Epifania is mine and Cat’s host mum. She is 63 years old and has a husband of 35 years, Rafael, and eight children. All of whom have moved out and had children of their own. She is very caring, kind and even appreciates our poor attempts at Spanish.
Our day starts at 5:45 when the ´chancho´ (pig) wakes up and squeals and squeals until it is let out of its pen, however Epifania’s day starts at 4:30 am. She gets up before Rafael every morning to start the fire to make breakfast and coffee for him. After he leaves at 6:00, she starts cooking for the rest of the family and doesn’t stop cooking until dinner is finished. If you are not woken up by the cacophony of animal noises, then you will be gently stirred awake by the rhythmic tapping of Epifania patting the tortillas into shape.
I still haven’t figured out how the cooking is organised as everyday there are a different number of people and lots of new faces waiting for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cooking isn´t an easy task either. You need to keep the stove stocked up with wood collected from the mountains and use as little water as possible (this is the second year of drought in El Bramadero).
Cooking isn´t the only job, Epifania has to refill her water containers every day, keep the earth floors clean, hand wash all the clothes on a washing stone and look after all the grandkids. This isn´t a blog covering all the hardships of a rural Nicaraguan woman, despite there being many, because the way of life here is also beautiful.
Although Epifania´s children have all moved out they have built their houses surrounding hers, so there is an endless stream of sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, grandchildren and in-laws. Five minutes does not pass without someone shouting ´abuela´ (grandma) and running in to tell her some important news or ask her a question. Most evenings the yard turns into a dance hall or we are dragged out into the street to join the family in a new game.
While living here must be challenging and I still don´t understand some things (like why Epifania sits in the kitchen to eat but her husband and sons sit in the living room), I can still see all of the benefits of this way of life that we may not have in the UK, like having your whole neighbourhood made up of your entire family. This makes me feel like we are definitely missing out on something back at home.
Written by ICS volunteer Emily Fennell
