Nicaragua

Some of the girls at the orphanage. All total sweethearts, each with a different, very gripping story.

I am confounded by how quickly time flies in this laid-back, "Raff-time," "pick you up at ten-ISH," country. Really, the last week--I don't know where it went. Which is probably why I'm only now getting around to writing about my incredible time in the bonito, amable, complicado country of Nicaragua.

The orphanage I'm helping out at houses around 40 kids--actually, many of whom are not orphans. A lot of the kids here have families or extended families who may not have the parenting skills or the money to provide for their kids, so the orphanage takes care of them/feeds them during the week and some of the kids go home on the weekends.

I LOVE these children. Most of them have already gone through more heartache than all of us put together--but they are so joyful. So thankful to be taken care of. One girl here is 17 and grew up on the streets of the dangerous capital, Managua. She never got to go to school, but now she can read and write. She loves singing praise songs and talking on the swing set. Another thirteen-year-old boy's parents were murdered by robbers when he was ten. He plays piano and guitar (beautifully--naturally very talented); I almost cried when he played me and my roommate a song he wrote about how God is his father. Two girls and their little brother (11, 7, and 3) lost their mother soon after the youngest was born. Their dad works around the orphanage and their aunts live close-by, but they can't afford to take care of the kids. They are incredibly smart little girls--the top of their classes--and the younger one loves insects and knows everything about the local bugs: how they smell, which ones are poisonous. Every time I see her she has a new pet spider in her hand! Those girls are actually good at everything: sports, drawing, dancing, and being adorable. Gosh--so many stories--childhood is such a sweet time of life. One of the most ridiculously charming boys here, in the point at you and wink at you while he's walking by kind of way, which is especially precious from a five-year-old, started crying during the final fight scene in the animated movie "How to Tame Your Dragon" and used my hand to wipe his tears. A seven-year-old, very rambunctious boy was moping around all night because he missed his mom. The only thing that could lighten his mood was playing Bear vs. Wolf with him. I'm usually the bear, and he makes a pretty ferocious wolf--he loves howling.

I am learning a ton of Spanish here! Really, understanding almost everything and being able to communicate with most people here. My Spanish is way better than it was in Spain--not sure what happened in the last two years. :) I like the Nica accent--even though they don't use "tu" for the second person singular; they use "vos" (not like Spain's "vosotros"--it's totally different). I loooove the people here--incredibly laid-back, generous, helpful, not pushy, and with hearts of gold. Yesterday a guy who visits the orphanage regularly with some people from his church in Managua took his whole day off to drive me and my roommate to Mombacho volcano. When that one was closed--it was no big deal to him; he drove us to another volcano thirty minutes away.

Anyway, there's a lot more to say, but I can't hog the internet forever. :) Some more photos:

Michaela and I visiting some girls at an orphanage about 5 km from ours. They loved picking flowers for us and taking photos with us!

Three sisters playing in the community where our orphanage is located. The balloons were from a fiesta celebrating Colombus Day earlier that afternoon.

Spaghetti, a fried plantain, and the staple rice and beans. Not bad!

Granada, Nicaragua--about an hour and a half away. One of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited.