Estamos aprendiendo! We are learning!

My day supposedly should go something like this:
I arrived at school around 7:45. From 7:45 to 10:00 I work in the kindergarten class. From 10:00 to 12:00 I work with kids out of class who are behind in reading, writing or mathematics. School ends at 12:00 and I head off to lunch. From 1:00 to 3:00 we go to one of the houses in the community and do additional tutoring. However, in Nicaragua, I’m learning that nothing ever goes according to plan. As an example, this was my week in a nutshell:

Monday: Classes were progressing as usual until 10:00 hit and suddenly school was finished for the day. It was supposed to be something along the line of our parent-teacher conferences. In actuality, it was a meeting held in one room for all the parents at once. Can't imagine it was very productive.

Tuesday: I arrived at school to find that the first and second grade teachers did not show up for class. I’m the only volunteer that goes to school at 7:45. The other volunteers and the ayudante, our liaison between the teachers, the organization and us, arrive at 9:00. I tried my best to help out by spending the morning with the first graders but it was pretty much a complete mess. I had no idea what they were learning so teaching them pretty much went out the window. And with that said, my Spanish is in no means at a level in which I can conduct a class effectively. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell them to pull out a book to look at because we don’t really have any. The kindergarten teacher came in to my class and wrote a few simple sentences on the board for them to copy which, in the end, very few of them were able to complete. I later found out that the first graders were still working on the alphabet which was apparent to me as soon as I saw their “completed work.” For the most part the kids here enjoy learning English so I taught them a few colors but as you can imagine, that didn’t last nearly long enough. It was a stressful situation but one that I am very glad to have had.

Wednesday: The morning was interrupted early on by a man who came to teach all of the students how to brush their teeth. We learn to brush our teeth from a very early age but here in Nicaragua, dental problems are out of control. The water here lacks the fluoride and other nutrients we receive in our water at home. All of the children were given two toothbrushes and a small tube of toothpaste. As some of you Catholics may know, Wednesday was also Ash Wednesday. Nicaragua being a very Catholic nation meant that after the dental information session the students all walked to a Church nearby to receive ashes. All in all, very little time was dedicated to teaching on Wednesday.

Thursday: On Tuesday the government dropped off rice and beans to distribute at the school. Beans take a while to prepare. They need 24 hours to soak in water and then a few hours to cook. So, it was not until Thursday that the children received their meal of rice and beans. It’s nearly impossible to get every child in the school to bring something in on a single day. Mostly because there is an extremely high rate of absenteeism so they simply do not know what is going on but also because kids will be kids and they don’t always listen. However, on rice and beans day almost every single student pulled out a bowel that they brought for home and lined up for their ration. It was a neat experience and to think that the government probably spent less that $20 to feed the entire school is absolutely amazing. It took about an hour to distribute and eat the food and soon after, school let out an hour early.

Friday: Thursday afternoon I was told that classes were canceled on this Friday. Today, I was told that classes are canceled once again for next Friday as well. I have no idea why these days have been canceled but I’ve been told that this is a very common occurrence.

This past week in school is by no means the norm but it gives you a better idea of the education system here. For some of the kids, they attended a whooping five hours of instructed class this week. I’ve only been in the schools for three weeks but I’m beginning to understand that there are no “normal” days in school. Something always happens and to survive here, you truly have to be able to go with the flow!

Fun fact: There are four different kinds of plantains/bananas here in Nicaragua. They all look alike but have different names. Some are more like potatoes while others are sweeter like my favorite the banano!

La comida de Nicaragua

The food in Nicaragua, for the most part, is quite simple. Gallo pinto is the most common dish. It's a mixture of rice and beans. If you are lucky, it's cooked with some onion and garlic for a little extra taste. I personally enjoy the dish but it does get old quick.

During the week I have lunch at a woman's house in the community. The meal always includes rice and beans but we usually have chicken, avocado or plantains on the side. Everything has been tasty so far and I look forward to trying new Nicaraguan dishes.

There is a huge market in Granada. It is still overwhelming to me when I walk through it on the way to the bus. Pretty much everything under the sun is sold at the market from fruit to shoes.

