Oh we´re halfway there!

sorry it has taken us so long to update the blog! we have been so busy rushing around nicaragua, seeing the sites and trying to see as much as possible because time is flying by! we can´t believe we are already at the half way point! some of us are definitely facing a little bit of culture shock, but we all still have super positive attitudes and get up every day excited to see what we will learn! this past saturday we went to Granada, where we got a chance to shop and go to a number of historical sites. granada is the most modern city we have been to since we have been in Nicaragua, we even got to eat real American imitated pizza! it was so exciting! while in Granada a few of us went to a large cathedral, where we got to climb to the top and see straight across the whole city. it was beautiful, complete with multicolored roofs and many monumnents. a few of us also got a chance to see pre columbian statues in a museum. we also bought vigorone. this nicaraguan delicacy has potatoes, pig skin, and salad, all wrapped in banana leaves. although we have been advised not to eat street foot, we decided that it was worth it try this dish. as most of you already know we are at our secnond NGO, which is called Seeds of learning. Seeds of learning is located in the middle of the city El Dario. This town is a little bit safer than where we were previously in Managua. it has a small town feel, with many small shops and cobble road streets. With this NGO we are working at Agua Fria, which is located on top of a mountain. so every day we have to take an hour bus ride up a teep sloped, rocky mountain road. it is quite an experience, however the view is worth it. while you are traveling up the mountain you feel like you are in ireland or scotland because of the vivid green rolling hills and domestic animals lining the roads. At agua fria we are helping the community build a school for the children. right now the children of the community have to travel a far distance to get to the nearest school. having this school situated in the community will decrease much of the children´s traveling time and will further facilitate a learning environment. agua fria is filled with many young children who just love to play. we are always playing frisbee with them and they are always willing to help us lift rocks and help us with whatever we need. a few of the group, such as Celeste are very popular amongst the children. they call to her throughout the work day begging her to come and play with them. its so cute to watch these children interact with us and laugh at our attempts to speak spanish. these first few days at agua fria have been so much fun and we cannot wait to continue working with them and follow the school´s progress as it is built up. we will have another post soon! thanks for all of your support!!!
Shout out to the Thomas Family and Dr. Hamrick
love,
alena... and alex

Coffee Beans and Other Things

We left on Friday to spend the weekend at El Porvenir organic coffee cooperative in the mountains. The trip there consisted of a four hour bus ride, most of which was on a bumpy dirt road, and then a 45 minute drive on a tractor up the steep incline to El Porvenir. Most people stayed on the trailer and held on to the luggage, while a few others decided to make the hike on foot. The hike was challenging, hot, sweaty, and buggy, but it was also an accomplishment, and it felt great when we finally saw the red roof of El Porvenir.
El Porvenir has no electricity or running water, which made the stay there a first-time experience for most of us. We bathed using a barrel full of water and a bowl, and we slept outside on a porch in hammocks, which many people thought were uncomfortable. However, the view from the porch was beautiful, looking out onto fields and mountains. In the morning, the roosters quite annoyingly woke us up at the crack of dawn with their incessant crows, but watching the rising sun come up over the mountains could not have been more peaceful.
The first day there consisted of getting an orientation from Rene, the Vice President of the cooperative. We got a little tour and hiked out to a gazebo with the most beautiful vista, overlooking both Nicaragua and Honduras. We were peacefully enjoying the scenery and taking pictures when some agitated wasps began attacking people. Three of us got stung, and the rest of us ran away in time to avoid a sting. For the rest of the weekend, everyone tried to avoid wasps as much as possible.
On the second day, we were put to work in the coffee fields. Our job was to carry bags of compost fertilizer to holes that had been dug in the field and fill them in with two scoops each. We battled the heat, ants, mosquitos, and dirt, but it was a great experience. Our mere 3 hours of work gave us a glimpse into the hard lifestyle and grueling work these people put into making coffee for us every day. I think we all appreciate organic coffee much more now that we've seen where it comes from. After work, we toured the coffee processing plant and saw a vermaculture system where they make organic fertilizer usin red worms.
Overall, El Porvenir was a tough but valuable experience. On the way back, we stopped in Leon for a few hours for lunch. Leon is a beautiful city with large cathedrals and beautiful murals depicting political messages and Nicaragua's political history. We explored and had some lunch adn returned to JHC.
On Monday, we listened to a talk about the No Pago, Si Pagamos movement, which has to do with microlenders extorting their interest rates and people not being able to pay back their loans and losing their land. Afterwards, we went to a rally of the Movemiento del Norte, who were protesting the usury of banks and microlenders and their unwillingness to negotiate with the people. The rally was exciting and let us feel the passion of political beliefs here. After dinner, we had a concert by Luis and Martha of the group Guitarra de Madera Azul. Everyone had a great time listening to their songs and singing and dancing along.
We're all learning a lot here in Nicaragua, and we're having a great time! We will update as soon as possible.

