Brad and Kara mastering a spin We started this week with what has become a tradition of the Nica SST experience: dance lessons. From folkloric to bachata, cumbia to Palo de Mayo, dance is an integral part of Nicaraguan culture, and we’ve seen a lot of it…
Our final excursion last week was a trip to Gaia Estates, an organic coffee and certified bird-friendly farm located outside of Diriamba. This 90-acre farm run by Jefferson Shriver grows coffee beans as well as vanilla beans, avocados, zapote and cinnamon. Gaia Estates is a true organic…
Diriamba Casa de Cultura For our next trip the students learned a bit about the various folk and cultural traditions unique to Diriamba by visiting la Casa de Cultura (The Culture House) and a local Güegüense doll maker. The tour at la Casa De Cultura started with…
Ashley befriends a red-eyed tree frog While a good portion of the students’ time in Carazo is spent in Spanish class or charlas (lectures), our field trips give them the opportunity to experience first-hand some of the things they are learning and hearing about in the classroom.
A view of Pearl Lagoon This past weekend we visited the East Coast of Nicaragua, which has much more land and coastline than the more densely-populated western side of the country where we are spending most of our time this semester. Situated alongside the Caribbean Ocean, the…
Last week Martin’s host family invited us all to a surprise birthday party for Martin. Brad diverted Martin after reunión long enough for us all to sneak over to his house and be ready to yell, “Sorpresa!” [surprise] when he entered. Indeed, Martin was sorprendido when he arrived!…
Azucena, wife of Juan Paulino, etches a design into a hand-made ceramic pot Friday’s field trip took us first to San Juan de Oriente, a small artisan village, where we we were welcomed into the home and workshop of local potter Juan Paulino. Juan and his family…
When students are not in class or attending lectures, they are either attending reunión at Casa Goshen or going on a local field trip. We usually meet at Casa Goshen for reunión on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Our time is typically spent eating lunch together, taking a quiz over the…
Two of the founding members and co-owners of this fair trade organic maquila After an early 6:45 AM rendezvous at Casa Goshen, our group set out for a long day in Managua. Our first stop was a special maquila called Zona Franca Masili. This maquila is unique…
Don René’s classroom Midway through our first full week in Nicaragua, students are starting to settle into a routine. A typical day begins with breakfast with their host families, and then they are off to Spanish class at the Jinotepe office of CEPAD, the Council of Protestant…
