Nicaragua x2

This past weekend, I got to go to Nicaragua again! It was neat because I got to do and see different things this time around and go with different people.  One of my friends here has a friend/mentor (who is basically like her mom) from the states who was coming to visit her missionary friend, if that all makes sense.  So five students, the friend/mentor and her family (four people), the missionary and the young Nicaraguan lady who lives with her. 

the whole group

Marsha (the mentor/friend/mom), Kim (missionary), and Bildad!

We left Thursday after class last week and loaded up on the nine hour bus ride to their house in Dirriamba, Nicaragua. The next day we got to see parts of the mission, including the clinic, the food-place -- where they give out food to about 100 kids everyday (I got to help! The ladies that do this get up at 6 every morning to prepare it), and go to a church service that night.  The service was so cool – it was very Biblical and I tried to follow in Spanish but someone was translating in English for us and that ended up being a much better way to go ha.  I sat by this 13-year old girl named Marcela who was so adorable!!  She was so fun, and at first during the service she kept laughing at me because I kept doing things wrong, and sometimes I understood why (like the time she tried to shake my hand and I thought we were supposed to start clapping) but other times I had noo idea why. It was funny.  She was so sweet and generous, too!  She gave me a couple of her silly bands after we were trying to figure out what they were, and some squishy sticker things too.  Talking with her and the kids was so fun.  After we also got to talk to some of the other ladies, and they were teaching us Nicaraguan phrases, and we had a blast with those.

We tried to go to the beach that day, but it was the day of the Tsunami in Japan so the beaches were closed.  So we mostly just hung out and did random stuff—played twister, the boys wrestled (the friend has two sons ages 6 and 8) and played soccer.  And that night we just hung out and talked and got some good wisdom from the dad of the family that was visiting from the US.

the house we stayed in

twister, with 6 people...interestingg

futbol

wrestling!

entrance to the house: "Cristo te ama" o "christ loves you"

The next day we went to Masaya – which has a cool volcano and a big market place. I bought a hammock woo woo! Which conveniently does not fit in my suitcase, so I’m going to have to have it as a carry on and feel like a huge tourist the whole time in the airport…oh goody.

next to the volcano

volcano! and to explain why i look like that, it was bright and windy lol

these are nicaraguan taxis!

Also, I sat by two ladies on the bus…they were both really nice!  The first lady was a Christian and so we had a good chat, and she introduced me to her kids afterwards, and she also gave me her address and everything and told me that we should all come visit her if we had time (which we didn’t but it was still really nice) and another lady that was an ambassador between Nicaragua and Costa Rica and taught me more phrases J She kept calling me amiga, it was cute. 

I’m really glad I got to see Nicarauga because it’s very different from Costa Rica.  Costa Rica is much more American-ized whereas Nicaragua has kids asking for money, and in places, people that really have nothing.  Eye-opening and made me really aware of how much we have in the US and just how attached we are to our stuff and not generous with it.  Definitely glad I got to go a second time!