These past few days in Nicaragua have been nothing short of amazing. So far we have traveled to Cuidad Sandino to talk to the mayor, gone to the market in Cuidad Sandino, talked to the banana farmers who have been fighting for justice in front of the National Assembly building for the past 4 years. The group is trying to get compensation as well as recognition from the U.S. transnational corporations Dole and the Standard Fruit company who sent tons of the chemical nemagon to Central American, failing to tell the workers that the chemical was very dangerous (it had been outlawed in the U.S. since the 1950s). Most of the people have external and internal injuries as well as forms of cancer. Visiting the banana workers in their tarp covered shelters was a very humbling experience. We met many families and although it was a heartbreaking experience, we did not leave feeling hopeless. instead we left feeling touched by what these people have gone through as well as touched by the human spirit that still exists among them. we received so many hugs and words of thanks when we were doing nothing more but talking to these people. it just goes to show the compassion that exists within Nicaraguans.
We also went and visited many monuments in Managua, most of which featured the sombrero wearing, mule riding Sandino, who is the founder of the FSLN. We also talked to the cooperative of Jubilee House, which is an all female cooperative composed of single mothers and grandmothers. These women have so much hope for the future. they built their own factory, with no pay for three years and sacrificed countless things for their families as well as themselves. however, each says that it was worth it because it gave them a future, as well as a future for their families. The group has gotten so close in the past few days and we wake up each morning prepared to work and prepared to see things that are going to move us and give us newfound appreciation of the human spirit. I can say for all that this has been an amazing experience that gets better each day. Well we're off to work at a clinic Nueva Vida that receives help from the NGO we are staying with, Jubilee House Community. Can't wait to give details soon!!

Safe Arrival

We are safely in Managua, Nicaragua staying with our first non-governmental organization: Jubilee House Community in Cuidad Sandino. The plane ride went smoothly the bus ride on the other hand, was a different story. Amidst honking cars and bareoot street vendors selling us everything from mangos to water in plastic bags, the accelorator completely stopped working and we came to a screeching halt at the base of a small mountain. although we were all slightly freaking out, we were in good company. An older man approached the bus ringing a bell and selling a cartful of ice cream. So, we munched on ice cream on the side of the road while help arrived to fix the bus. When we finished our ice cream the ice cream man insisted that it was perfectly acceptable to throw our trash anywhere. However, everyone felt uncomfortable and refused to do so. When the bus finally started going, we drove past Lake Managua where a colorful structure was situated. we later found out that this was where Somoza and his 'thugs' threw dead bodies into Lake managua, hundreds of feet below. The volunteer coordinator of Jubilee House, Felicia told us that women would go to the bottom of the cliff and look for their husbands and sons or any other family member that went missing. This definitely brought Nicaragua's tortured history to light.
Managua is a unique, colorul city littered with trash and run down buildings amidst huge 'americanized' bill boards. however, the culture here is bustling with statues and our forms of Nicaraguan pride. We are all so excited to be here and can't wait for all of the adventures to come. Thanks for following us!!

UF in Nica blog officially created

Hi friends!
My name is Alena and I just set up the blog we will be using throughout our trip! I am so excited about all the adventures we are about to have. I have been excited for this trip since November, and I cannot believe that it is finally here! Anyways please feel free to write on the blog whenever you want! i will be emailing everyone the username and password. Can't wait to see what everyone has to say and I can't wait to get to know you all!
See you soon! Safe travels!
Alena