A lot of food is sold on the street. My favorite so far is gallo pinto, cheese, ensalada (kind of like our coleslaw but with no mayo base), plantain chips, onions and carrots mixed together inside a banano leaf. The most common food bought off the street is refrescos. Freshly squeezed fruit serve in a plastic bag with a straw sticking out. It's much cheaper than going to the store and buying a bottle of juice.

I took a cooking class last night which was both educational and fun. We made gallo pinto, empenadas, ensalada and a refresco. We used mashed up plantains as the base of the empenadas and stuffed them with cheese. It was the first time I truly felt full after eating a meal here. Can't wait to try and make the empanadas on my own. Maybe one of you will be the lucky one who I make some traditional Nicaraguan dishes for when I get home!

Interesting fact: Bananas are called bananos here. I'm not sure why but it's funny to hear little kids yelling, "banano, banano!"

Laguna de Apoyo

On Saturday a bunch of us made the trek to Laguna de Apoyo. We decided to take the adventurous route and bike to Apoyo from Granada. It is possible to take a bus but by doing so you end up on a beach with other people and we wanted our own area to swim and relax. The trip was almost entirely along a dirt road. It was challenging enough that we were on a gradual incline but add in all the rocks, holes and cows to dodge and it turned into one of those video games where things suddenly pop up on the screen. The journey out to the lake took around two hours. We navigated our way by stopping every so often to ask the local people which way to the lake. We eventually ended up at a farm above the lake which, by the way, is actually a crater full of rain water. The family allowed us to pass through and descend by foot the steep trail down to the beach. The water in Apoyo is said to be one of the cleanest places to swim. The water is the kind that I like to swim in, warm and clear. Along the beach were some horses, cows and a couple of local boys swimming to cool off. We sunbathed, played soccer, explored and swam a lot. Around 3:00 we decided to head back because we knew that the trek back up the side of the crater would be long and difficult. In all it took us about an hour to return from Apoyo. The first leg up the trail by foot was indeed strenuous but after that it was smooth sailing. It is definitely a trip that I will do again provided I have the time! There is so much that I want to do just around Granada let alone the rest of the country.

We were very tired after our adventure so we all decided to go out to eat instead of cooking at home. We went to a Salvadorian restaurant and had pupusas. The best way to describe a pupusa is that it is like two flatbread pieces sandwiched together with pretty much any kind of meat, beans and cheese. I had the most common type, cheese and beans. It was very very good. One pupusa costs 12 cordobas which is just over $.50. Two pupusas is more than enough for dinner. The neat thing about pupusas is that the bread is considered Holy. From what I could understand they consider the bread of the pupusa to be like the bread you take at communion in a Catholic mass. Wasn’t able to understand how the bread I eat at dinner is the flesh of Jesus but I went with it out of respect. Since one is eating the flesh of Jesus Christ while eating a pupusa, one should not cut the pupusa into pieces to eat. Instead, you are supposed to pull apart the two flatbread pieces and eat it with your hands. I didn’t want to offend anyone so I tried pulling mine apart. It was messy but well worth the hassle!

Tonight a group of us are going to a bar in town to watch the Superbowl. It will be the first time some of them have seen American football so it should be interesting. My roommates are very nice and interesting. I enjoy being surrounded by new people with very different backgrounds. They all have spent a lot of time traveling and volunteering as it is very much their culture to do so. I wish that we as Americans valued travel as much as they do. It truly does open up your eyes to a world that is unconceivable otherwise.

Interesting fact: When you go to a store to buy a coke, you sit in the shop and drink it. Just like in the old days. After you are done, you return the bottle so it can be recycled. And when I say recycled, I mean the inside is washed out and more coke is put in. The outside of the bottle is not cleaned well. I guess it is not worth their money to clean the whole bottle. You can buy a plastic bottle to take with you but it is double the price!

Hasta luego!

Hola, estoy en Nicaragua!

This is now my fifth day in Nicaragua and so far it's been a great experience! Since Sunday a lot has happened and so I will try to give you as much information as possible without spending my entire afternoon on the computer.

