Day 3

Here are Jill and Katie with some thoughts on the day:

Today, after a hearty breakfast of eggs and pancakes, we set off for our second day of work. Today at the job site we continued to spread out the dirt to even out the ground, as well as mixed more concerete to finish the foundation for the fence. Today was a hot one but after a big lunch from the generous Romona we finished the day strong! After a relaxing dip in the pool, refreshed and ready to go, we set off for the lake. When we took a tour of lake Nicaragua, seeing just a few of the many islands, such as an island of monkeys and peoples million dollar homes. To round out the day we stopped on an island and had plenty of time to dance and chat, we had dinner.

It is still hard to grasp the distinct difference between the poverty and wealth here. Just by walking down the pavement to the dirt, there seems to be two seperate worlds, not much gray area. When you hit the dirt roads, the car traffic slows and the people's way of living changes drasticly. 

At dinner tonight, Gino was trying to dance with everyone, but he especially liked Jasmyne! It took our minds off of how long it took for the food to be ready, and gave us a chance to get away from the bugs! So many bugs! Dinner took forever but it was very good. And after dinner we got dropped off at this creepy place after were the bus picked us up. Overall the day way awesome and sweaty!

--Katie and Jill

 

Tomorrow we will have our last day of work and a chance to explore Granada in the afternoon.  Check out some pictures from today.  Vaya con dios!

Katie spreading dirt at the work site.

Myles at the bottom of the latrine. 6 meters down!

Jill and Katie playing with some neighborhood kids.

Mombacho volcano is right behind our job site. You can see the trash from the community in the foreground. 

Jill doing work.

Boarding for the boat trip.

Boat selfie. Serina is ready to go.

Welcome to Gino tours!

Lake Nicaragua is the 10th largest lake in the world and contains 13 volcanoes and 406 islands called Las Isletas.  We took an hour long sunset tour while we learned about the culture of the lake.  That's Mombacho in the background, the volcano that super imploded thousands of years ago to help form Las Isletas.

Day 2

Today we got up early!  Katie and Jasmyne went with Jeff to the market to buy our lunch food for the week.  A local family will cook lunch for us everyday and invite us into their home while we work down the road.  Myles and Hannah bought fruit, eggs, and bread at the market and cooked the group breakfast (accompanied by delicious, free Nicaraguan coffee courtesy of Hostel Oasis), then it was off to work.  Jeff and Doug lead us through the city and in to the community most impacted by our work, all while narrating Amped's history and fielding questions.  At the job site, our main jobs today were sifting dirt for concrete, putting up a fence, and spreading dirt to prep for concrete.

After the work day, it was a quick trip into the city to exchange money, a quick dip in the pool and then off to a canopy zip-lining tour of Mombacho, a nearby volcano.  Very cool.

Right now we are eating a home cooked meal at Casa Roja, Amped Headquarters and are going to see a military demonstration around the corner in Granada in an hour.

I had a conversation with Ashlyn before dinner about what we've done so far. This is more or less how it went:

Joe: What's your go-to Spanish phrase?
Ashlyn: Hola como estas?  Sometimes its hard to communicate but I pointed to my camera to take took a photo with a kid at the job site and they knew what I meant.

Joe: Coming in to this trip with expectations, what has been most surprising so far?
Ashlyn: How poor the people are here and how many dogs there are just walking around.

Joe: What did you notice walking today? Through the neighborhood on the way to job site? Through the streets of Granada?
Ashlyn: At the job site I was standing in the road and a horse ran by me and then it stopped because it looked like it was about to die.  It was a baby horse that was following another horse carrying a person.  It was really skinny.
In Granada there are a lot of people who don't really follow the rules.  People will walk out in the middle of the road and cars beep a lot and keep going.

Joe: How was zip-lining?
Ashlyn: It was fun.  I've zip-lined before in Florida but it was cool to see monkeys.  I talked to them.

Joe: Anything else worth mentioning?
Ashlyn: The hostel is cool.  The set up is cool with a garden and hammocks. The pool has no roof and you can see the sky when you swim.

Here are some pics from today!

A dog watches us work from the shade.

You can barely see Cam digging the bottom of a future toilet.

Walking through the neighborhood for an up-close look at some of the living conditions in the community.

Frontier's project last summer is now finished!  Two new classrooms for the primary school!

Jeff talking about Amped's creation and history in the community.

Ashlyn and her puppy.

Building a concrete volcano!

Driving up to the base of Mombacho to zip-line!

There is a lot of skepticism here.

All male selfie.

Las mujeres.

Waiting for dinner.  Starving.

Day 1

Good evening everyone! After an exceptionally long and dramatic travel day, we have arrived in Granada and begun to enjoy ourselves. As soon as we left the Frontier parking lot we encountered a major fatal accident on 91S that kept us at a standstill behind a police barricade for almost an hour and a half at 2am. In danger of missing our flight, excitement quickly turned to nerves as deadlines approached. Despite a hectic check in we got to our gate just as the flight began to board. No Kevin McCallister moment. 

