During SST students are required to keep a journal and submit three entries each week. This is a recent journal entry from Caleb, pictured in the photo on the left: As I walked to school today I had some extra time to reflect about my experience on the…
Friday was such a long day that we set a record for starting early. Everyone arrived at Quinta Goshen (our unit house) before 6 a.m. to leave for the entrance station for the Mombacho National Park. Mombacho is an extinct volcano with a unique cloud forest on top. The…
On Wednesday the students learned about different music genres heard in Nicaragua, including popular folkloric music from national composers. The presenter who played recordings of the different music types also brought a dance partner to demonstrate the fast-stepping, highly rhythmic dance styles for different types of music. Then it…
Thursday Getting from Jinotepe across the country to the Caribbean coast (also called the Atlantic coast or East coast) is an all-day endeavor. Leaving at 7 a.m. we headed east over flat, parched, brown terrain. The rainy season hasn’t started here yet. Approaching the center of…
At our Monday Coyuntura it appeared that we had forgotten it was Alejandro’s birthday; there was no cake and no singing for Alejandro. Afterwards Maria asked Alejandro for some help running errands, while the rest of us hopped on public transports to go to Alejandro’s home, where a surprise…
A typical day for the students begins when they leave their home in Jinotepe, Dolores or Diriamba (all in the same department of Carazo) and make their way to the edge of Jinotepe where we have our Spanish classes starting at 9:30. Most students arrive early, and Doug or…
On Tuesday we took a day-long field trip to Managua, the capital, starting at the old city center. The original Cathedral is now in ruins with its clock frozen at the time (12:32 a.m.) when the 1972 earthquake leveled almost all the major buildings in the downtown area. The Somoza…
Friday began with a nice surprise: rain! Because the dry season begins in December, everything in Managua was very dry when we arrived. The rainy season usually begins around mid-May, but this year it appears to have started already. As we drove out of Managua and up the mountain…
Last night for supper the students enjoyed their first Nicaraguan meal, which included a tortilla, salad, mixed vegetables, a fresco de Jamaica (hibiscus tea) and ……. rice and beans. Everyone liked the rice and beans, which is good, because that is the Nicaraguan staple. After breakfast this morning (which…
The students arrived on time today, shortly after noon. Once they stepped outside the airport, they were greeted by the robust heat that characterizes Managua in April. This is the hottest month of the year. After a 45-minute trip through the heart of Managua, we arrived at Centro Kairos guest…
