After waking up to another beautiful day here in Nicaragua, we all headed down to breakfast where we had beans, quesadillas, pico de gallo, and sour cream. It was delicious. I also decided to be brave and try the strong Nicaraguan coffee, and, like everything else here, I loved it.

We then piled onto the bus and headed to the school. While the majority of the students got off the bus at the school, eight seniors including myself were chosen to go to the hospital and pass out much needed food and clothing to the patients and their families. We continued on to the house of Betty Palma who graciously taught us how to prepare and cook a traditional Nicaraguan rice and chicken dish. We were surprised to see just how big the pots and pans for the food were. Betty put us right to work, with some of us washing the containers for the food and others of us preparing the massive pots. Cooking over the open fire, we helped make the sauce, the rice, and the chicken. Just as the smoke from the fire was seeping into our eyes, we were all offered goggles to ease our watering eyes. It was interesting to see just how fast and efficient Betty, Jessica, and Jenny were able to cook the food, while it took us a while to pick up the pace-so to speak. Once all of the food was filled into about 75 containers, we had the pleasure of eating the food, which was delicious! While we were filling the containers it was interesting that so many people had eaten different variations of the dish that we were preparing. For me the dish was very similar to Spanish rice, a plate that I usually prepare with my mom. Brittany and Bruna also said they have had similar dishes back home. I love seeing those connections that cross between borders. It is interesting to see just how much food bonds us all.

The highlight of the day, and for me the trip so far, was the hospital. Immediately upon arrival, you could tell just how different it was from even the most impoverished hospitals in the United States. We began to pass out stuffed animals to all of the children in the hospital and their gratitude was a reward in itself. There were some rooms in the hospital with over ten children in one room, with little to do while they awaited treatment. Luckily, along with the food we had prepared and the stuffed animals, we passed out clothing and toys for the young patients. We were also able to give medical supplies that are always in demand. While the sadness of seeing all of the young patients ailments and the condition of the hospital was intense, we all felt this overwhelming sense of the need to help, and began brainstorming other things that we could donate to the hospital for next year. Overall, I think I speak for everyone that went to the hospital when I say what a truly rewarding and gratifying experience we had today.

After the hospital we went to pick up the other students at the school, and were able to see their hard work. After teaching lessons in the morning, they continued to paint the school’s classrooms, as well as a beautifully themed Nicaraguan mural to cover the outside.

Another highlight of our busy day, was our hike in Masaya. We hiked to all four canyons and took some beautifully breath taking photos. We then went back onto the bus and drove toward the caves filled with bats. Unfortunately, during the bus ride, I was deleting pictures and I accidently deleted all one hundred and forty pictures on my camera. While I was upset, many people graciously offered me their pictures, so my loss was eased.

Once we got off the bus we were given a flashlight and hard hat and started to migrate toward the bat caves. We went to this one mini-cave where we were able to see bats flying all around us. Our wonderful tour guide then took us into another cave, where we instantly became spelunkers as we traveled 180 meters into the cavern.

Breakfast, school, betty palma’s cooking, eating the food, cultural transformation, going to the hospital, back for lunch, go to the hike, hike beautiful sunset and see the canyons, accidentally deleted all of my pictures, bats and caves. Dinner of pasta salad shared late, among the cabanas. It was truly a memorable day.

JH

My group, the art group decided to read a story to the children with puppets we crafted ourselves. The hero of the story was a sun, and so we helped the kids each make a puppet-sun of their own to take home. After they finished their masks, we taught the students a song about the importance of the sun in our world.

We were covered in glitter glue and exhausted after splitting our attention between classes of 20 to 30 kids when the children’s break from class began. For us teenagers, their recess is far from a break. We let the kids climb all over us, get into tickle fights and games of tag, and run around the small campus with the kids on our backs calling us their horses. Many of us comment that recess is our work out for the day! They absolutely love the attention from us, and so we’re up and running around with them for the full 30 minutes to make them happy.

Recess is also the best time to build connections with the kids. Many of us have already bonded with children that seek us out specifically. Even those of us who have very limited Spanish (like me!) have been able to connect. A smile is universal. The best moments are those when you make eye connect with a kid and wave. They are a little hesitant, so you give them a smile, and they’ll finally smile and sometimes wave back. They just love to see that we care, that we are happy to see them.

After recess the kids went to a presentation in the front room and we got the opportunity to start our project to paint the school. We began with the youngest kids’ classrooms. Mr. D gave us a lesson in painting and so we nearly finished two rooms in just a few hours. Tomorrow we will paint some more; we also hope to start a mural designed by our very own Sandra.

