Hey everyone! We just finished our last week of spanish school and have moved on to student directed travel, two things that most of us are very excited about. We left Bona Fide on Monday instead of Sunday due to Nicaragua´s elections, and made our way to Escuela Español Mariposa. There we were all introduced to our families for the next week. It was especially exciting because this was the first time we all got to experience a solo homestay. Our families resided in rural communities and their houses offered only basic comforts, which was a change from most of our previous homestays in Matalgalpa. We spent our week volunteering in the morning and attending school in the afternoon. Our volunteer options consisted of working in a finca, helping with the garden or the kids at a center for children with special needs called Los Pepitos, or playing with kids at a cultural center. Interacting with the children and helping out the staff at the farm and with gardening was the highlight of many group members´ weeks.
Our group has been together now for two months and it wouldn’t be right to call us anything but a family. While we all come from different places, from the East Coast to West Coast, and while we are all very different, we are rarely to be seen not laughing, smiling, and having a blast. Our Overseas Educators are our friends and are always a part of our joking and games. We spent a day at Laguna De Apoyo and all played king of the raft on a (yes you guessed it) raft (of sorts). It was a blast diving off it after frisbees and enjoying smoothies on beach chairs and exercising on the dock! So far student directed travel in Granada has been a blast, wandering around town, buying souvenirs and eating ice cream and other goodies. Tomorrow we head to the beach for 4 days and everyone is excited to relax and take it easy! We all miss home but are all enjoying the end of our adventure here and can’t wait to share our experiences and fun times with you all.
Much Love, Carpe Maya
