Thanksgiving in Nicaragua

While our families sat around a table adorned with giant turkeys, mashed potatos and the works, we drove half an hour to Rana Roja, a delicious Italian-owned pizzeria to feast with fellow gringos. Although we missed the traditional Thanksgiving fare, we found much to be thankful for in Nicaragua.

This week at the school was the most successful thus far. Everyday was reasonably well-structured, the teachers brought various activities to the table, and the children are beginning to use more creativity and thoughtfulness in their work. One day we took a mini field trip down to el mar (the beach) where we collected shells and rocks which we then painted and used to decorate cardboard slates. The children enjoyed completing several mural paintings which are now hanging in the school.

Music classes are a new frontier that we attempted to cross this week. The school has found a musician to come for an hour twice a week. This being Nicaragua, he failed to come the first day. However, he came Friday and held his first class. The children were immediately excited by his guitar playing and eager to use the tambourines, bells, maracas and drums generously donated by Hilary Wyler from Music Together in East Hampton. In terms of structure, though, the class still has a ways to go.

We were fortune to have several Americans from Texas visit Una Escuelita this week in between their surfing ventures. The children loved having the presence of more male role models and took to them immediately. With that said, it seems clear that the school would greatly benefit from a male volunteer who could fill the void which was left by both Mathias (the first volunteer from Germany) and Quinn. One of the biggest problems at the school continues to be impressionable adolescent boys who lack concentration and are disruptive to the other children.

We have formed a daily routine in which several of the girls from the school walk us home each night. They enjoy listening to our ipods and learning English words while we walk. Once we arrive, the girls are fascinated with learning to use the mousepad on A’s laptop and always ask to “borrow the bathroom” (literally prestar el bano). One of the most important things we are learning is how to balance between being their friends, teachers and role models.

We are officially out of DVDs and downloaded TV episodes and running low on books. Luckily, next week we start our intensive Spanish lessons with teachers from Bigfoot Escuela in nearby Playa Gigante. We will be sharing four hours of Spanish lessons for the next three weeks and will resume again after the holidays. Hopefully this big push will prove to be helpful. Maybe the next blog will be written entirely in Spanish…maybe.

Buenas Noches,

Jane and A

P.S. View our photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/AlexandraStorch/NicaTimes#