It’s hard to believe that service is over already, and even moreso that our time in Nicaragua is ending. Alas, it’s time for finals — not the exams we take on campus, but rather a series of last-time-we-will-do-this and last-time-we-will-be-here moments tinged with both sadness and anticipation. On Friday…
Amanda, Brian and Nathaniel are our three students at Estación Biológica located at Laguna de Apoyo. While the location is breathtaking and the picture of relaxation, the work that the three have been doing is far from a vacation. After a 20-minute downhill hike through the forest,…
Hannah and Sarah share a work assignment at Las Mujeres Ambientalistas, the paper making co-op that the group had the pleasure of visiting while traveling in Estelí. As was mentioned in the Estelí blog, the co-op is run by women and was created as a way for them to…
Jacy is our only student who is on her own in Managua, and to quote her sister-in-law, “Everyone in the barrio knows Jacy. Everyone!!” With those words, we can confidently say that she is doing very well both at her work placement and with her host family. Jacy’s service…
Although they stayed in Carazo for service, Katie and Austin work in an environment that could well be mistaken for a more remote location, with its lush tropical beauty and rugged terrain. Gaia Estate is a 90-acre family-owned organic farm in Diriamba that has earned Nicaragua’s only “…
Three students are in Matagalpa, the provincial capital city of the department that shares its name. Located northeast of Managua and demarcating the start of the country’s northern region, Matagalpa is known for dense mountainous forests, spring-like weather, coffee, cattle and eco-tourism. Kaleb and Jacob work at…
Last Friday morning we officially ended the “study” portion of the study-service term and sent the students off to new places to begin their service projects. By early afternoon we had received word that everyone made it safely to their destinations. All was quiet (and even a bit lonely) around here on Sunday, as we imagined the students settling into their new locations and getting acquainted with their surroundings and family members.
Thursday was our last full day in Carazo. After finishing Spanish final exams that morning, most of the students spent the afternoon relaxing and preparing for the evening's despedida, or farewell ceremony. Emceed by Kaleb and Brian, the evening got off to a lively start with a folk dance troupe from the Universidad de Central Nicaragua, where we have held most of our afternoon lectures. Then each of the three Spanish classes took the stage. Doña Mirna's advanced class (Kaleb and Jacy) tore up the floor with a salsa dance. Don Rene's class sang a lovely a cappella version of the ever-popular "Ay Nicaragua, Nicaragüita." The big hit of the evening was Don Ramón's class performing an original drama entitled "El Machete de Oro," (the golden machete).
Our final day trip as a group was last Friday, when we visited an active volcano in nearby Masaya, a lookout point over Laguna de Apoyo, and a village of artisans specializing in ceramics. We had two special guests along with us -- next year's Nicaragua SST leaders Deanna and Tamara, who are here for a week of orientation. Volcán Masaya last erupted in 1772 but continues to emit a nearly constant stream of sulfurous gas and smoke. When the breeze is strong, the fumes can be hard on anyone standing downwind. After learning about the geology and wildlife of the area in the museum at the base of the volcano, we were advised by park rangers to keep our exposure to a minimum by staying on the mountain for a short time only and keeping our mouths and noses covered. Consequently we had to nix our plans to hike around the rim of the crater.
After such a full and intense weekend of travel, we spent a good portion of our weekly reunión today debriefing and processing all that we had seen and heard. We divided the students into groups of three and then assigned specific places we visited to each group. Their…
