Final Entry

I can honestly say, my life is going to have a happy ending. The funny part is that it is only the beginning. I am only starting to get a feel of what life really is. What I want to do with my life is still kind of sketchy to me. Yes, I am at my senior year of high school but I honestly have no clue as to what my true passion in life would be that I want to pursue is. Mathematics is the subject that draws my attention the most. The most challenging problems are the ones that intrigue me the most. I like a challenge. I don’t like having the easy way out. That is why I am enjoying life as it comes and molding my own path. I am enjoying the obstacles along the way and figuring out ways to overcome them. My life is just starting. Most likely I will go off to college in a few months and study cooking with a minor in math. I will marry my high school sweetheart and create a wonderful family. As of now, I am a duck, dipping my feet in the water. I am just getting a taste of what is to come. The best part of this journey is that I am a warrior. I will fight to reach my goals and not let anything stand in my way. Through the obstacles that I have endured, none have yet to stop me from being the outstanding student I am today. I am a mentor, a friend, a girlfriend, a daughter, and many more. I am Nathalie Coste and I love the person I am and what I am becoming. I am a duck, stepping in the shores of this adventure called life, and enduring everything to come.

My Obsession

My secret obsession is this series of episodes called American Horror Story. Now, there are three seasons: Murder House, Asylum, and Coven. MY obsession is the first season, Murder House. My cousin first introduced me to the show last year and I have been addicted since. There are 12 episodes and I have seen 5 already. It is not much but it has been a crazy season. The season starts off with the Harmon family moving to a new city, new house because they were trying to run from their past. The mother had a stillborn baby and the father had an affair with one of his students. As the show progresses, the neighbors are introduced and they seem to be a little off and impulsive. Later the wife and husband get intimate. The crazy part is that the husband turns out to be really a boy whom which is actually dead, dressed in a bondage suit. Confused yet? Oh, and then the wife gets pregnant! And it only gets better. The husband gets a call from his old mistress who happens to be pregnant; an old nanny they hired seems to be appearing to the husband as a sexy young girl, and serial killers break into their house to reenact a brutal murder scene. The show is basically about infidelity and everything that unfolds once that line is crossed. The show just gets better and better as more lies are told, secrets unravel, unexpected conclusions occur, and horrifying deaths are revealed. The plot thickens as the child in the show starts to date a serial killer, who is supposed to be a dead man…? This show is undoubtly my greatest, not-so-secret obsession. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys mysteries, suspense and thriller movies. This show is sure to keep you on your toes.

My Other Side

So I bet you are tired of me talking about Nicaragua, right? Well, allow me to introduce to you the other half of my nationality. My father was born in the capital of the Dominican Republic called Santo Domingo. Growing up, I was a huge daddy’s girl. Every weekend my dad would pick me up from grandmother’s house and take me to his mother’s house, where he lived. My grandmother’s house was always filled with laughter and cooking. I remember sitting on a stool and watching my grandmother stir the rice and peas as I gaze in awe. Most of my days were spent creating new adventures with my cousins. I had about 7 cousins, all living in one roof. While my dad was away with my grandmother fixing some appliances, I would be playing baseball with a stick and some bottle caps. Those were the best times I can imagine. There was no need for phones or internet. My cousins and I would go to the baseball field, eat empanadas, and play ball. When my dad finally picked me up, we would go on the best father-daughter trips. One trip involved him taking me to his homeland, the gorgeous Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo, being the oldest European city in the country, just screams out colonial times. I met my aunts and uncles for the first time and they made me feel right at home. We visited the Catedral Primada de América, Cathedral of America, a cathedral dedicated to St. Mary of the Incarnation. It is the oldest cathedral in America and consists of amazing, jaw-dropping architecture. That was the day I grew to know more about my culture and more about where I come from. I can proudly represent both cultures and continue to teach others about my land.

Greatest Adventure

Being from a diverse background, I have been to many different, exotic places. My greatest adventure would have to be when I was 12 years old and I went to the city where my mother was born in. I went to Tipitapa, Nicaragua, located between Lake Managua and Lake Tipitapa. Tipitapa, how it is set up, is different from other cities. It is made up of both urban and rural areas containing eight districts, five districts of the boundaries, and seven settlements. As soon as I left the landing strip, I knew I was in another country. There were cattle everywhere and a lot of vegetation. The fondest memory I have that day is riding through a park on a pony. I had on a red bandana and little pink boots. I remember eating a piece of meat that day; it was the most scrumptious dish that day. I thought I was having a gourmet meal. Little did I know, that piece of meat was far from gourmet. I ate turtles that day. Little turtles; steamed, boiled, seasoned, and ready to be fed to little Nathalie. ‘Til this day, I still don’t understand how it tasted so good! That day I also remember a lot of laughter. It was my first day in the city and I was being introduced to the family. All of us decided to take a ride on a few horses but I remember that the pony ride did not end well for everybody. As my mother, oblivious to her surroundings, picked her horse to ride, she happened to pick the youngest, smallest, horse out in the field. As soon as she swung her leg over the body, the horse’s legs just collapsed to the floor. That day was a crazy, wild adventure I will never forget.

