Becoming cellular

Yesterday, Dylan and I had our first solo outing in Matagalpa. We left Beth and Selena at the market, and were going with Mercedes to the center of town. When we arrived she was like, there is where the buses come, this is the bus you want, here is where you want to get off, adios! And we were like, what? Turns out it was really easy. We went to the bank and got some tasty and cheap ice cream, then caught the bus back to the North Market where we were to find a bus back to San Ramón. We found Beth there and all went back together.
We also got minutes on our cell phone! Everyone here has cell phones, and so now we don't feel so left out, and it will be nice as we begin to travel out on our own more. Disclaimer on cell phones here: If you have Claro, be prepared to get promotional texts all the time.

Los Talleres

So this past Thursday and Friday Dylan and I participated in and helped put together some workshops on dynamic teaching methods. On Thursday it was only the preschool teachers, and on Friday it was the other teachers and scholarship students. We talked about ways to involve students in the learning process, making it more fun and interactive for them. We also talked about ways to make the classroom more inviting, having the kids own it, with their work and other such things. We thought of activities that would demonstrate the ideas of dynamic teaching, read stories, and played games such as the human knot and the blind chicken. We also had to write letters to our pretend American uncles at the end. This uncle supposedly funded the workshop and funded Planting Hope. So we wrote letters telling him about what we learned and how the workshop went. Much to mine and Dylan's surprise, we switched the letters around at the end and read them out loud! We weren't supposed to put our names on them, but we were sure ours would be obvious because of our poor Spanish. Dylan tried to withhold his, but he was discovered, and even Beth didn't realize when my letter was read that it was mine!

It has been really fun doing the workshops, we have learned a lot. Even if they were activities or tactics that we might already use in a classroom, it was interesting to see the theory behind it all, and to think of new activities. It was also fun to meet so many new people who are part of Planting Hope.

p.s. Here are some pictures from Doña Aracely's birthday!

That is the Doña with her husband behind her. In the corner is Seydi with little Dylan.


This is baby Dylan and Lissania, our host sister Seydi's children. We call him Dylanito sometimes to keep confusion to a minimum.

Of Dogs and Other Friends

Howdy folk, it's Dylan, writing from under the mosquito net here in San Ramon. It's Wednesday night and we just finishing watching the State of the Union in both English and Spanish at the same time. I hardly understood any of it.

Today we got up early to catch a taxi to Matagalpa to do some things at the library, La Chispa. I spent a long time struggling to install Ubuntu onto an ancient Dell laptop that refused to comply, and Ciara worked to translate some preschool worksheets into Spanish. We do lots of small stuff.

Tomorrow is Doña Aracely's 52nd birthday, and I think we'll eat cake at some point. We didn't get to make her a card, but maybe tomorrow during the day we can. She's been such a great host; it's easy to get used to big plates of rice and beans and enchiladas prepared while you twiddle your thumbs in your room.

Some bad news: there are litters of dogs that live on the street, but the cutest fluffiest one won't even be our friend. Jullisa, our host sister, who makes all kinds of art and is a helpful Spanish speaker, say that it hates white people (also known as cheles), and I guess she's right.

The Arrival

We have arrived safe and sound! Our flight went well. The plane that took us from San Jose, Costa Rica to Managua, Nicaragua was rather small. It sat four across, and we were right next to this huge propeller. It was a loud hour in that plane. Dylan donned earplugs while I opted for some music via earphones. The descent also got the best of my vertigo, causing our stomachs to be a little upset for an hour after we landed.

Our Airplane


In Managua a man named Paya was waiting for us with laminated sign with our names on it. He took us to Matagalpa in his Kia Rio. It was a two hour ride and he introduced to all the sites and towns as we passed through them. We then met Beth in Matagalpa, along with her young friend Selena and her son Ezra. We all piled back in the car for the short ride home to San Ramon. Upon our arrival we met our host family.

Our mother is Donna Aracely, our father Don Augustin, and they have several children, who no longer live at home, except Julisa who comes home occasionally. We met her last night, she is our age and very nice. She helps our Spanish a lot, insisting we even talk to each other in Spanish to practice. They have two other sons, Erick and Elvis, and we just met Erick. He has long dreadlocks and is an artisan of jewelry. Elvis is working construction in Miami. Their daughter Seydi has two children, Lisana and little baby Dylan! Our parents god daughter lives with them, Rosa.

Dona Aracely is an excellent cook, quickly filling us upon every meal. Our room is nice, with a double bed, mosquito net, desk, and armoire. We also have a fan and extra chair.
Our Room


In San Ramon, there are many dogs on the street and just everywhere, and as we discovered last night, dogs here do not sleep at night, and so it was a noisy night.

Today we got a tour of San Ramon by Santana, Marilena, and Selena. Santana and Marilena work for Beth at her office here in San Ramon and Selena is our friend that we met yesterday. We saw the park, the church, the primary and secondary school, the hotel, the cultural center, and everywhere in between. It is now lunch time and I can smell the food cooking, later we return to Beth's office to talk more about upcoming projects.

Welcome, and a brief introduction to our followers

As many of you know, Dylan and I will soon be traveling to Nicaragua for the next four months. We have created this blog so that many of you who are interested in our doings, can follow us.
(Nicaragua is the yellow country in the image of Central America)











We will be traveling quasi-independently, as in not with a group or through a program. We have a arranged our trip through a close contact of Dylan's family, Beth Merrill. Through Beth's travels as a student she set up close ties with the area we will be visiting. Over time she created the organization Planting Hope which has worked to create a cultural exchange. Check out the website to see more of what they have done.
(San Ramón is just outside of Matagalpa which is in the upper left-hand quadrant of Nicaragua)

We will be staying with a host family in San Ramón where Beth has her own home and office. We will take weekly trips to Matagalpa to give English lessons at Planting Hope's library, and also to El Chile where they have worked with the community to organize a Preschool, which shares a building with an existing weaving co-op.
(A topographic view of Nicaragua is interesting to view. The mountainous region that cuts through the country has determined population centers [mostly concentrated on the Western half], agricultural production [coffee for example], and various other factors)

We will also pursue whatever personal endeavors that peak our interest, I personally hope to learn more about the feminist movement there, and Dylan has interests in music.

We leave the 24th and return May 15, stay tuned for updates following our arrival.