Hola friends and family! We’re ending our week here in Matagalpa, and what a crazy busy one it’s been. We started the week off with a bang, by pulling up to Colibri Spanish School in a super cool, private chicken bus (thanks to the wonderful Keelyn Szederkenyi). There we met Noelia, our contact from Colibri. She took us to a fantastic lunch, where we were given an orientation of sorts before meeting our host families! Homestays this week are individual, and we have all been scattered about the city. We all spent the rest of the day getting settled into our homes and exploring Matagalpa, before our week really got started.
Come Monday, our classes began. Classes this week were again in groups, and ran from 8 to 12 every morning. Each class got the chance each day to go somewhere in town, including the local coffee museum, the Cathedral near by, and even a big cemetery. On Wednesday the entire group went to the town plaza, where we played a few fun games with the teachers. We ended up drawing a crowd, which clapped when Hunter won our game of Ninja. It was a fun time for all.
On Monday and Wednesday night, the group headed over to the local university for a night of language exchange. The first night we spent an hour and a half engaging in conversation, completely in English, with the students there. The second night, we were given a short lesson in Salsa, then spent the rest of the night playing games. The real night of Salsa, however, came Thursday night, when we went to the school for an actual class. Kaitlyn’s host mom was the teacher and picked favorites *cough cough Graham*. It ended up turning into a crazy dance party, with most of us busting out some super fun, crazy dance moves. It also turns out that Zach is a natural at Salsa.
We also had activities planned for us by the school everyday. On Tuesday we went to a local market. Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend much time there though because it began to rain. On Wednesday, we had an American speaker come and talk to us about the history of Nicaragua and the current situation with the canal that is planned to be built through the country. Thursday we headed to the local maternity house, where we met the mothers living there, toured the house, and even got to sing a lullaby for the soon to be born babies, much to the discomfort of a few of the guys. Other than these short activities, we were given the rest of the day to explore the city. A few of us frequented some pretty great restaurants and truck stops, including an American owned ice cream shop called Besame, a burrito place that Josh from last week told us about, and a feminist cafe that had some pretty good food.
Because Friday was our last day of classes, each class came up with a poem to read to the teachers at the graduation exchange type meeting at the end. Noah and Zach however, opted for a song, which we all enjoyed. The teachers then sang us all a beautiful song, called Casa Abierta, which means Open House in Espanol. Afterwards, we were given the chance the leave our marks on a wall in the school that was filled with paintings from previous students.
Friday afternoon, Byron, Graham, Kaitlyn, Lucie and myself got to see a rally celebrating the anniversary of Carlos Fansecos’ death, with the people in the crowd chanting and people onstage singing. That night, with no activities planned by the school, most people from the group decided to go to a discoteca. It was incredibly fun and we got to dance the night away. And for you worried parents, not a single sacred six was broken!!
On Saturday, The group took a day trip to Cascada Blanca, a beautiful waterfall with a few swimming holes near it. We spent the day swimming, soaking up the sun and having a blast. The coolest part, though was the swimming hole right underneath the waterfall. I didn’t personally see this, but apparently Kevin, Noah and Zack all swam underneath the falls. How cool is that?
Anyways, we’re headed off to Ometepe Island, where we’ll spend the next two weeks on a farm. We’re all having fun here in Nicaragua and can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip brings.
We love and miss you all!
Your Bilbo Blooggins of the week,
Alexa
