¡Viva el machismo!

Today is my first full day in Granada, Nicaragua. I was woken up at 5 am by the stupid Spanish-speaking parrot that apparently lives outside my room. I went to bed early enough though so it was okay.
I arrived yesterday and it was pouring; thank god it rains though because otherwise it is stiflingly hot. Still, this city is very beautiful from what I´ve seen so far and my host family lives in a great part of town. Funny enough, they are NOT the people I was told I´d be living with here. I went through panic attacks trying to find presents for two girls, ages 3 and 9, and alas, I am living with two little boys. I don´t think they´re going to want that Birthday Barbie! I got for them...
The father, Winston, is a professional artists and the man is amazing. I swear to god, his paintings are phenomenal--very Dali. The house is really nice and not the shack on the outskirts of town I was anticipating; instead, it´s a spacious home with a courtyard (and a fucking parrot) about a 5 minute walk from downtown´s Central Park. Living also in the house is a 44-year-old gay from California named Brad. He is fabulous (and quite the looker). We hung out last night and he is here learning Spanish, but will sadly be leaving on Sunday. This town gets eerily silent after like, 9 PM. Because it is close to the equator, the sun rises early and sets early so it´s dark around 5:30. We were walking and I had a cigarette (I know, I am supposed to stop, believe me, I will. The stigma here might force me to), and let me tell you, I got some weird ass looks. It occurs to me then that we haven´t seen a single woman smoking except, oh wait, that prostitute on the street. Hmmm....
Lots of kids sleeping on the steps of churches and other buildings downtown; more than anything, I have seen so many poor kids out late begging for money. We went out for a late snack and drinks last night and Brad gave his food to a kid--he is a sweetheart. I don´t know what I´m going to do all day. I stopped by work this morning at 8 and I am to start tomorrow; I have daily Spanish classes from 2-3 everyday. So today, I guess I´ll just wander and explore.
Machismo is alive and well here. There´s the smoking thing, for one. There´s also the fact that the men have way more freedom here than the women. Maria Jose never leaves the house and Winston leaves at night to come back late--where does he go?! Walking down the street, you inevitably get stares, calls, and noises directed at you. I suppose that´s true in most cities, but here they have no shame. The woman who I met at the school today told me that she gets harassed when she is walking with her husband and two small children. Yesterday, I thought I´d avert that attention since I was with Brad but no no.
I´m excited to start work here; the Spanish is getting easier but I still forget words and worse, don´t understand what people are saying to me sometimes. This is a longass first blog. Btw, this is to keep an online journal type thing so that I can still keep in touch with you all and be able to talk to you about my experiences here for the next 6 weeks. I´ll post as soon as possible!