Nicaragua, Summer 2009 SST unit

Final Retreat and farewell to Nicaragua, Nicaragüita

31 Jul 2009 15:34 EST

On Saturday July 25 everyone made their way back to Casa Verde in Jinotepe, where we loaded up and headed for our final retreat at beautiful Laguna de Apoyo, just up the road from where Kurt and Jonathan S. did their service. After supper we had our final "quiz" (consisting of questions such as "Who has the best sandal tan?" and "What is the funniest...

Service visit to Laguna de Apoyo

18 Jul 2009 03:51 EST

[www.gaianicaragua.org...] -- Kurt Neufeld and Jonathan Stuckey are spending their days (and some nights) helping with reforestation and fauna monitoring projects at nearby Laguna de Apoyo, a nature reserve in the crater of an extinct volcano. Each day begins very early with a 45-minute hike from their host families' houses down to the Estaci...

Service visit to AMNLAE in Rivas

18 Jul 2009 02:13 EST

Vanessa Hershberger and Alicia Schwartzentruber are doing their service work at AMNLAE in Rivas, a southern city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. Named in part for the first female member of the FSLN (Sandinista party) to die fighting against the Somoza dictatorship, the AsociaciÃ³n de Mujeres NicaragÃ¼enses Luisa Amanda Espinoza is a nongovernmental...

Service visit to Candelaria, Boaco

15 Jul 2009 20:12 EST

[asofenix.org...] -- Although not the most distant of the service locations, Candelaria is certainly the most remotely-located in terms of access. Ali Gotwals, Liz Gunden, Gina Richards and John Williamson live in the campo (country), and getting to their community involves a bumpy 2-hour ride into the mountains northeast of Managua followed...

Esteli: AMNLAE and Paper-making Cooperative

14 Jul 2009 13:38 EST

Esteli is a lovely town in northern Nicaragua. Emma "found" her service assignment on the field trip the group took to Esteli in May and it has turned out to be a great experience. The cooperative is built on the site of an old garbage dump and is largely funded by a Dutch organization. The women collect paper from the new, nearby dump and are also...

Centro de Recuperación Nutricional

13 Jul 2009 23:01 EST

Chelsea and Casey work at a nutrition center in Matagalpa where under-nourished children are cared for. Their days are spent feeding, diapering and playing with the children. Casey's mom is a baker and so we were treated to a wonderful desert when we visited his house.

Los Pipitos in Jinotega

13 Jul 2009 22:29 EST

Ashely and Jesse work in a school for Down's Syndrome children and teens. So far they have been helping with dance lessons, craft time and creating a brochure for the school. There are also a number of deaf children at the school so they are being taught some Nicaraguan sign language. They are both enjoying the cooler mountain air and their host families.

Ninos del Fortin and Los Chavaladas in Leon

13 Jul 2009 21:50 EST

Allison and Bethany have been spending their service weeks in Leon, a northern city that seems to attract numerous European volunteers and tourists. Ninos del Fortin is an organization that helps educate and house street kids. There are two locations: Ninos del Fortin and Los Chavaladas. Bethany is at Ninos del Fortin which is a day school and helps...

Service Visit to Escuela Cristiana de Sordos

13 Jul 2009 19:59 EST

A taxi ride down a long and bumpy dirt road on the outskirts of Managua brought us to the deaf school where Naomi and Stephanie are working for their service assignment. In the mornings Naomi does crowd control in a grade one class and Stephanie helps in the high school classes. At 10:30 there is a snack... gallo pinto (beans and rice), at 12 there...

Service Visit -- Hogar Belen (Jonna Buller and Elena Histand)

5 Jul 2009 12:01 EST

Service Visit -- Centro de Salud (Jacki Moser and Valerie Solano)

5 Jul 2009 11:35 EST

And they are off!

13 Jun 2009 22:46 EST

The first group left Friday at 7 a.m. and headed north. Rachel, Michelle and Emma to Esteli where Rachel and Michelle will work with AMLAE, a women's organization, and Emma will work at a paper-making cooperative. Gina, Jon W, Liz and Ali G are going to Candelaria, a remote village in the Department of Boaco. Mennonite Central Committee partners with...

