Nica Time

Rolling into Nicaragua I instantly saw the caring nature of the people here and their economical struggles. As we crossed the border our bus stopped about a minute in route to give food to someone working the other side of the border and then contines to roll by a graffiti sign on a incomplete concrete building declaring "bienvenidos a Nicaragua."

So far my experience in Ncaragua has been eye opening rolled on with a whole lot of fun. I am volunteering with an organization called La Esperanza Granada that works with the lower income schools around the tourist hub of Granada. In working with them I have got a peek ino the issues and struggles behind the education here on a number of fronts. My job is to pull a list of kids out of class and give them on one help. Yet, they don't give me what they need help with or a curriculum of any sort. Most of the kids are 7-10 and I am working with them on the alphabet, writing letters and simple addition and subtraction. The kids are beautiful and full of energy and when I have them they are (for the most part) willing to learn, but when I send then back to class they get caught trying to write the shapes on the board to fill the space in their notebooks. It is hard to see kids as old as 17 struggling to attend and pass grade six. Yet it must be said that it is great to have the chance to help them, but difficult to see how my four or five weeks here will has little educational value to them. I have had some highlights so far though... My first day with a girl Karlota she easily wrote her numbers and rattled off the multiples of ten but struggled adding. So I decided to teach her multiples of 5 and the patterns that go with it- by the end the lightbulb went off and she had he biggest sparkle in here eye. We played hop scotch with the multiples and it was obvious how excited she was to come back the next day. First success! I hope this continues, but my time is limited with random days off for teacher meetings, bi-weekly flouride rinses, and bi-weekly computer practice it is hard to meet with all the kids who need us.

We also have had an interesting perspective on the lack of education in health. Last Friday we had a dental clinic where NYU dental students came into do free dental work in Granada with kids as their main focus. Some kids walked with with all their teeth rotten and changing colors and others had cavities and doctors to take priority with only the permanent teeth. What was most shocking was the parents, after the docor explained the issue to them- that is those that were there- they immediately brought the kid a candy and/or juice for the wait. HELLO! There is a reason behind your child having to have all of his/her teeth pulled. It was heart wrenching holding kids hands while the were numbed and drilled into- it will be hard yet necessary to go to the dentist at home. Especially after indulging a few days a week on coke-to-go-in-a-bag.

My other perspective of Nicaragua so dar is the wonderful markets and volcanos. On a daily basis we meander through the markets and buy all sorts of fresh fruit, veggies, beans, and naturally...rice. Something about local markets and straight up delicious goods makes me feel alive and so content with meals on a daily basis. Volcanoes have the same affect for me. So far in my two weeks here I have been able to "hike" two volcanoes with one- maybe two- coming up this weekend.

My second weekend here we chicken bused it to Volcan Masaya just 45 minutes away from Granada. Masaya has an active crater and an inactive crater- both of which are beautiful in their own ways. The Montana girl I am I was set for a trail hike with a few switch backs only to find the road paved and full of tourist buses an we treked our way up there. The approach over the hill was kinda funny. It looked like a whole bunch of tourist ants huddling around a plum of smoke. The active crater was kinda eary and Lord of the Rings esk, but it's own lo of beauty. We later hiked up to the inactive cater and it couldn't be more different the trees were over grown and it seemed as if a number of new species could be easily discovered there. It was a fun adventure for my new little community found through La Esperanza- we finished off exploring the market and getting some good ol' El Salvadorian Papusas from the street.

The next day we got a discounted exersion (it pays to volunteer) to the isletas on Lake Nicagua right outside of Granada. We got a nice boat ride out there to a private island with a pool and barbaque. The best part was the boat ride back. I left with the first group ready to get a cold drink somewhere, but quicky jumped back on with the boat driver when I saw that the sun would besetting  just behind the volcano over the water. I have never had a more with while boat ride... It was so peaceful being on the boat alone and seeing the sun light up the sky. Worth every second and a great cap to my first week.

The next Tuesday we were randomly granted the day off so my fellow volunteer Jack and I decided to get another volcano under our belts. Volcan Mumbucho is right outside of Granada and is the volcano I was drooling over on out boat ride back from the isletas. Again, expecting a trail I was confronted my a road, but this time with a lot if slope. We heaved and sweated our way up there while stopping to sit on the road and watch some monkeys tree jumping (one sitting above me just decided to jump before peeing- at least monkeys are considerate that way). Once we got to the top we decided to take the trail that didn't lead us to the crator. We were told that is was closed and that we should have a guide, but didn't see any signs so decided to go for it. The walk was like walking though Jurrasic Park with the howler monkeys and random abandoned buildings at the start. As we got further in we discoversed that the walk was in need of a lot of repairs with random stairs missing and a slippery dissent. It was wild and quite exilerating especially once we reached the end of the trail we discovered the rope closing the trail. Turns out we did the walk backwards- opps! No wonder we didn't see any signage. We then walked around the crator- again something that surely hid dinos. It was a perfect day off, but man alive the initial hike really wore out my legs. I hope hoping to rest them up for a week weekend as Isla Ometepe!