Support System

I have many people who I call my support systems. My mother is the number one person in my life whom I can depend on and go to for any particular reason. Through all the trials and tribulations I have encountered, my mother has been my backbone. Being bullied as a child, growing up I never felt comfortable in my own skin. I was always teased for being the biggest girl in class and having hit puberty at a faster rate than the other girls. But the bullying did not only come from school, I also received the treatment at home from my uncles. They called it teasing their niece, I called it bullying. As a child my mother always reassured me to stand up to them and never let them discourage me. Because in the end, God has my back and is always watching me. My dad is also a huge support system. He may not be around as much as I want him to, but he is there for me and always pulls through when I need him the most. I consider my boyfriend my biggest motivation. I was always a hard working student but when I encountered some set-backs, I needed a little push. Back in 2012, I encountered health problems that forced me to miss a lot of school and distracted me from my studies. It was difficult getting back on the right track. He gave me that push to move forward and push for my dreams no matter what the situation. We have been through hell and back and I am almost certain he will be the new addition to my crazy family. As of now, my family loves him and takes him as their own. And that is more than I could ever ask for.

My Passion

My passion has always involved a love for cooking. I always enjoyed making dishes composed of a variety of flavors and textures. I cook Caribbean, American, Spanish, and even Indian dishes. Every day I find a new way to challenge myself into possibly topping the previous dish and making it more perfect. My mother is the reason I started cooking. Growing up in a Spanish family cultivated by women you learn a few tricks up your sleeve. Not only do I have Nicaraguan background, but I am also half Dominican. Having a diverse background has opened me to new amazing flavors. My favorite dish from my mother’s side growing up was a typical Nicaragua dish. It was a plate of gallopinto, carne asada, yucca, and queso frito, and tajadas verdes. That plate is a mixture of rice and beans, grilled steak, yucca, fried cheese, and green plantain chips. Just hearing the names brings a mouth-watering sensation to my mouth. Several other dishes include the Nacatamal, Indio Viejo, and Sopa de Albondiga. Now, from my dad’s Dominican side, my all-time favorite food is a desert called Habichuelas con Dulce. Translated, it is basically beans with caramel, or sweet beans. The dish is a sort of a sweet cream of beans. Prepared in a lent, you let the beans sit in a pot of water overnight, puree them, mix delicious ingredients in a pot, boil the remainder of ingredients and enjoy! Some ingredients include raisins, coconut, and sweet potatoes. This dish takes like Christmas every time I take a spoonful. My passion as a chef is only just beginning. I have dipped my toes in the water of the culinary industry and I’m ready to dive in. I’m just starting to have a feel for Indian cooking as my Trinidian boyfriend’s mom teaches me about their food.

A Little Bit About the Land

Nicaragua is known as the “country of lakes and volcanoes”. Located in Central America, the country has the largest fresh water lake within the entire region. Lake Nicaragua is the only lake in the world that contains fresh water sharks. Also containing a magnificent island called Ometepe, it contains two volcanoes, which makes an 8-figure island. The land is also known for its rich coffee and soil. It is also the largest country and Central America and the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, next to Haiti. The name Nicaragua is a combination of two words, “nicarao" and "agua". Nicarao stands for the Indian tribe that inhabited the coasts of Lake Nicaragua when the Spaniards came to the country in the 1500's. Agua is just the Spanish word for water. The Nicarao tribe landed in the shores of Lake Nicaragua, traveled from Mexico, and arrived in Ometepe declaring it their homeland. The Nicaragua currency is called the Cordoba.  The Nicaragua currency is named after the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. An interesting fact about Nicaragua is that they don’t use east or west for directions. They use upstairs and downstairs! This is used as a reference to when the sun rises towards the sky, considering as going upstairs or east, and then when the sun descends, considering as going downstairs or west. Nicaragua is also known to have the best cigars in the world. Overall, Nicaragua is a beautiful country with an abundant of natural resources and a wonderful land structure. Along with their baseball playing teams and Flor de Cana rum, Nicaragua is also known for having toucans, jaguars and manatees. Believe it or not, the biggest threats to the environment in Nicaragua are deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. Nicaragua is one country everyone should visit until it’s gone. 

My Beginning

For those who don’t know me, I grew up solely under the protection and care of my mother. She was and is still my role model. She taught me how to be independent and strive for my goals. My name is Nathalie Coste and Vielca Silva is my mother. We were both born in Tipitapa, Nicaragua in my great-grandfather’s home. Growing up I remember swinging in the family hammock and having my little cousins feed me grapes as I pretend to be the queen of the land. Back in Nicaragua, I rode ponies and fed chickens by the dozen. I woke up to dogs chasing the family pigs and the nonsense, nonstop gibberish of the neighbors. One of the fondest memories was when I went to class one day; dressed in my black and red schoolgirl outfit. I had books in one hand and my lunch in the other. As I walked to school, I passed many bakeries and food shops. My favorite was a fritanga, located on the corner of my road. A fritanga is basically a shop and restaurant containing a variety of assorted foods and pastries.  Some foods included in the shop were carne asada, or fried steak, gallo-pinto, rice and beans, and cacao, a chocolate drink.  Walking to school I stopped by the shop and picked and picked up lunch. It was one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes and I had a huge craving for it. Arroz a la valenciana, as it is called, consists of yellow rice, chicken, sausage, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Usually my grandmother makes it with red wine to tie in the flavors together. I remember that day was so memorable because not only did I get a bite of my favorite dish, but it was one of the last real meals I had from the land of Nicaragua.