Farewell Party

13 Jun 2009 19:35 EST

The final party was a lot of fun! We had a Folklore Dance Group from University of Central Nicaragua, where we held our classes, perform three dances. Each of the Spanish classes did something: a song, a poem and a play in Spanish ("Caperucita Roja," a/k/a Little Red Ridinghood). Michelle Kaufman performed a belly dance, and a guitar duo played while...

A week of lasts

11 Jun 2009 15:04 EST

The academic portion of the Nicaragua ended today with impressive Spanish presentations. Wednesday was the last Reunion and a time to celebrate Elena's birthday with miniature lemon tarts and cinnamon rolls. (We celebrated Stephanie's several weeks ago and did not get the picture up, so here it is.) During the Reunion we also practiced a few songs ...

Jubilee House Community/CDCA

5 Jun 2009 22:36 EST

¡Salsa!

5 Jun 2009 19:41 EST

Enough with lectures and classes and field trips â€“ itâ€™s time to loosen up! Last Wednesday we decided to work out some of our culture shock issues on the dance floor. Expert instructors Frank and Elizabeth taught us the basics, and then students from Universidad Central de Nicaragua (where we have our daily lectures) graciously helped ...

La Chureca or The Managua Garbage Dump

29 May 2009 22:04 EST

A few facts about La Chureca * 214 families live inside the Managua city dump. Almost all of these households are headed by women. * 1200 more families in the surrounding neighborhood go to the dump on a daily basis in order to find food to eat and items to recycle or sell. * A "good day" at the dump yields 60 cordobas' worth of recyclable...

Education in Nicaragua

28 May 2009 22:45 EST

During the past several weeks we have visited a local school and also met with Fanny SalmerÃ³n, one of our host mothers who is a former teacher and currently subdirectora (vice principal) at a secondary school here in Jinotepe. Having heard about the 1980-81 Literacy Crusade in previous lectures, we wanted to know not only what has happened to the...

Field trip to Estelí - Part 2

25 May 2009 22:12 EST

Field trip to Estelí - Part 1

19 May 2009 09:52 EST

Volcán Mombacho

13 May 2009 12:50 EST

Student's first week

9 May 2009 11:28 EST

Nica Mailing Address

3 May 2009 00:30 EST

We got a post box yesterday, so if you want to send letters (No parcels please, they usually get held up at customs) to any of the students (or Lisa or gwen) here is the address. P.O. Box 5 Jinotepe, Carazo Nicaragua

Orientation Weekend

2 May 2009 23:16 EST

After a very busy orientation weekend, Friday at 5 finally arrived! Families came with full car loads to meet their host daughters, sons and siblings. I am going to apologize for many of the BAD pictures, but for those interested in seeing what is going on, they are better than nothing. There was so much action I could not get every one to stand still...

Hi Mom and Dad

29 Apr 2009 23:37 EST

They are all here and doing great. The plane was on time, customs a breeze and everyone in good spirits. We had a light supper and they are sitting in rocking chairs and chatting and slowly wandering off to bed. We are staying at Kairos Center in Managua for tonight and tomorrow. Orientation will be all day Thursday and then we head to Jinotepe on...

The scuffle of the three saints and two visitors

29 Apr 2009 00:57 EST

While busily preparing for the group's arrival, we took a brief break on Friday afternoon and went with our Nicaragua friend Silvia to El Tope de los Santos . This event is part of the celebration of the patron saint of nearby San Marcos. It begins with a mass in the church on the town square in the morning, after which a giant statue of Saint Mark...

Nica Leader Arrival

8 Apr 2009 00:11 EST

We, Lisa and Gwen, arrived in Jinotepe on Friday after a restful sleep in Managua. That afternoon the unit furniture arrived in a couple of pickup truck loads, and then we walked down the street for a few groceries. So far our funniest embarrassing moment was not being able to light the propane stove. So the landlord called a technician, and...