Surfing at Playa Maderas

Day Thirteen- Monday, March 8, 2010

After the unexpected power outage yesterday we were all desperate for sleep. Many of us were able to sleep in this morning. Some of the boys got up at 6: 30 this morning to catch the swell waves at Maderas beach. For the rest of us we were able to enjoy a good breakfast at the hotel and relax for the rest of the morning. The options for the day were to spend time in San Juan del Sur around the local markets, spend time at the beach across from the hotel, enjoy the sun free pool at the hotel or to go to Maderas beach for the full day. The majority of the group decided to go to Maderas beach. Eight of us including myself took either our first or second surfing lessons. We were able to get a great deal on a rental of a board for a day, rash guard and a lesson for a couple of hours. The waves were really good for learning how to surf. All of us were able to stand up at least once and most of us grew to really like it. It’s pretty cool that we get to say we surfed for the first time in Nicaragua. I am sure many of us well be surfing again back home! The waves were of all different sizes so the more experienced surfers were also able to show off their talents. We managed to not have any injuries surprisingly and we all just mainly suffered from jellyfish stings. We then were able to walk in town and choose are own locations for dinner.

-Lyndsey

Playa el Coco and Playa la Flor

Day Twelve- Sunday, March 7, 2010

Today was our first full day in San Juan del Sur. Most mornings in Nicaragua we wake to burning sun and a constant, arid breeze that envelopes the island. Here is no different. Today we visit Playa del Coco about a 40 minute drive south from our hotel. Upon arrival we swam, tanned, took care not to encounter stingrays while swimming, and then had lunch at the beach restaurant. We explored the vast and uncharted Pacific coast that lay before us. There were beautiful jagged cliffs that formed a kind of bowl around us and tall cactus loomed from the rocks. There was stone that could have come from lava which was pitted and sharp and jutted into the sea forming small peninsulas. We found that the waters were teaming with all kinds of sea life. Ryan said he encountered huge blow fish and eels. From the Playa del Coco we visited one of Nicaragua’s most important natural reserves known as La Flor Wildlife Refuge. There, twice a year, in January and July, the Olive Ridley Turtles migrate from Ecuador and other neighboring countries to the shores of La Flor to lay their eggs. Thousands of turtles some weighing upwards of hundreds of pounds litter the beach, and tourists flock to the refuge to eavesdrop on their nocturnal nesting habits. We headed back to our hotel for some down time and a warm shower, before venturing into our small beach town for food.

-Lisa Del Favero

Bye Bye Granada, Hello San Juan del Sur

Day Eleven- Saturday, March 6, 2010

After spending 5 days in the beautiful city of Granada, we all packed up and said our goodbyes in order to continue onto the next leg of our journey in… San Juan del Sur! After spending so much time in the hot sun doing manual labor, a lot of us were excited to get the beach and just RELAX! But before we could get on the bus for the drive, we had one last breakfast at Casablanca where we met with the director of La Esperanza Grenada, Pauline, who asked us to say a few words about our time with the children. After breakfast we walked back to the Hostel for the last time where we packed our belongings onto the bus and drove off to the small beach town of San Juan del Sur. When we arrived at the Hotel Casablanca (we can’t seem to get away from that name!) we all changed into our bathing suits quickly and ran across the street to the beautiful beach where we spent the next couple of hours just swimming and lounging by the water.After swimming and getting situated in our new hotel, we had a lovely dinner across the street where we watched the sunset and reflected on how happy we were to be at the beach!

- Emily

To The Zoo!

Day Ten – Friday, March 5, 2010

Today was out last day with the kids so we all went to the zoo! We took our own old 1970’s American school bus to the zoo. Most of the kids haven’t even left their small neighborhood and some haven’t even ridden on a bus so the ride to the zoo was filled with excitement. All of the kids had never even been to the zoo so all they talked about was the animals they wanted to see. Somehow one of the kids brought a balloon on the bus. Since all the windows were open the balloon was flying around the bus! We were all hitting and punching it. Everyone was laughing and hollering until the balloon flew out the back window and went soaring down the highway. Even though the balloon was gone, the children thought it was hilarious watching the balloon fly into the cars behind us! When we arrived at the zoo, all the children were in awe. After a couple of seconds of pure amazement, the kids began clapping. They were so happy to finally be there! As we got off the bus, our zoo excursion began. Izzy gave Guadalupe, our student, her camera and she took pictures of every single animal we saw. This zoo was quite different than the zoo in the US. For example, some of the animals we saw at the zoo were squirrels and raccoons. In New York, we see them running around everyday but in Nicaragua, squirrels and raccoons are uncommon. The raccoon was so friendly. All it wanted to do was to get out of its cage and snuggle with us. We also saw a lot of animals native to Nicaragua. We saw a tapir, which is an animal that looks like a mix of an elephant and a boar. It has a small elephant trunk but the body of a boar. One of the more exotic animals we saw was an ocelot. It is a small cat-like animal. It is the size of a house cat but has leopard print fur. Then we saw a chimpanzee. This was not any old chimpanzee. This chimpanzee did not want to be in a cage. When we were looking at it, at one point it leaped up and swung from the bars of the cage. He shook the bars of the cage so hard I thought he was going to break the lock! All of the kids, including me, freaked out and hid behind us. This chimpanzee was crazy, and also looked crazy too! He couldn’t close his mouth and all his teeth were extremely crooked. He did not look healthy at all and was dying to get out of his cage. This chimpanzee had the capability of killing us if he got out of his cage! We did not look at him for very long. At the end of our day at the zoo, we had to take our 1970’s bus back. Even though the zoo wasn’t quite up to par with the zoos that we have seen, it made the kids happy and that is what we are here for. We handed the kids out sandwiches and we were all surprised about how the kids saved their sandwiches and cookies for their families. When we got back to their school we all had to say goodbye to our students. It was very emotional. Donald made a speech to thank us and Ms. Del Favero cried. But we all left and incredible impact on our students and that was our mail goal. We will all miss them very much.

