The Machete

As part of our weekly drama class in El Farito, we often have the kids act out various daily activities such as “brushing teeth,” or “washing dishes.” Many times, this game takes on the form of Charades: the kid picks a piece of paper out of a hat, then acts out whatever’s on the paper while the rest of the class guess what the activity is.

The other day, Elba, an 11-year-old girl (a mischievous beauty, with long, curly brown hair and this great smile) picked out a piece of paper from the hat. She giggles to herself- shy at first to act in front of her peers- but with a little encouragement from Andie (who’s leading the class), she proceeds to act out her activity. Elba bends down close to the ground, and begins to make broad sweeping motions with her right hand. She continues like this for the next few minutes- and honestly, I have no clue what she’s doing… but the other kids do. Immediately, Jose Antonio yells out “una jardinera!” which means, “gardener!” And then it dawns on me- Elba’s cutting the grass. Here in Nicaragua, there aren’t any lawn mowers. People cut the grass with machetes- they bend down low and make broad sweeping motions with the machete, cutting the grass in the process. Elba nods her head “yes!” and sits down, content with her performance.

This drama class was a perfect “welcome back” from my month-long journey back to the USA for medical school interviews. I was instantly reminded that I was no longer in my North American world of MTV and fancy technology. It’s good to be home in Nicaragua, with oxen-drawn carts, grass-cutting machetes and all.

Acting out una iglesia (a church) in drama class.