This morning Jerry, Leah, and Winter came to the market with Jeff and I and purchased fruit, eggs, and bread for breakfast. After going over the basics for the day, we walked the 2 mile stretch out of the city and into Nueva Esperanza to get to work. The culture change was shocking. Also shocking was the reception we received from the students and families. We were treated like celebrities and sat in the front rows to see an elaborate performance of gratitude that included history and dancing.
On the job site next door we moved cinder blocks, sifted dirt, mixed cement on the ground, and used trowels to mortar and build a wall for a new classroom from the foundation up...with a little help from Mario and Luigi! The mother of a student cooked an Amazing meal for all of us that we ate while sitting in desks of a classroom in the elementary school.
After lunch we came back to the hostel and prepared for our zip lining excursion on Mambacho, a volcanic mountain about 25 minutes away. Really fun with great guides and staff. Many of us could be seen flying like superman or upside down through the trees. I have too many pictures and video to post it all onto this blog.
We went directly from zip lining to dinner at the Roadhouse Grill where we sat together outside and ate familiar meals while vendors, dogs, and street performers swam by through the humidity. And now I'm typing this poolside at the hostel while we take a literal swim. Here is Dylan with some reflection:
We really dove into Nicaraguan culture today when we visited their school. They performed a few dances for us while wearing traditional Nicaraguan clothing. Honestly one of the dances was called "Old Man and the Old Woman" dance was pretty funny. Which gave us a pretty good start to our day. When we finally got to work we were joined by a few of the elementary school kids. The group (excluding Jeffrey "Jeff" Pluta) knew enough Spanish to begin to bond with these kids. Soon enough we were playing frisbee with these kids and they were attacking us (playfully...I hope) as if we'd known them for a very long time. We also ate lunch made by a Nicaraguan woman who lives in town. It was real spanish cuisine which is a lot different from American-Spanish food. Once we got back to the hostel, we cleaned up and went zip lining and had dinner. Those were frivolous things, what really made the night was Frank frank, if one is wondering, is our new den mother. With Frank we became victims of a flash mob. It really wasn't that bad, but they solicited us with money. To which Frank said, "I can dance better." I believe in Frank, he is our videographer. Anyways I forgot to mention I got a hot shave earlier. I was kind of nervous when the barber pulled out his cut throat razor but the thought of Frank kept me strong. Anyways it was an all in all good day. I can't wait to see what the rest of this week holds! I hope it holds Frank.
Love,
Frank's best friend
Okay...Dylan. Tomorrow we work more and then go on a boat tour with some local high school students! Hasta mañana!
Joe - Thank you so much for posting these entries. It is wonderful to hear/see what is happening. Sounds like a lot of hard work and fun is had by all. I am so jealous! Enjoy every minute of it:-)
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