After much needed time to clean up, rest, and eat lunch, we took a short drive to another of Cantera’s community centers. This one is very large, with a beautiful garden, library, and murals. It provides many classes for the community, both for the children and adults, such as theatre, martial arts, and dance classes. We were lucky to spend a few minutes with preschoolers at the center – they sang and danced for us, and we even exchanged renditions of “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider” in our various languages. A group of eight-year-olds presented a play to us, and we were their first live audience! Last, we met some of the dancers in a large courtyard where they liked to practice. They showed us a few dances there, but they also got to come back to the Cantera retreat center to teach us contemporary and traditional Nicaraguan dance moves and eat dinner with us.

Our dance lesson was fabulous. We all “loosened our hinges” and shook our hips a lot to keep up with the Nicaraguan dancers. We danced the Merengue, Cumbia and Regueton. Most fun was to see Ellis bond with a breakdancer, Josué, who had decided to come with us at the last minute. Ellis is a good dancer, but Josue had a lot that he could teach him. They’d made their own handshake by the end of the night. At dinner I got to sit with the female traditional Nicaraguan dancer named Gema. She’s been working with Cantera as a dance teacher for 11 years now, all to save money to go to nursing school. We took tons of pictures with them before they left, having had so much fun and sad to see our time together ending. The group was very kind to stay as late as they did, later than they’d planned, because it’s dangerous for them to return to their neighborhood late at night.

Since then, it’s been a low key night as we prepare for more lessons tomorrow, relax together, and rest up for another busy day. Hasta luego.

KTC

This morning, I awoke, stumbled out of bed, questioned where I was, and arrived five minutes late to the soon-to-be-departing bus.

This is most definitely an individual problem, as nearly all of us were up the extra hour early, ready to depart on our well-prepared-prepared for day. With alarms blaring as early as six in the morning, we all went through our various morning routines: brushing our teeth, making ourselves somewhat presentable, eating a delicious breakfast, and preparing ourselves for the coming bus ride. There was one thing different today, however. As we were boarding the bus that is so expertly commandeered by Domingo, we were wearing the familiar heart-clad club T-shirts that some of us had waited a full year to be able to sport again.

As the bus pulled up to the school, we couldn’t help but lean forward in our seats to be able to see the children that we had come to Nicaragua to serve. Parents and children lined up to receive family portraits that were never available to them before. The school day commenced, and groups of TL students with very diverse emotional facial expressions were split up into different classrooms. There, we introduced the students to portraits of their California amigos, and helped them make their own portrait frames. With our Spanish speaking skills (hesitant skills for some of us), we were able to present the kids with various artful tools to use as they saw fit. I met a five-year-old boy named Andry, who was hesitant to display his artful skills at first, but after some enthusiastic coaxing, impressed many with his masterful decorating. After interviewing them about themselves and finishing up the cute, hand-decorated frames, the kids were given a recess time. This was the time when many of us felt overjoyed yet slightly overwhelmed at the sheer amount of happy little children trying to jump and cling onto our backs. Shenanigans, cute moments, and chases ensued as we played with the many children that made our day so bright.

After the kids were picked up by loving parents and the classrooms were sufficiently cleaned, a group of TL chaperones and students left to the paint store to buy supplies. When they came back, however, trouble was in the air. Apparently, the store had refused to accept the bank check that we presented (and earlier confirmed, by phone, would be accepted). The check would cause an inconvenience to the store that they did not want to deal with. It was then decided that we would all go to the store and show them that our hard-working club was not to be taken lightly. As we arrived at the store, however, our trouble was met with another overbearing difficulty. There were various disagreements among students and staff, regarding the methods we were using to go about solving the problem. Despite our unrest, however, we were able to unite, reason with the store, and later receive our paint, with one third of it donated to our cause. With this predicament over, we learned a very powerful lesson today that we will carry for the rest of our experience in Nicaragua: that even though there may be disagreement or divergence between us due to unexpected events in the course of our trip, we are still one amalgamated group, united within our cause, ready to support each other, no matter the circumstances.

We arrived back at Cantera to a yet-again delicious lunch. After a short respite, we once again boarded the bus for our next destination: the El Hogar de los Niños Orphanage. There, after unloading suitcases full of items for the children, we were given a tour of the orphanage, and were basically given free rein to play and connect with the children as we saw fit (and fun). Soccer, volleyball, piggyback rides, swinging, and many other activities were enjoyed both by us and the children that afternoon. It was truly magical to watch Davis reuniting happily with his friend from last year, Adam, who clung to his back and didn’t let go for the longest time. Or to see Cora run around, smile-on-her-face with her newly met friend, caring about nothing else, lost in the moment. Many other experiences like this were met and enjoyed by everyone.