Mi casa: I live in Granada which is a 45 minute car ride from the capital Managua. It takes me about 15 minutes on the bus to get out to my school. Currently I live with two Germans, a Spaniard and an American. I have two more roommates coming this weekend. The house I live in is considered a decent place here but would probably break every code that exists in the U.S. We have holes in the ceiling yet we have a guy come to the house every week to fix things (yet to fix the roof so far, instead opts to work on a broken chair?) We have mice and all that good stuff despite having a woman come each morning to clean. We have a shower but it's more of a stream of cold, refreshing water. The water down here is safe to drink and so far I haven't contracted any diseases. We also have a fully running kitchen and a tv that has a ton of channels in English. At least I can watch the news everyday! From my experience thus far, i've come to the conclusion that Nicaragua doesn't make much sense.

Mi escuela: The school I work in is a fifteen minute bus ride from Granada. The bus costs 25 cents which to me is a pretty good deal. If you want to get an idea of what school is like here, think of your schooling and completely throw it out the window. Pretty much the only thing that is the same is that there are teachers, classrooms and students. Unlike in our schools, Nicaraguan schools consist solely of teachers and a woman who cleans and cooks rice and beans for lunch (when it is available). There are no principals, helpers, secretaries ect. Which may not seem like a big deal but it means that these teachers are truly on their own with little to no resources. The Nicaraguan government provides one teacher to seventy students. At La Esperanza, we pay the salaries of extra teachers so that there are no more than 35 students per class. You can kind of begin to understand why the education system here is so poor. From what I have seen, the children enjoy being in school and look forward to learning when they can. I was placed at my school because of my interest in sports. I've seen all of the schools and this is pretty much the only one that has enough room for kids to run around. Yesterday I played soccer with some boys. I started playing with one and next thing I knew there were twenty. Today I brought out a basketball (we have one hoop) and the kids loved it! So far, so good on that front.

Espanol: It has been difficult not knowing Spanish but each day I pick more and more up. Maybe one day I will be able to carry on a solid conversation with a Nicaraguan. I am able to pick up parts of conversations but I can by no means understand everything that is going on. Frustrating at times, but also a great learning experience. Not knowing what is going on has put me in vulnerable positions and being able to persevere despite this has given me confidence that simply wasn't available otherwise. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out what is going on...well some times.

Granada: Granada is a really neat city. I live less than a block from the restaurant and bar area which is great because I don't need to take a cab at night ($.50 per ride) which would be necessary otherwise. Lake Nicaragua is a fifteen minute walk from my house. I went down to the lake the other day with one of my friends and we came across a bunch of bars on the beach with hammocks and trees for shade. I can't wait to go down there for a day just to relax. Granada is situated between to volcanoes! One of which I believe is still active. We've made plans to hike both of these within the next couple of months as well as go to a bunch of other places around here. The city itself resembles some what that of a European city. Keep in mind though that Nicaragua is a third world country and the second poorest in the hemisphere behind Haiti. Meaning that the streets serve as a place where human waste runs down and many houses are simply shacks. I've found that I can get almost any food I want in Granada. There are two supermarkets which to us is not a lot but to these people is a wonder in itself. Right around the corner there is an Irish bar that sells everything from cheeseburgers to fish and chips. So far, I have stuck to Nicaraguan food because it is cheapest and pretty delicious.

Cordobas: Cordobas is the currency of Nicaragua. $1 is 20.90 cordobas. Best exchange rate I've ever had! I'm going to list a bunch of things and their cost so you can see how cheap things are:
Bus: 5 cordobas
Cab: 10 cordobas
Beer (1 liter): 35 cordobas
Typical Nicaraguan meal: 30 to 50 cordobas (meals are huge and one lasted me two dinners and a lunch)
Carrots: 3 cordobas

As soon as I get internet at my house I will write more posts. Right now I go between a restaurant in town that has wifi or the internet cafe. Please continue to send me emails and questions. I will try to answer the questions on the blog since a lot of you are probably wondering the same things.

I will leave you with a fun fact about Nicaragua. It is cheaper to buy beer at a bar or restaurant than it is in the store. Why? Because they recycle here! The bars keep the bottle and as in the U.S. get money when they recycle. It is ten more cordobas to buy a beer in the store than in the bar. Incentive to go out more?

Actually, since this is my first post I will leave you will two fun facts. The only thing that goes in the toilet is your waste, toilet paper not included. After you are done with the toilet paper you throw it in the trashcan. Gross but you get used to it! The sewage system here is so weak it cannot handle anything more. Aren't you glad I left two fun facts this time?

Hasta luego!