Nicaragua

This past weekend our group made a trip to Granada, Nicaragua to renew our visas.
To be honest, before arriving in the city, I wasn't all that excited for this trip. All that I had heard of the country at all was how cheap the souvenirs were going to be...which didn't set me up to expect much better about the country as a whole.

While the souvenirs were indeed well below the prices of those here in CR, the city of the Granada made more of an impression than I expected.

The architecture and colors of all the buildings were reminiscent of Spain. It also seriously reminded me of Charleston, SC.

 


We went on a carriage ride around the city and got to see all the beauty up close, and from up above in the steeple of the Iglesia de la Merced.

 

 


We also took a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua and the miniature islands within it. The nature and history on the islands were both incredible.

 

We also had the opportunity one morning to work with over a hundred children in the less privileged area of the city. As we were driving to the church/school, there was a visible change in the houses getting closer to the volcano and further from the city. The closer we got, the more the houses began to look like no more than shelters - built out of sticks and sheet metal. (As it was above 90 degrees everyday we were there, I've compared these houses to ovens.) The average family income in the neighborhood is $2/day.
We reached the area and the children just started pouring over the hill from the neighborhood. We had a bit of song and worship time at the beginning, and then the children were split into age groups.
I was assigned to the snack committee. Our group prepared hot dogs for each kid and some of the parents that attended. I was moved to tears by the gratitude that the kids showed as I handed them each a snack. It was obvious that they were grateful for any nourishment they could get. There were several children who tried to sneak back in line for seconds, or begged for an extra snack bag to take their brother/cousin/mom. Having to say no, as we only had enough for 200 people, absolutely broke my heart in ways I hadn't expected.

We then did some more worship songs with them after the activities to wrap up the morning. The love and grace that shone through those kids was a souvenir that didn't cost a thing, and won't soon be lost to the dust on a bookshelf.

Puppy Mountain

Puppy Mountain. Need I say more?

I made so many fluffy friends.

It was honestly more hard to experience than I anticipated. So many of the dogs were sick or had mange and fleas, or were still injured from their lives on the streets.

 

As sad as it was though, it was beautiful to think that there are places like Territorio de Zagüates that exist to help however they can.

Also there were puppies. 

Livin' la Vida Loca

The past few weeks have been filled with many ups and downs for all of us here in San Jose.

Classes are moving along. Grammar is becoming exhausting. Personal relationships are growing tense because we spend all of our time with the same people.

Overall though, we are learning. I am learning. We're learning to be patient with ourselves as we piece through new sentence structures, to take time to ourselves to re-hydrate our brains, to navigate life together without biting anyone's head off.

Two weekends ago our group took the weekend to relax and enjoy the sun in Guanacaste. I spent the better majority of the three days we were there laying next to the pool doing absolutely nothing. It was a much needed, well received time of rest.

Last Thursday was set aside for the students at ILE to learn about a few different aspects of Costa Rican Culture. I learned a few new yard games, and the Tico twist on some that I was already familiar with, like Hopscotch. We also attended a dance workshop where we learned the differences in various styles of Latin American music, as well as a few dance styles. (Really we did a giant cardio/Zumba workout. No, I cannot give you lessons.) At the end we had the opportunity to learn the traditional Costa Rican skirt dance (with skirts!) All in all, the day was a blast. (And a super workout.)

This weekend we had completely free. It was my housemate's last weekend here, so we spent the majority of it shopping in San Jose. We spent a day walking around the Central Market area and got to experience quite a bit of culture, as well as buy some really neat souvenirs. 

Every time I go downtown, there's an abundance of street performers. Apparently on Saturdays, the pedestrians are more likely to join in the fun.

I love the passion for life that the people here show everyday.

Pura Vida