Reread this poem by Peace Corp volunteer Samantha Austin.

Question

Nicaraguita
Oh Nicaragua, Nicaraguita!
That girl at the bar said you have no culture,

but I know
culture is not something you see in colorful cloth or folk dances

but something you taste, like the dust that lines your mouth
in April before the rains start,
like the ash baked into tortillas
and those small strawberries that come down
from the mountain once a year.

And culture is something you smell
like the elote blackening in the street,
the red and black paint drying on telephone poles
and the trash burning outside.

It's something you hear
like the cars with the speakers tied on top, announcing a funeral,
the sound of a plump mango falling from the tree
and every adios as you walk by.

It's something you feel
like the warm hand of a stranger, inviting you in,
the bumps on the road, as you pass by the mountains
and the ache of your heart, once you've left.

What is the point of this poem? (What did its author want you to understand about her host country?)

You can understand a country's culture just by looking around you.

Nicaragua's culture is too strange for most visitors to appreciate.

You have to live somewhere to appreciate its culture fully.

Nicaragua has very little culture other than costumes and folk dances.

Answer 1

The point of the poem "Nicaraguita" by Samantha Austin is that you have to live somewhere to appreciate its culture fully. The poet emphasizes that culture is not just seen in outward displays like colorful cloth or folk dances, but is deeply rooted in personal experiences, senses, and everyday life. Through various sensory descriptions—what one can taste, smell, hear, and feel—the poem illustrates that true cultural understanding comes from immersive experiences and personal connections rather than superficial observations.