laguna de apoyo, a crater lake in managua
old and new manna program directors at laguna de apoyo
the new group on our first day of work, minus miguel
walking down our street, fighting off the dogs with sticks on the way to school
climbing the huge hill along the way to el farito, the schoolhouse where we teach many of our classes
view from the top!
el farito (the lighthouse), a schoolhouse where we hold many of our classes in the community cedro galan
looking into la chureca, managua's city dump. ironically the warning (incorrectly spelled) says "don't throw away trash"
la chureca and el hoyo, a small lake in the dump, aka a breeding ground for lead poisoning and disease
vultures flying high above chureca
the girls before going out for a night of dancing in downtown managua
we rented a brinka brinka, an inflatable slip n slide, and lathered it up with soap and water as a fiesta for the kids with the best attendance in our classes
we rented a brinka brinka, an inflatable slip n slide, and lathered it up with soap and water. SO FUN
brinka brinka
dayana and damaria, two girls in my math group
damaris, dayana, maqueline and noel in our pool
kids in our pool
the backyard!
maddie, nikki and i riding in the back of a pickup truck on the way to a downtown managua tour
awesome day we spent hiking in la concha, a small town about 30 minutes outside of managua. we arrived via cab of a pickup and hiked through the rainforest
the mountains were so clean, fresh, beautiful and quiet. this day totally redeemed living in the dirty city for 2 whole weeks during our homestays
myself, tressa and emily before the hike
group minus maddie on top of a mountain!
MONKEYS!
emily eating pitaya, a fruit that grows in the mountains. it completely turns your face, teeth, and hands bright pink.
nikki snacking on wild pitaya
boatride through the isletas in granada. note the volcano ahead.
another day spent hiking in chocoyero, a nature reserve in the mountains
michael and I playing in the waterfall = shower for the day
maddie, tressa, emily and maryrose
WHO KNEW PINEAPPLES GREW LIKE THIS?! new favorite fun fact.
happy birthday michael! the cake lady at the grocery store hated us and did a crappy job. while she could ruin the writing on top, she couldn't ruin the deliciousness inside. darn language barrier.
my homestay mom and dad! super cool, although looking very judgmental and scary right now
my little broski, osman. the best behaved little boy i've ever met. also meet the dog, jackie chan.
a view of lake managua, completely polluted from la chureca where trash is spilling into the lake
the old cathedral, one of only four buildings to survive the earthquake of 1972
the old national palace, another of the four buildings that withstood the 1972 earthquake. currently it's a museum about managua. it was pretty boring, and that's coming from a self proclaimed lover of museums
our whole group on the steps of the old palace
a makeshift community in downtown managua of about 3,000 workers and their families who are on strike protesting the use of pesticides on the banana planations on which they work. they are demanding medical aid etc. from the government and corporations. the homes are made out of plastic bags, tree branches and cardboard. read more at http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=6234
inside the new cathedral. from the outside it looked like a giant concrete factory... not my favorite cathedral ever but i guess they like it!
view of the neighbor's house from our roof. a lovely spot to hang laundry and watch the stars at night.
view from the rooftop terrace. behind the treeline you can see lake managua
looking into our backyard. the scene of many avocado robberies and karaoke sessions
"the yellow room", clever eh? the spot of our weekly manna meetings as well as the cage for our two rotweilers when we have guests or the poolboy/gardener to the house.
the first day of work before going into chureca. meet elena, our cook/mother figure, who comes a few times a week to the house. she works magic in the kitchen.
the library/office
the main room of the house
my side of the room after moving in!
the entrance to our house
our two vehicles! the petrol (jeep-like SUV, drives like a tank) and the 15 seater micro van
nikki's birthday! we made her breakfast in bed. i got creative and used food coloring to make blue pancakes
normal day of work at the house. nikki is multitasking by taking a call about med schools and trying on donations.
neal's last night!
fact: nicaraguans are awful at taking pictures.
maddie and tressa in the micro
sydney! one of our lovely guard dogs.
meet cola, sydney's son, and also the father of a litter of puppies (from Sydney) who all died :(
tressa and diego on the beach
my lovely roommate tressa
houses inside la chureca
one of the main roads inside chureca. a mother and child in our sponsorship program live in the house on the right
a house inside chureca
vultures soaring above chureca
myself, emily and tressa while watching the olympics at a local watering hole
arelys and I on milk day after she received her milk, vitamins and oatmeal for the month
judieth. so beautiful!
josue daniel, one of my personal favorites. he's gonna be a heartbreaker
wendy!