As our flight was held in a holding pattern over Miami, we were in danger of missing our connector. And we DID miss our connector! By 2 minutes! Luckily we were able to rebook as a group on the next flight a couple of hours later. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we finally were able to relax for a moment (and get coffee). Still no Kevin McCallister moment. 

But the whirlwind has begun. We are finally here and we've already had an intense Spanish lesson, a dinner out, and a night swim. Tomorrow the work begins at the job site after a tour of the community. 

Our view for over an hour RIGHT after we left...

Excitement turns to boredom turns to anxiety...

Halle orders a "coollatta" in Miami and gets this: double espresso shot. 

Packing the van for our final leg!

I struggled with this selfie. 

We arrive to Oasis to meet Cam, Rowan, and Doug with fresh native fruit waiting for us!

At dinner, Cam poses for a photo. 

Volunteer Info Booklet

Check out this link for a ton more information on Amped's volunteer program:

http://ampedforeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Volunteer-Booklet.pdf

It includes a section on the cultural history of Nicaragua and Granada, a sample schedule of a typical work day while on the trip, and even a recommended packing list. Also, some great pictures and background info of Amped. 

Final reminders!

Hey all! We are being picked up from the Frontier front parking lot at 1:00am on 8/13 for our 5:45am flight in Boston. Please bring your $70 for the transportation cost. We are only days away from departure! 

Here are some general reminders:

**Contact your bank if you plan on bringing a debit card. There will be plenty of ATM access points in Granada to withdraw dollars or cordobas but if your bank sees withdrawals from Nicaragua without any warning they might freeze the card!

**Contact your cell phone company and tell them you will be out of the country and ask how to avoid major roaming or other crazy charges. Some internet searches on how to prep your phone for being overseas are helpful. Find out how to turn off the features on your device that will cost money!

**Our project with Amped will be in a brand new community on recently purchased land. Amped has told me that they would like us all to be wearing Amped tshirts/gear while we are at the job site working to make a positive impression. They will also organize washing and drying the Amped shirts after each work day. I'll give you the shirts when we depart. 

**If you are planning on checking a bag, please review American Airlines policy on baggage checking. It will probably be at least $25 fee. 

**Don't forget to bring school supplies! We will pack everything in a bag to check. We will actually save a ton of time and money on shipping!

Here is Heather's Packing Checklist:

Clothes
T-shirt/ tank tops and shorts for job site 3-4 days
Other casual clothes for nights/days off
At least one nicer outfit- dress or skirt 
At least one bathing suit
Plenty of undergarments
Plenty of socks
Sneakers
Sandals
Shower shoes
Lightweight sweater/sweatshirt/ jacket in case it is chilly
Rain jacket/ umbrella
Hat

Toiletries
Soap
Shampoo & Conditioner
Sun block at least 30spf
Bug spray with deet
Aloe Vera lotion
Razor
Deodorant 
Medications needed
Tylenol/ Advil
A few Band aids
Hand sanitizer
Baby wipes

Other
Passport
Spending money
Beach towel
Glasses/ contacts
Sunglasses 
Phone & charger
Book
Backpack or bag to carry to job site/ beach
Water bottle
Work gloves

If you have questions, please contact me soon. Otherwise, this blog will be updated everyday on the trip with pictures and reflection from our trip goers. See you soon!

Joe

508 944 7917

Joe.costello2@gmail.com

Two Week Warning!

Hey Everybody!

Our departure is nearing!  I am posting to ask for some support in an effort to bring some school supplies to Nicaragua with our group.  We will pool whatever school supplies we can and pack them into an empty (or near empty?) checked bag.  Here is a list of needed items from Amped's Director of operations, Sarah Wormann:

- pencils

- pencil sharpeners (not electric)

- 1 subject notebooks

- printer paper/white paper

- colored pencils/crayons

- erasers

"These are the main things we'll need, but if you bring down any other odds and ends in addition to this list that would be great too!"

 

Please do your best to bring any items you can, even if they are older or used.  When you see where and who these supplies go to, you'll be happy that you did!

Reminder: Please bring $70 with you for the airport transits when we depart!

If you have any questions, please contact me!

--Joe

joe.costello2@gmail.com

508 944 7917

 

Transport Costs!

Hey folks!

Summer is in full swing!!  Our trip is a month away....

Unfortunately, after researching several airport transportation options, the cheapest fare I could book was actually $35 per person each direction, $70 total.  This is $20 more for total than I predicted.

Alternatives would be parents carpooling with vans, etc. or just individually arranging transportation.  As a reminder, our flight leaves Boston's Logan Airport at 5:45am on Wednesday 8/13 and returns to Logan at 11:06pm on Thursday 8/21.

Checks can be made out to "Amped For Education."  I will accept cash or check at the time of departure 8/13.  It would likely be 1:00am-ish, as we would need to arrive at the airport a safe 2 hours before our flight.  We would depart from the Frontier parking lot.

I apologize for the skewed numbers!  Please contact me with any questions or comments!

--Joe
 508 944 7917
joe.costello2@gmail.com