Last night I was sitting at the table, chowing down on gallopinto (rice & beans mixed together, not to be mistaken with rice & beans separate on your plate...in this case it's simply called 'rice & beans'), when suddenly the sounds of Christmas music wafted to my ears. 'Deck the Halls' & 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing', complete with words in English, clear as a bell in our kitchen. What was this? I wasn't playing a random selection from our computer, nor was I breaking the cultural taboo about not playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving. So where was this music coming from?
I listened a little longer, and then I realized...one of our neighbors across the street was watching the movie 'Home Alone', and I was hearing the soundtrack. I listened a little longer and discovered that the movie was dubbed.
This brings up a little point about cultural difference that we've learned. Nicaraguans like things LOUD: televisions, radios, music, worship services, etc. If there's a volume button, you can expect that it will be turned to the max. This, coupled with the open-air feel of many houses, means that when one person listens to something, so does the whole neighborhood.
This has taken some adjustment, learning to share in other people's music & movie tastes. But it does give us a window into the cultural expressions (or in this case, borrowed cultural elements) appreciated by those around us. And to be honest, last night as I sat eating, I didn't mind hearing North American Christmas music. Even if it is before Thanksgiving.
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