Nicaragua Trip

Wow! I can believe I just got back from a 2 week trip to Nicaragua! There was sooo much that happened, so I'll have to just share some highlights with you! After our 12 hour bus ride from San Jose to Managua, Nicaragua (which included a flat tire) we arrived at a retreat center where we spent our first few days together. We heard from a couple American missionaries, a woman at a church, and Dona Maria Tellez (One of the political party's leaders who also fought in their war back in the 80's). It was so inredible to hear from these people as we gained a better understanding of Nicaragua! We also went to Loma de Tiscapa, which is where a famous political leader, Sandino, used to live. We saw their Central Park, National Theater, Old Cathedral, New Cathedral, and other potical/historical locations. We also visited and heard from the leaders in this community in the middle of Managua across the street from the National Assembly. They are living in these huts made from scraps of wood and garbage bags. They have all been affected by a chemical called Nemagon, which big companies forced them to use in farming back in the early 90's. This chemical was illegal in the US, but there weren't laws against it at that time in Nicaragua. However, it is EXTREMELY damaging to one's health. So we got to hear about their history and their struggle with getting the attention and care needed from the government. However, the government has done NOTHING about this and they have been living in this community for about 6ish years now. Anyway, that was the gist of our time in Managua.

Wednesday we met the pastor's of our communities and split up into small groups. They each took four or five students and introduced each one to their host family for the week. My family was inredible and so extremely hospitable! They practically treated me like a queen with tons of food, their nicest plate, and practically serving me in every possible way. Mirna and Francisco were my host parents. Francisco worked from 4:00 am - 7 or 8ish at night, so I did not see him a whole lot. However, one night he got home a littler earlier and I got to talk to him a lot about Nicaragua, their politcal history, their interaction with the US, and his opinion on it all. One thing I discovered quickly was that Nicaraguans have a very different accent than Costa Ricans. They seem to talk a little faster and almost mumble more. That made it twice as hard to understand (as if I don't have enough trouble all ready) haha. Mirna was a more quiet but strong woman. She cooked, cleaned the house, washed the dishes, washed clothes, and took care of her girls. Katherine was 12 yrs old going on 25. She helped her mom with everything around the house and took care of her youngest sister Genesis (8months) who is possibly the most beautiful baby I have ever seen in my life! Abi (IRONIC, and confusing at times) was 7 yrs old and she became my shaddow. She went with me EVERYWHERE and just watched me. She was really quiet at first, but during the second half of the week she was starting to talk all the time with me. I pretty much got to live life with this family. Life was very slow paced which i enjoyed for a change. I believe that there is a lot we can learn from "slowing down". We went to church every night, except one. There church was more conservative, but they expect everyone to participate. It's typical to have people come up front and sing a song for the church. Numerous people did this every night...including myself on my 1st night there. Mirna found out that I knew "Eres Todopoderoso" so we marched up there and sang it for all. Talk about DIVING right into the experience! haha I played kickball a couple times with a bunch of people from Cuatro Esquinas (my community) and passed a volleyball around a few times with some girls. My host family took me to Masaya, where there were 2 main markets that we ventured to. I also went to the Dia de la Biblia (Day of the Bible) with a large group of people from our church. We marched through the city of Ticuantepe chanting things such as Quien vive? Cristo! A su nombre? Gloria (Who lives? Christ! And to his name? Glory!) We arrived at a park where there were at least 300-400 people. It was then conducted somewhat like a church service with singing and a message along with their national dance and some poetry. I mostly enjoyed just spending time with my family going to the stand to buy fruit, go to another house to buy rice and chicken, sitting outside with my sisters, chilling in their hammock under the palm trees, talking with people in the community, going to a wedding, riding around in these trike-like taxis, and watching telenovelas (soap operas) with my family. So many more stories, but it's impossible to write them all! Feel free to ask me more about this trip when I return.

The last 2 days of our trip we reunited as a LASP group and stayed at a nice hostel in Granada. This was a time of rest and reflection. I ventured around Granada seeing their beautiful architecture, eating, and buying a few souveniers. As our group activity on Thursday, we had some debriefing time in small groups and then took a tour of the Islands in Lake Nicaragua (where Granada is located on the coast). Such incredible beauty!! There was an island with monkeys that we got close to. Taylor Jessup (the other APU student here) fed a monkey and then the monkey journeyed onto all our boats looking for food. She (the monkey) searched through my friends bag and found her granola bar. She also smelled that I had a banana in my bag (good timing on my part). She crawled all over me and I gave her the banana to eat. So incredibly hilarious! We all went and had lunch on one of the islands and then returned to our hostel by horse and buggie to enjoy the rest of the day.

Friday morning we got up bright and early to begin our 11 hour trip back. Now I am back in San Jose with a journal to finish about the trip, a 4-6 page paper to write, and a packet to read all for Tuesday! The break from classes sure was nice, but I guess that's what I am here for. Back to work! :)

Pictures to come!