Day 2

Saludos!

DÍa dos en Managua, Nicaragua! By this time, we are more evolved to the heat that plagues this country.  We successfully survived the day wearing pants! That in itself is quite an achievement!

Our day began with the rice (mind you, we have had rice for every meal thus far), and then we hopped into the bus with Vernon.  Our service trip began with our arrival into the community we are helping.  It took a little adjusting when we drove into the neighborhood. It was something we were not used to.  Trash lined the streets, and the buildings were dirty.  With the skinny stray dogs walking around and looking at the faces of the people, one could sense a feeling of despair.  As privileged Americans kids, we were not equipped to face the emotions that were brought about by the situation.

However, this evaporated instantly as we were transported onto the Hollywood red carpet.  Little fans were streaming around our legs in curiosity and genuine delight as we entered the school.  One did not know which way to turn as little mutterings of “hola” followed you around.  Those little smiling faces and their eagerness to learn about us instantly brought us happiness. This was especially apparent in a little girl’s zeal to grasp the hands of Senora Tansey and Madison.  She did not let go until we were led on a tour through the school.  It was also apparent in the children around Mr. Keiper, who was holding a very intriguing device- the camera.  They asked for him to take pictures of them.  He happily agreed, and later as we looked over, he very bravely offered for one very cute boy a chance to take a picture with his camera.  The boy was so delighted and promptly took a few pictures.  The smile that appeared on his face melted our hearts- he was just so happy.

 After Lauren, Catherine, and Courtney were asked to play a game with the spirited students, we were taken on a tour of the school by Paolo, the other leader of our trip.  From this tour we learned our mission of the week as well as more about the school.  Our jobs this week include: helping to build a room for the kindergarten, painting a mural, and assisting teachers in helping to teach the children English.   Their room for the kindergarten is too small, and it is their goal to make it bigger to keep better track of the students and allow for more room for their learning needs.  A very cool thing we will be doing is painting a mural.  Murals adorn the stone walls of the school.  The purpose of these murals is to empower the children to grow and keep moving forward in their lives.  We are supposed to inspire them to help turn their situation around and become Nicaraguans of Vision.  Finally, we will be assisting the teachers as a way for us to interact with the students.  We are all very excited to begin our work tomorrow!

A huge highlight of the day stemmed from our interaction with the children that occurred after the tour.  They started off with a sock puppet show in which no one could understand what the show was even about.  These kindergarteners through sixth graders were way more advanced than all of the Spanish students that came on the trip.  After this, the recess bell rang, and streams of curious children found their way to where we were sitting.  At this point, we all had our cameras out.  Lauren was the first one to pull her camera out.  After this, a large line of children promptly formed in front of her.  For the rest of the time, Lauren took pictures of the children, with the children, and let the children take pictures of her. They became professional photographers with the touch of a single button. Similar things happened with Meredith and Courtney.  Everywhere, one could hear the little mutterings of “foto” in the vicinity.  It especially struck us when the kids were so excited to look at the pictures of them within the camera.  Along with these petite photographers, spirited children milled around with a desire to play games with us.  Mr. Keiper found a line forming in front of him.  The kids promptly showed him how to play a modified game of rock paper scissors.  He realized that he had been defeated when a little hand squeezed his cheek- we decided it was a tool to keep track of wins.  Suddenly a bunch a new bunch of young girls decided they would share their knowledge of hand games with Miki.  After a while, it became more of an endurance game when streams and streams of children lined up to take on the friendly stranger.  As a result, two exhausted teenage girls walked away with bruises upon their hands. To the delight of the team, one of our French students (Miki) successfully learned a few words of Spanish. We were sad when we had to leave for the afternoon; however, we are delighted to be working with these precious children all week long.

Matt then took us to transfers (dumps located throughout some of the neighborhoods). It was very hard to see people sifting through the trash, looking for materials to help them survive, something we had never been exposed to before.  After lunch, Matt conducted an economic activity where we were given the amount of money that a typical family working in the dump would earn one day.  The amount given was equivalent to two American dollars.  We were sent out into the market to buy necessities that a family would be able to purchase on a daily basis.  These items included only rice, beans, and some vegetables.  We all returned with very little rice, a small bag of beans, and a few vegetables.  The group of Senora Tansey, Catherine, and Lauren, however, felt bad and bought a rather large bag of beans with just very few vegetables.  We all came to the conclusion that this amount of food that could not be substantial for a whole family.  It really made us realize the struggles the families face every day.