the family i am staying wiht

The Taylor family
The family I am staying with is the Taylor’s. They are not Latino, but of African descent. They speak both Spanish and English, which is good and bad for me. Good because I can very easily communicate and makes me feel more at home and secure, but bad because I am not really working on my Spanish very much. In the family, there is Marvin Taylor, his wife Joyce, their son, his son’s 2 children, some woman that I don’t know if she is Marvin’s son’s wife or not because she looks sort of old to be, and Marvin’s brother. The house is nice, maybe 2 bedrooms and then the guest room I am in, and a kitchen, dining room, living room, and large porch area. I sort of feel bad in this big room with 2 beds to myself when I think the whole family shares the other 2 rooms, but I guess that is what I am paying them for.
Marvin is very helpful, he says he will make me a list with names of people to interview for my project, take me to the library, and get me a good book about Bluefields and other things. I am so glad that I am staying with them, because otherwise I would have no clue how to start this project. So I already have interviewed Marvin’s brother and although he was not in Bluefields for any hurricanes he did experience one while in Jamaica. He was born in Bluefields, and he also spent much time working in the Cayman Islands as a carpenter. Marvin was a teacher here in Bluefields and also in the Corn Islands. He now has a morning radio program at 7 am for 1 hour; I have not gotten up early enough to listen to it yet. The family also runs a small store which is very nice right next to the house, it’s attached actually. They sell all types of things including Rum which I met the distribution man for today.
Today is Marvin’s son’s birthday so we are going to have seafood soup….yum. The food has been really great so far, so I am excited for seafood too. I am really anxious to start my project and interviews, but Marvin says relax, get to know the community, and the people and then you will be able to talk to them. I guess this is a good idea. I will just feel better when I am able to get started though, so I know that things will work out, before that I will continue to be anxious.
The town is actually sort of big, not in area but in amount of people. You can walk anywhere, and there are taxis all over. Marvin’s brother says there are 500 taxis in Bluefields. The houses are all right next to each other and there are people all over, walking and biking. People leave the doors open and you can always see some people sitting and watching a TV in every home. Marvin has told me this is an autonomous region, and while they are a part of the Nicaraguan government, they also have their own government. Marvin’s brother says that the Nicaraguan government doesn’t much care about the community of Bluefields, for hurricanes or other. They mainly only care about Managua he says. However, he says that the local government is very good about taking care of the people and they do very well in preparing people. Marvin and his brother both seem very up on things. I talked to his brother today about American affairs such as Obama and the war and the flooding in Illinois and Iowa. He says he watches CNN and really does seem to know what is going on, which is nice. He has a son in Florida, so maybe that is why he has an interest in American news. Although he only went to school to the 6th grade, he has traveled a lot, spending time in America, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica and other places. I am very excited to learn more and more about this place as well as the people. Walking down the streets it feels very safe in the daytime and the streets are bustling. There are school children in their uniforms everywhere. There is a large market that takes up about four streets. I mostly hear people talking in Spanish, so I wonder how many also know English. It has an interesting feel, the air is very tropical and hot, and the vibe of the community is warm as well. Very laid back, I am not really sure where people go or what they do all day, since there is really no place to go. There is a big park near the Taylor home and always lots of people and children there.