The student's first full week in Jinotepe ushered in the rainy season, which we were hoping would cool things down a bit. No such luck, at least not so far. We’ve all been drinking lots of water and learning to move more slowly.

On Monday we met our Spanish teachers, Don Ramon, Doña Mirna, and Don Rene. Students (and leaders) jumped right into Spanish-only instruction, and by Tuesday some of us were already in front of the class summarizing articles from La Prensa, one of Nicaragua’s daily newspapers.

Our first lecturer, Frances Kinloch Tijerino, literally “wrote the book” on Nicaraguan history. Using maps, archival documents and photos, Professor Kinloch highlighted the seminal events and peoples in Nicaragua from pre-Colombian times to the early 20th century. Next we welcomed Aynn Setright, long-time resident and expert on Nicaragua’s turbulent political history. Aynn’s high-energy presentations focused on the Somoza family dictatorship, the 1979 triumph of the Sandinistas, and recent political, economic and social developments.

On Wednesday afternoon we had our first weekly reunión at Casa Verde, enjoying “Nicaraguan pizza” with a side of fresh avocados from the local mercado. After a brief devotional on the themes of control (we may not feel we have much) and comfort (we may need to ask for a little more), we reflected on North American sayings and proverbs and what those say about our culture(s). One of the many ways we hope to learn more about Nicaragua is through the dichos, (sayings) we hear from our families, teachers, lecturers and new friends.

We ended our first week with a visit from Vicente Padilla, an organic coffee farmer from the town of San Ramon, north of Matagalpa. Not to be confused with the baseball player of the same name, this Padilla has lived through an eight-year struggle involving wealthy coffee plantation owners who have repeatedly attempted to take his small plot of land away from him. Despite intimidation, harassment, corruption and outright violence against him and his family, Padilla has remained staunchly nonviolent throughout the ordeal. You can read about his story and the complicated history of land ownership in Nicaragua in Revista Envío, which published an excellent article on Padilla’s case in 2006 (English language version at http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3355).

Now we’ll all go home and rest a bit, so that we can be ready for our first field trip this Sunday – Volcán Mombacho and a tour of the islands around colonial Granada!