After the long ride back to Cantera for dinner (we arrived on time for once), we enjoyed yet another fantastic meal. Special guests were waiting for us tonight, Chepe and volunteer from Cantera, Ana. Chepe explained to us his role as a beekeeper at the Cantera Organic farm, a job that he started several years ago. He arrived in Nicaragua in 1979, and was a witness to both the revolution and the counterrevolution in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. He and Ana brought organic honey and dried hibiscus flowers, which are used to make Jamaica tea, the delicious drink we served at the Marin County Fair.

After buying a plethora of sweet pleasantries, the lights were turned off and a chorus of “Las Mañanitas” rang throughout the cafeteria as a cake was brought out for Ally Lucchi’s 18th birthday. As she bent to blow out the candles, Charlie spectacularly shoved her face into the cake, a Mexican tradition.

Our day was packed with many different adventures, and we look forward to more tomorrow and the rest of our journey here in Nicaragua.

ET.

From the chaperones: We are proud to say that we have purchased 80 lbs of coffee. The coffee farm is owned and operated by the nuns who care for the children at El Hogar de los Niños. Many of your students also purchased organic honey and hibiscus flowers from our guest Chepe. We were pleased to watch a number of our students engage in a dialogue with Chepe about his personal experiences during the revolution and counter-revolution. What intelligent, thoughtful travel companions we have!

Today, breakfast was fantastic. We had gallo pinto, eggs with meat, watermelon, and fresh orange juice. After breakfast we began our bus ride to Leon, and along the way we stopped at another Cantera Community Center. Isa, a Cantera volunteer from Nebraska, talked about the different youth programs provided at the community center. Some that she mentioned were literacy programs and health programs. The Center contained a newly painted mural that was both designed and painted by the children participating in the center’s programs.

As we were walking through the neighborhood streets, we passed out clothes and toys to all the children we encountered. We walked from the Center to Lake Managua. There, along the shore, we visited an old train station that has been out of business since the late 1900’s when the government disbanded it. The rails and cars were sold to multiple countries. This destroyed the town’s entire economy because it had revolved around the business the railroad created. There we met a woman named Nora Ramos, who shared her personal story of how this event affected the town. On our way out of the town, we stopped to watch a “Sandlot” baseball game.

Next we drove to a little town called Nagarote to see the world’s largest quesillo. Nagarote held an entire festival around the goal of creating the world record for the longest quesillo (a Nicaraguan cheese quesadilla in crème). This fresh cheese was braided and kneaded into a 600 foot strip, the length of four city blocks. This festival brought large, Nicaraguan crowds leaving our group to stand out like sore thumbs.

When we finally reached Leon, we ate lunch and then visited the town’s cathedral. This cathedral is the oldest in Nicaragua. The town’s center contained many street venders that sold souvenirs.

After arriving back at Cantera, we ate dinner and split into our focus groups. We are all so excited to visit the school tomorrow and meet all the children. We hope this will be the first of many great days at the school.

Sincerely,

Cabana 4

Today, breakfast was fantastic. We had gallo pinto, eggs with meat, watermelon, and fresh orange juice. After breakfast we began our bus ride to Leon, and along the way we stopped at another Cantera Community Center. Isa, a Cantera volunteer from Nebraska, talked about the different youth programs provided at the community center. Some that she mentioned were literacy programs and health programs. The Center contained a newly painted mural that was both designed and painted by the children participating in the center’s programs.

As we were walking through the neighborhood streets, we passed out clothes and toys to all the children we encountered. We walked from the Center to Lake Managua. There, along the shore, we visited an old train station that has been out of business since the late 1900’s when the government disbanded it. The rails and cars were sold to multiple countries. This destroyed the town’s entire economy because it had revolved around the business the railroad created. There we met a woman named Nora Ramos, who shared her personal story of how this event affected the town. On our way out of the town, we stopped to watch a “Sandlot” baseball game.

Next we drove to a little town called Nagarote to see the world’s largest quesillo. Nagarote held an entire festival around the goal of creating the world record for the longest quesillo (a Nicaraguan cheese quesadilla in crème). This fresh cheese was braided and kneaded into a 600 foot strip, the length of four city blocks. This festival brought large, Nicaraguan crowds leaving our group to stand out like sore thumbs.

