggle with the social construct of beauty in their culture. Another example: the young woman who comes to clean my house once a week (who is skinny as a rail) barely eats because she doesn’t want to get fat. What’s even sadder about this is that it represents more the infiltration of US cultural constructs than a Nica mentality—here a little extra weight usually means you are eating well and enjoying life. Anyway, the whole incident gave me pause and made me hope that the one small word of encouragement I offered this girl will be echoed by many other people in her life.
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2 comments:
See, I keep telling my wife she has beautiful brown eyes, one of my favorite characteristics of her. But she says they are the color of poop, because she is full of s--t. But people are never satisfied with how they look. No matter what, there is something everone would want to change about themselves.
My sister was in ballet and suffered from anorexia to fit in and permanently damaged herself. For me in gymnastics, it was how muscular you were. If you were too skinny or you didn't have six pack abs, you were made fun of. The pressure is always there. So, I hear where you are coming from.
Now that is not to say that I don't think the body is not important. I don't want to start endorsing Gnosticism, and I think eating right and staying healthy is important. Especially for someone with a history of heart disease in the family. But it is a shame we can't recognize the beauty we have.
i can't remember if i'm commenting on the right post, but i think eating american brand food in a foreign country aint nothin to apologize about. rock on! even if it is from wal mart...
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