Nicaragua--Spring Break

Well, here we are nine weeks into our program. I cannot believe that we are on the last leg of our journey here in Central America with only six weeks remaining. In the wee hours of Sunday morning we started our journey to Nicaragua. We boarded a bus at three a.m. for a ten hour journey through Honduras and back down to Nicaragua to arrive in Managua in the late afternoon. As warned we were greeted by the sweltering heat here, with highs in the mid ninety degree range every day.  We have spent our first two days living in our student center that is also a hostel, and this afternoon we head out to the community that will be our home for the next six weeks: Batola. Batola is a very typical middle class barrio here in Managua, Nicaragua. Batola was actually one of the first housing projects erected after the FSLN Revolution; these houses were built to house the women who played role in aiding the revolution.  These are only things that we have been told; I am very excited get there this afternoon and find out for myself! We have been told that this is often the student’s favorite part of the semester, which is hard to believe because up until now it has been absolutely wonderful! I am really looking forward to being in a family-stay again, and have that aspect of family and Spanish in my life again. We have had a slow start here with our classes because after this week we all go our separate ways for spring break next week. We have just only started to touch on the topics and issues here in Nicaragua but I am really excited to fully delve in once we get back from break. Here in Nicaragua we will be taking two classes: Cultural Conflict and Change (In Latin America/ Women Context) and Citizen Participation in a Globalized Economy. Like Guatemala and El Salvador our classes will consist of a mixture of in class lectures from our professors, site visits, rural home-stays, and guest lectures from: government officials, non-governmental agencies and guerilla officers. Today was our first real class; but from what I’ve seen and learned so far the political situation here is a very unique and will be interesting to study. I cannot wait to get started on the last leg of this journey!

As excited as I am about getting started in our classes, I must admit I am just as excited to have a break next week. It has been a very busy nine weeks here, with only a few days of real down time. Spring Break plans were left up to each person to make. Myself and four other girls are heading to Leon, one of the old capital cities of Nicaragua. We will spend a few nights in Leon which has a lot of hiking opportunities and also a lot of historical sites and museums to take in, then we are heading for the second half of the week to a beach on the Pacific Coast. I plan to do some leisurely reading and lying in the sun all week!