-Rachel

saying goodbye :(

Painting the Murals

Day Nine – Thursday, March 4, 2010

Today was a bit different from the previous two days. We started out the same with the little kids recess and our English lessons. Today we also added colored flashcards of some animals to prepare for the zoo. It was apparent that the kids were learning. While we were doing this Geige and Lucy were designing two murals to paint on the side of the school and the back wall of their campus. Lucy’s design was a map of the world and Geige’s was the numbers 1-10 with pictures. After lunch, some of us continued to paint the white trim and touch up the blue, while Lucy, Emily, Rose, April, and Caroline worked on the world and Geige, Rachel, Liam along with a few others when they took breaks from the building. The final product was colorful and educational. After lunch Max, Donald, and Ms. Del Favero went to convince a few of the parents to allow their children to go on our field trip to the zoo. There was also another group, Christin, Oliver and Roberto that made sandwiches in the sweaty, hot kitchen for our field trip. Then the rest of the group went back to the hostel and we all went to dinner. After dinner we went to the ice cream shop that we visit regularly. They have banana splits for the equivalent of $1.50 and ice cream for $1. We wandered around a bit in town before we had to be back in the hostel for curfew.

-Rose and Isabel

Day Nine – Thursday, March 4, 2010

Today was a bit different from the previous two days. We started out the same with the little kids recess and our English lessons. Today we also added colored flashcards of some animals to prepare for the zoo. It was apparent that the kids were learning. While we were doing this Geige and Lucy were designing two murals to paint on the side of the school and the back wall of their campus. Lucy’s design was a map of the world and Geige’s was the numbers 1-10 with pictures. After lunch, some of us continued to paint the white trim and touch up the blue, while Lucy, Emily, Rose, April, and Caroline worked on the world and Geige, Rachel, Liam along with a few others when they took breaks from the building. The final product was colorful and educational. After lunch Max, Donald, and Ms. Del Favero went to convince a few of the parents to allow their children to go on our field trip to the zoo. There was also another group, Christin, Oliver and Roberto that made sandwiches in the sweaty, hot kitchen for our field trip. Then the rest of the group went back to the hostel and we all went to dinner. After dinner we went to the ice cream shop that we visit regularly. They have banana splits for the equivalent of $1.50 and ice cream for $1. We wandered around a bit in town before we had to be back in the hostel for curfew.

-Rose and Isabel

Working With La Esperanza Granada

Days Seven and Eight– Tuesday, March 2, 2010 and Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Today was our first full day at the school. Again we were greeted as soon as we went through the gate with hugs and screaming kids. We first played with the kids during their recess. We jump roped and the kids were good about making a line and taking turns. The kids also drew with the chalk that we donated. We noticed that they mostly drew suns, churches, and houses. The boys also played soccer on the dirt ground with many of the hyper kids behind the school with We also played hopscotch with the 6 vowels in each box to incorporate learning in their games. Then the school bell rang and the younger kids went to their classes and we began our lessons with the kids we were paired with on Monday. We worked right outside the classrooms in the shade. We taught them greetings in English with flashcards, the numbers 1-20, vowels, commands, and question words. Then we ate lunch in the classrooms that the workers at Casa Blanca brought to us. After lunch, we began painting the school. Other volunteers had built the school, but it was cement so in order to improve the ascetic of their learning environment we were going to paint it. The school colors in Nicaragua is blue with white trim. When we went back the next day we had the same routine, but we could tell the students we improving their English, which was exciting for us to see.