When we finally reached Leon, we ate lunch and then visited the town’s cathedral. This cathedral is the oldest in Nicaragua. The town’s center contained many street venders that sold souvenirs.

After arriving back at Cantera, we ate dinner and split into our focus groups. We are all so excited to visit the school tomorrow and meet all the children. We hope this will be the first of many great days at the school.

Sincerely,

Cabana 4

After a refreshing breakfast of warm pancakes and syrup the club prepared to leave for a shopping mall where supplies for the lessons could be bought. Over the next few days, we will be teaching lessons at the Divino Nino School. At the mall we planned to buy items that would help to supplement these lessons.

The bus ride to the mall took a good twenty five minutes. We moved from the clusters of corrugated tin houses to a more developed area. The mall was located in the shadow of the Intercontinental Hotel. Inside, we went to the office supply store that we had gone to the year before. My group, the music group, purchased supplies to make posters of song lyrics.

Later we took a trip to Masaya, where we visited a pueblo that was, as I was told, completely devoted to artisanship. As we had done the year before, we visited one family’s home and work area. The father of the family, Francisco Calero, took us through his small home to the house’s back yard. Behind Francisco’s house, a large overhang covers a very humble pottery production center.

He spoke to us slowly in Spanish and our chaperone, Ms. Gatlin, translated for us. The man spoke of family tradition. He described to us a method that his family had used for generations. He described to us the process of changing the Nicaraguan soil into ceramics. Across his yard there lay piles of bags containing this special soil—bags that the family purchased to make into decorated works of art. JP

Sebastian Sanchez was invited to take a seat at the potter’s wheel. Francisco gave Sebastian a nod of approval as he formed his clay. Ms Galbreath would have been very proud of Sebastian’s demonstration. Attached is a photo of Sebastian.

On the bus ride back to Cantera, the students entertained the adults with songs from the 1960s on up. We played a round of telephone to pass the time, with hysterical results. After a delicious dinner, we finished up organizing the generously donated items. They are now ready to be distributed to the orphanage, hospital and Divino Niño School. Our students, filled with non-stop energy, had a great evening of fellowship, song and laughter (i.e. they are thriving without their tech gadgets.)

Buenas noches from Managua! PK and SG

After our lunch and before our departure for the school, several of the students played catch with a football, while some of us caught up on some much needed sleep. At 3pm we drove to the school, where the teachers introduced themselves. A handful of students who were at the top of their class and received scholarships for their next year of school performed beautiful, complex, traditional folk dances.

For the next hour after the dances and the introductions, we were allowed to explore the school and meet some of the lingering students. I met a young girl named Fatima and her younger brother, Omar. Although I spent the past five years learning French rather than Spanish, I found out that Fatima is nine, Omar is two, and they both love playing soccer. I cannot wait to present the soccer goals to the school, so kids like Fatima and Omar will be able to use a somewhat realistic playing field.

We left the school at about 5:30 and stopped at a supermarket for those who left items at home. Again, the newcomers were shocked: this time, it was by the prices. A dollar is worth approximately 23 cordobas, and a packet of Tang costs only five cordobas. Therefore, the supermarket’s Tang selection was successfully wiped out by our club. We continued our drive home and had another delicious meal at Cantera, full of locally grown vegetables, freshly butchered chicken, and wild rice. We fully enjoyed our dinners, but at this point most of us were delirious and sleep-deprived. We wrapped up our first day today in Managua by planning our lessons for Tuesday through Friday. As we continue our week, I look forward to spending time with the teachers and getting to know students like Fatima.

Location: Margaret Todd Center, 1560 Hill Road, Novato, California CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS!

6:00 p.m. – Hors d’oeuvres and no host beer/wine bar

6:30 p.m. – Traditional Nicaraguan dinner followed by film presentation

8:30 p.m. – Dancing with Cynthia Glinka and ‘Sound Byte’

Single Ticket $35 HERE

“Couples” Tickets $30 each HERE

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DANCING ONLY from 8:30 – 11:00 p.m.

Single Ticket $15

Couples $25

Please pick up pre-purchased dinner and dancing tickets at the event!

Thank you and SEE YOU THERE!

Questions? Please call Ceci Wyckoff at (415) 897-7718; or Pat Sharp at (415) 566-4044

Hope to see you on October 16th!

Information on the festival can be found here: http://www.sfchildrensfilm.org/index.php

Hope to see you there!