Managua Field School 2018

Today we spent our first day with the kids at the Ometepe Bilingual School. Prior to this, Álvaro Molina, the founder of the school and the hostel we are staying in, gave a lecture about the importance of education and a knowledge of the English language on an island with a large focus on tourism. Álvaro and his family moved to Miami when the revolution began here in Nicaragua in 1979. There he learned to speak English and then returned to Ometepe once he had an education in the U.S.A. During Alvaro’s lecture, he mentioned to us that about ten years ago Nicaragua only averaged about 3.6 years of education per person. As of now that number has risen to 3.9 years. He also talked about a technique he used to clean up his community, this being an “eco-brick.” An eco-brick is a plastic bottle filled with trash used as a building material for the walls in the classroom. This idea was originally from India, and he pays members of the community who bring in filled eco-bricks...

Salvador and Nathan play soccer with the Ometepe Bilingual School students. Franz and Emaya help students wash their hands before lunch. Ashwin had a great time working on English vocabulary with the students. Franz and Emaya help the students practice pronouncing words in English. Justin plays soccer with a student. Elliott volunteers to be the catcher in the student baseball game. Emaya carries a student to lunch.

Today we started off with a well deserved late wake up. We woke up at 7:45 and then ate a delicious breakfast at 8 before our kayak ride at 9:30. When it was time to go, we got into groups and set off. There was a lot of wind, which made it hard to paddle forward, but we were able to make it to this  hidden river inlet. The mangrove was surrounded with beautiful flowers and grasses along with many bugs. We made our way down the river,  explored a few different paths, and then turned around and headed back for lunch. It was a super long ride back, but we all did it with the help of each other. We enjoyed a delicious late lunch, and then headed off to a sand bar beach to watch the sunset. It was really beautiful. We all played games in the water, and before we knew it, it was already time for dinner. On the bus ride back, we sang along to a bunch of popular old songs. As soon as we got back and finished dinner, we showered, and then went down to the dock and seminared about toda...

 Carly relaxes after her long kayak excursion. Destiny, Franz, and Mr. Grisbee discuss our plans for the day, while Sarah stares longingly at her smoothie. Nathan uses the pila to hand-wash his clothes. Cole inspects the kayaks before we leave. Group photo in front of Volcán Concepción, one of the two volcanos that formed Ometepe.  Dr. Lee fell asleep and got trapped. Beautiful sunset over La Punta Jesus Maria. A typical meal here at Hacienda Merida.

(Actually posted by Franz O'Hanna) Sal and Emaya on the fairy to the island of Ometepe  Ashwin, Justin, Franz, and Cole on the fairy to the island of Ometepe  The port of Moyogalpa, Ometepe Volcano Concepcion behind a field of tobacco This is the building we're staying at while in Ometepe There are so many beautiful flowers here Playing baseball with a stick and a bottle while waiting Howler Monkeys amongst the trees in Charco Verde's nature reserve   The squad (Franz is taking the picture)  Hiking in Charco Verde The sun setting behind the butterfly garden at Charco Verde 

Elliott Conely Dr. Lee and Mr. Grisbee Managua Field School 3/24/2018 Day #6: Traveling to Ometepe        Today, we traveled to the island of Ometepe. We awoke before the sun came up in Ciudad Sandino to begin our long journey to Ometepe. As we drove from Managua to the ferry port on the shore of Lake Nicaragua (known locally as Lake Cocibolca) we got caught in traffic which made us miss the first ferry and take a second smaller one an hour later. When we arrived on Ometepe we boarded another van and began our semi-paved journey to Merida, the town where we are staying.        Shortly after we arrived and ate, we went on a hike at the Ometepe Butterfly Center where we saw howler monkeys and lots of butterflies. The hike was absolutely beautiful, we walked along a cliff overlooking the lake where you had clear views of the volcano Conception. When we walked down into a marsh we encountered a group of howler monkeys. They were the highlight t...

            We started off the day by going to a volcano. We could normally see the crater in the volcano on a good day, but unfortunately there were sulfur clouds blocking most of the view. Afterwards, we went to a laguna where we swam, played ping pong, pool and relaxed. We also went to a local market where we could bargain and buy local crafts. The highlight of the day was meeting two local artists who were very interesting. Today we experienced the work of two very influential Nicaraguan artists. One of them was Pedro Guerrero, who is considered one of the best potters in all of Nicaragua. We saw first hand how he hand makes all his work. He spins a large wheel with his foot below a table which causes a small platform to spin above the table. He puts clay on the platform and then sculpts it into whatever he wants. He is very delicate when sculpting because too much pressure can either deform or destroy i...