Desire and Disapproval
Grenada, Nicaragua
2013
It’s really hard to read someone’s face out of context. The look on this young girls face comes off as a cross between desperately wanting something she doesn’t think she’s going to get and the stink-eye of disapproval.]]>
Desire and Disapproval
Grenada, Nicaragua
2013
While you where there, did you catch on to any of the Nicaragua body language? They generally point using their lips, for example, which was confusing at first. They also have a very different way of snapping their fingers, and there are multiple degrees of saying “no,” each one involving progressively more head shaking and finger wagging.
Tracy, I never noticed anyone pointing with their lips or snapping their fingers, but definitely experienced the finger wagging way of saying no. We asked our very friendly Nicaraguan cook one day if she could make us French toast for breakfast (she was supposed to be able to cook anything you want, American or otherwise) and were quite surprised by the finger wagging “no” we got via her finger wagging. What that really meant I think was that she’d never made it before and didn’t know how. But the next day we in fact were served French toast for breakfast. It was very good and she was quite proud of learning how to make it.