-Rose and Isabel

Back to Granada

Day Six – Monday, March 1, 2010

Today we made the journey back to Granada. We took the ferry back and were greeted by our bus driver Alberto and our air-conditioned bus. We rode to our new place of lodging, which was a hostel called Hostal Mochilas. We had the entire place to ourselves, which was a total of six rooms and three bathrooms for the 23 students and Mr. Faloon. Ms. Heneveld and Ms. Del Favero were lucky and each had their own bathrooms. Only one of the students’ rooms had AC (but costs $5 per night), which to us was a big problem. That night many of the students, about 10, all slept crammed in that room. Then we had lunch at Casa Blanca, which is the restaurant that we will be eating literally every meal at for the next 5 days. Then we went to the local Nicaraguan school for orientation. We met up with two volunteers, Jared and Donald. Jared is a volunteer from New Zealand and speaks English and a little Spanish. Donald is a Nicaraguan who speaks very little English. We had to walk through town and the market for about 10 minutes to get to the bus station. The market was amazingly different from anything any of us had ever seen. It was packed with people, fruit, vegetables, fish, and even live crabs. The market is located on a narrow street with tables on either side. We got on the local buses, called “chicken buses” since one often finds locals carrying dead chickens and other produce on them, and rode for about ten minutes past a graveyard until we got to our stop. Then we walked about a mile is the scorching heat on dusty, dirt roads. Here we really experienced the poverty of Nicaragua. There were houses, well shacks, on either side of the street. They were either made with wood, or corrugated tin and only consisted of one room. We arrived at the gated in school and were practically attacked by the kids. Without even knowing us they came up and hugged us. We played with the younger kids during their recess and then met with a volunteer from California who told us what to expect. Part of this experience is to help the children speak English. So, we were partnered up: strong Spanish speaks with weak ones. We then returned to the hostel and had a chance to use the two free computers. We went to dinner at Casa Blanca and then had a meeting to prepare for our English lessons the next day.

-Rose and Isabel

Horseback Riding and Exploring on Ometepe Island

Day Five – Sunday, February 28, 2010

Today, was another fantastic adventure. This morning we took a horseback riding adventure alongside Concepción Volcano, the second highest volcano in Nicaragua and the most active . Our group rented horses most of which were extremely skinny. On some of the horses you could see their bones through their skin. Some kids were afraid that their weight would crush their horse! We all got up on our own horse without any instructions. When we began riding, everyone seemed to have problems making their horse stop and start. In the beginning of the ride people were constantly yelling and clicking at their horse to go. Once we got going, riding the horses was much easier. We galloped through many dirt paths, racing through the wild life. At the beginning, when we riding on the side of the highway, Max decided to off-road it. His horse took a tumble but he rebounded quickly. After riding on the side of the road for some time, we took an off-road path off the side of the highway. That's when people's horses began to pick up speed. Soon everyone was cantering down the dirt road, hollering and screaming like cowboys. At one point the path turned into a steep rocky incline. I could feel my horse struggling to get up the hill, but he made it. On our way back, down the same rocky hill, we had to dismount and lead our horses down the hill. It was too dangerous to ride down. When we got back on the highway, the horses picked up speed again, this time faster. Soon we were all galloping down the center of the highway. Everyone was having a great time, including the locals who were yelling at us to go faster! The rest of the afternoon we had a lot of free time to ourselves. Most of us spent our time swimming in Lake Nicaragua or enjoying a beautiful view of the lake and the lagoon nearby our hotel on a hike that we took. After, we were able to stay at the hotel for the day and were given several options in what to do. Ryan, Izzy, Rachel, Mr. Faloon, Ms. Delfavero, and Tessa decided to go on a small hike. We saw many beautiful flora and fauna, as well as lagoons and the volcanoes. One of the amazing things that we got to encounter was the howler monkeys. A whole group of them swung from branch to branch in the trees and branches above our heads. It was an amazing sight. On the hike we saw howler monkeys and they have a tendency to pee and throw their feces when they feel threatened. Today, Tessa was one of the lucky recipients to be peed on by one of the howler monkeys we saw. After dinner we had a bonfire and had a more informal sharing of experiences about first time horseback riding and zip lining.

-Rachel and Tessa

Journey to Ometepe Island...

Day Four- Saturday, February 27. 2010

Today we trekked to Ometepe Island. We took an hour and a half bus-ride to the ferry. We had gorgeous views of the two volcanoes that the island is comprised of, La Concepion and Maderas. We spent the hour-long ferry ride on the top deck. It was very hot and sunny. Everybody was tanning, and the majority of us got very burnt. As we stepped of the ferry, there was a kid holding up a sign reading, “Welcome Ross School.” We got in our three vans dropped our stuff of at the hotel, which was located right on the beach, changed into bathing suits and headed to lunch. After we headed over to a lagoon with mineral water directly from the earth. It wasn’t quite what we expected, because it was man-made and filled with algae. Then we got back into our vans and headed to a tiny museum. We had a quick tour and saw petro glyphs with spirals that symbolized eternity, and urns that symbolized fertility. We vetoed the plan to go to a petro glyph museum about an hour away, because of the heat and the very bumpy roads. We returned to the hotel, Charco Verde, which means green lagoon. We had some free time and most of us chose to swim in Lake Nicaragua. The sand is very different from the Hamptons; it was black, volcanic, and very fine. We then went to dinner at the hotel with the waves splashing in the distance. The power went out, so we had our first session of journal sharing on the beach with flashlights. Journal sharing consists of the teachers and students sitting in a circle and each sharing an experience from the last couple days. Bosco also made a speech as did Mr. Faloon about how lucky we were to have had Bosco as our tour-guide because that day was his last day. We were all upset and each one of us thanked him personally. That night it was windy, stormy, and it was also raining even though it was the dry season.

-Rose and Isabel