Nicaragua – (NIC) – June 27th – July 16th

Welcome Global Works travelers, parents and friends.  We are excited to share with you trip updates from around the world.  As our main office receives updates from the trips we will update the page as we receive news from the field.

Trip Update #1:

Hello all! In only four days we have already experienced enough beauty, culture and hardship to shock and amaze us.  We spent our first day in the bustling and colorful city of Granada, haggling at the local market and asking the locals scavenger hunt questions about Nicaraguan food and poetry.  That night, we all went to a salsa dancing class.  We were a little apprehensive, but after realizing that whether or not we could actually do the moves was irrelevant, we all let loose and had an amazing time.  After learning a few basic steps from the dance master, we were brought up on to a tiled balcony overlooking the plaza – like something out of “The Mexican” – and we disastrously attempted to salsa in pairs.  It was sweaty, chaotic, and incredibly fun!  By the time we left we all had so much excited energy that we started loudly greeting people and cars.  The locals probably thought we were insane.  Back at the hostel most of us decided to end the day with a dip in the courtyard pool, which though indoors, is open to the sky.

The next day, we left for the town of Estelí.  Our hostel here is eccentric but oddly charming.  It is in the deserted campus of a small school, and there are science exhibits, huge metal dinosaurs, and four pools, three of which are abandoned and only one of which is swimmable, though overzealously chlorinated.  Every day we have been eating traditional Nicaraguan dishes such as tortillas with rice and beans, but the vegetarians among us are the ones who have been trying the truly different things:  mysterious yellow soup and cucumber and potato relatives strange enough to baffle them.

A couple of days ago we went to the local school to meet the adorable children who attend classes there and to begin our service work.  We were greeted with an expected ceremony, which was both awkward and heartwarming.  It included traditional dancing mixed in with a more modern dance to an obscure Shakira song as well as the recitation of a poem by the famous Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario.  They gave us flags with suction cups on the ends as keepsakes.  Later, we began tilling the ground to prepare it for a new garden and many of the youngest and most curious children stayed to play with us.  We also made compost for the garden out of dry leaves and dark soil.  The locals were extremely helpful.  When we visited the village where they live, it was hard to believe that the same kind and happy people who had helped us work, the same mischievous children whose smiles had reached their eyes, were living in rundown hovels with starving animals in their backyards.  People gawked at us from windows like a passing parade; it was both eye opening and embarrassing.  Afterwards, we returned to our hostel tired and hot and were refreshed by our first Nicaraguan rainstorm, which was violent enough to shower in.

TO BE CONTINUED…….

Authored by:  Emilie Duchesne, Majia Matthews, Penelope Lenaerts, Haile Zola, Louise  Stewart

 

Update # 2:
by Alex, Drew, Lee, Matias and Trip

First of all we are all confident that everyone on this trip is having an amazing time and is getting along well with each other. July 1 was our second day working at the school in Estelí. Thanks to two soccer games and some friendly interaction, we were ready to connect more with the Nicaraguan children. That morning some of us taught English to elementary school kids. We taught the classes by writing in both English and Spanish on the board and by drawing pictures to help the children learn about animals and numbers in English. Furthermore, we sang a couple songs in English. For example, one group taught the children about parts of the body by singing, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” And, another group sang “Old McDonald Had a Farm” to teach the children about animals in English. In addition to teaching English we painted the school buildings, made gardens and a compost pile, refurbished desks and dug 5-foot deep holes to hold the foundation of a pavilion. Everybody has been working hard and it looks like our work has paid off so far.

We have played soccer and Frisbee on a number of occasions. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, as evidenced by the fact that a soccer game was basically our first communication with the Nicaraguans upon arrival. As are all in the midst of yet another World Cup, we are reminded that sports can bring people together.

In order to get to know our fellow trip mates better we set out to conquer a new frontier. Speed dating or friending, rather, was the name of the game. At each dating station each pair answered a series of somewhat random questions. For example, one question asked what our biggest fears are. It really gave us the chance to get to know each other much better than we had over the past five days.

Yesterday on July 3rd, after a nice half day of work, we finally experienced the natural beauty of Nicaragua. We trekked down to a massive waterfall, almost the height of Niagara Falls. We swam and took pictures. We are all having the time of our lives.  In fact, as we arrived at the waterfall many of us expressed our pure joy. This was because we were experiencing what some of us expected Nicaragua to be like. We expected rain forest – filled tropics to be wet and incredibly beautiful.

What better way to celebrate America’s independence than by watching America’s pastime in another country. We went to a baseball game in Estelí. But, the game was unfortunately cancelled because the field was too muddy. Our 4th of July celebration culminated with a fabulous fireworks show, marking the end of our first week.

 

We will send you another update soon!

Update #3: By Karma Rose
The sad goodbyes expressed as we left school in Estelí for the last time was accompanied by cultural dances, food and the exchange of numbers and addresses. It was great to see a fully painted school and the smiles that went with it as we drove away.

We took a long and beautiful bus ride the next morning stopping at an Americanized mall to eat and shop. Hours later we arrived at Lake Nicaragua, putting our feet into the surprisingly warm water. The lake seemed to continue on forever, however, to the left we saw Ometepe Island, our next destination.

A few pictures later, and we were afloat. By the time we arrived to the island, the sunset had faded. Upon arriving, we were welcomed by a mariachi band and later after a bout with the bugs, we attempted to sleep. When we woke up the next morning, we could see and hear the waves from 30 feet away surrounded by vibrantly green trees and grazing cows; nothing could be more beautiful. Breakfast was followed by a quarter mile walk through the community to the worksite where we met the leaders of the project. Unfortunately we were unable to begin work; however, we took an educational tour around the community learning about banana plantations, eating fresh mangoes and water apples, and identifying cocoa beans. We took the short walk back to the hostel, where some took a refreshing dip in the lake and other relaxed in the hammocks. Right before dinner, we listened to a brief history lesson on Nicaragua, closely followed by an amazing life story told by Julio, or as he put it, “our dad where we are here”. His meals, hospitality, and live singing keep the group upbeat.

Today (Friday), we woke up early for breakfast, and then went to the worksite, a comfortable environment where overhanging trees provided shade and the lake, less than 100 feet away, allowed for a cool breeze. We got through three-quarters of the day when a rainstorm came in and discontinued the digging of the ditch and the moving of the rocks. The native workers and our group huddled as one big family for about an hour under a small thatched roof until the rain lightened up and we were able to journey back to our hostel for some R & R as we waited for dinner to be served. The sun began to set across the lake ending another eventful day in Nicaragua.