Thursday, February 21, 2013

NICARAGUA!!

December 26th my fellow volunteers and I hightailed it out of site and fled to Nicaragua for a much needed vacation. First, Tyler, Jamie, Kara and I headed to Granada. We didn't do anything of merit in Granada besides wander around the beautiful colonial city, eat at every establishment we could find (falafel! bagels! $1 shots of rum!), and learn how to roll cigars at a small factory. 

Granada

granada cathedral from the top of another cathedral
jamie, me, tyler & kara
rollin a cigar
granada cathedral and cart horse
Playa Popoyo

After Granada, we hopped on a bus and headed to the coast to visit ex-PCV friend Cory, who now lives and works as a professional surf bum at a beautiful hotel on Playa Popoyo. We ran into some Nicaraguan PCVs and spent New Year's Eve with a beautiful view of the ocean, tossing dynamite "fireworks" and generally having a pretty good time. Also, Tricia met up with us down there, fresh from a United States Christmas and laden with amazing gifts for those of us who were Central American campo-bound (cheezits, chocolate, scented hand sanitizer, etc).

best purchase of the trip: banana leaf hats for $2
the magnific rock in front of cory's hotel Magnific Rock
Tyler and I classing up the beach
New Year's Eve!
Leon

After a few days at the beach, we picked up and headed up the coast to Leon, another of Nicaragua's big cities. We brought Cory along and met back up with a traveling couple we had met in Granada. In Leon, we continued our trend of behaving like bums and spent most of the time wandering around (the rest of the crew decided to try their hand at "volcano surfing", but knowing my accident prone-ness I chose to sit that one out), and ended our stay there with a much needed trip to the Flor de Cana factory. Flor de Cana is a very delicious, very cheap rum that is fabricated right there in Leon and which we drink by the gallon here in El Salvador. In Nicaragua, this already ridiculously cheap rum was about half price (we're talking $4 for a litre, and this is good rum), so when we realized that we were spitting distance from the birthplace of this magical ambrosia we scurried on over for our own personalized tour. 


whole gang

Jamie and I arrive in style

FLOR!
so so so much rum
ready to sample...
Esteli

The last stop of our trip was Esteli, a self-proclaimed "cowboy" town in Northern Esteli (actually close to the Honduran border, and therefore en route to El Salvador) with a few PCVs from Nicaragua. We didn't spend much time in actual Esteli itself, although it is the leather and cigar capital of Nicaragua, but from there we took a trip to the Somoto Canyon. The Somoto Canyon is a gorgeous, sheer rock canyon that the Somoto River runs through. We did a trip in which we hiked down into the canyon, then floated a few kilometers down the river in life jackets. It was a stunningly beautiful trip and we had a lot of fun doing it, and disclaimer: the pictures do not do it justice.


Esteli center
Nicaragua and El Salvador PCVs

Tyler being a gentleman

pouncing into the water gracefully


floating!!!
After Esteli and the canyon trip, we morosely re-boarded the Tica bus for the lovely 12 hour journey back to El Salvador and "real life". It was not the most relaxing trip in the traditional sense of the word, but it was a really fun vacation and I can finally say I've seen another Central American country!



Navidad






I spent Christmas in my community. The main festivities were pizza and Christmas cookie making in my host mom's adobe oven (sparkly sugar and cookie cutters courtesy of a wonderful care package from my mother) and then the community celebration on Christmas Eve (still not sure why it happens on the 24th and not the 25th, but I've given up asking). This included eating TONS of chicken sandwiches (french bread, fried chicken, vinegar cole slaw, salsa, beets, and hard boiled eggs...so delicious), and then the nativity play in which I made my acting debut as a mute angel (after toiling tireless all afternoon over my paper and cardboard wings). It was a fun, but very tiring, holiday.

maricela saucing 

my helpers
confused by cookie dough
festivities

waiting fort he goodies

cookies and pizza
the finished product!

toiling

the angels

i literally have no idea what theyre supposed to be

a very preggo mary

just me in my natural habitat


Dia Internacional Contra el VIH/SIDA

On Dec. 1 (International HIV/AIDS Day), Tricia, Mike and I brought a group of kids from our HIV prevention group to San Salvador for an event put on by Peace Corps. They put on an HIV prevention/stigma reduction play based on an HIV positive couple in the salvadoran campo and their experiences, and they did a great job. Now, we are trying to give continuity to this project in the new year, with some new kids and some new activities in Morazan. 


superstars


the whole group in san sal

quite an audience

fin

Graduation!

On Thanksgiving day, Centro Escolar Caserio Los Fuentes' kindergarteners and 9th graders graduated! I was the guest of honor along with a new teacher, Profe Celina. In honor of this honor (haha), we chose to have hot pink and black polyester dresses made. They were a huge hit in the community, but the material paired with the skintight design (thanks to custom-made tailoring), had me almost passing out after my 5th chicken/rice/salad celebratory lunch that afternoon. 

entering the church for pre-grad mass 
mesa de honor

twins!

my incredibly eloquent speech

sorry...

Well, I'm clearly horrible at keeping my blog updated. The following few posts will be photos and mini descriptions of the BIG EVENTS in the past few months. Sorry I've been so remiss!