Reflecting on the Summer Vols

The summer volunteers from session 1

Leading a summer volunteer session with Andrew Hemby was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had this year. From May to June, we hosted our first group of volunteers, a group of 9 students and recent graduates from all over America. They constantly challenged and encouraged me with their enthusiasm and work ethic, and their humor and good nature kept me in high spirits for the whole month. Summer Sessions, I came to realize, meant sharing a house with twenty people and handling and coordinating ten new schedules, but the tradeoff was the privilege of getting to know some new friends!

One of things I really enjoyed over the course of two months was taking a group of summer vols to partner with House of Hope, an organization that empowers former/current prostitutes by employing them in a bead-making program that provides alternate income. Each Tuesday morning, I went with a group of girls to volunteer at this nearby nonprofit. We sat with the women and helped make the beads made of wrapping paper. The results were pretty awesome, and I know all of the volunteers who worked in this program were touched by the women and girls they met. We spoke with the owner about Nicaragua's sex trafficking issues and were all shocked by the intensity of the problem. Young girls are sold into the sex industry, generations of women in the same family make a living out of prostitution, and the government does little to nothing to stop this travesty. I only regret it's the end of the year and I have less time to work with this organization and learn from the women who work here every Tuesday morning.

The summer volunteers were very helpful with a range of programs. The first group attended our Child Sponsorship field trip to Laguna Xiloa and kept all of the children entertained and safe in the waters.

Summer session one also organized all of our donations to get ready for the Clothing Sale held in Cedro Galan during session two (more on the sale in another post). This was a huge (hot, sweaty, smelly) task as we did it outside one morning, but everyone was positive and helpful in organizing the clothing.

Both sessions enjoyed meeting the people we work with in the nearby communities of Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua. Our friends at 13.5 hosted a dinner, and the antics of the chavalos didn't disappoint!

Leah and I had great helpers in our Children's English class. Here are our session two volunteers with the kids. Thanks guys!

One of my favorite things about summer volunteers was the opportunity to see Nicaragua all over again through their eyes. The following are some of their photos:

THANKS Summer Volunteers!!!

23 days & counting...time to live it up.

Tuesday morning found me light-headed, weak-bodied, slightly sick...I stayed it this mode until Wednesday afternoon. I guess Kid’s English perked me up. Perhaps it had something to do with making silly faces with Marcos. That always lifts me up.

(despite appearances, this kid always makes me really happy)

Thursday heralded the month of July, and the month of July meant 23 days left in Nicaragua. Thursday meant three more weeks left in the place I’ve called home for the last 12 months. All this time I’d been dreaming of home (family, friends, American food, aiiiiir conditioning, etc etc) and here it comes...REALITY CHECK! Realizing “the end is near” must have kicked my butt into shape. Walking around on Thursday in the community, I realized it’s time to live every day as if it were my last (in that I don’t pass over any opportunity) and also the first (in that I bring that same enthusiasm to each and every moment as I would have during my first days here). I also want to start blogging more about my last days here so as to shed more light on my day-to-day. So here goes.

THURSDAY.

Thursday morning after Chureca as usual, I went to my last Comedor. Comedor is a time where all the kids in the Cedro Galan are invited to have a meal, and we come to help serve/wash dishes. After Comedor, Manna hosts “Tuani Hour.” As this wasn’t my designated day to wash dishes and/or plan Tuani Hour, I went to visit friends who live in the community. I ate fresh calala ice cream and walked down the road to pick mamones at my friend’s sister’s house. All of this was completed in time to join in the last bit of Tuani Hour fun - an art class involving sketching faces. I had some very interesting interpretations of my face done by a few mischievous students. Next my friend Mayquelin invited me to see her pictures of her recent Quinceanera party. The girl was decked out princess style with a huge pouffy pink dress and a tiara. Absolutely gorgeous. I told her so, too.

After these adventures I walked down to 13.5 where I was heralded with the “You don’t visit us enough!” greeting. I made myself a promise to come back as much as possible and spent the rest of the afternoon playing SET with Maycol. Great game. Great boy.

FRIDAY.

With both of our cars out of town, Daniel & I figured we’d try our luck and see if the kids wanted to walk from Farito to the Library for our usual Library hour. We walked from our house the back way to Farito, a dirt road passing families, dogs, chickens, beautiful hills. Greeted by a group of ten little ones waiting our arrival, there were mixed emotions about the walk to the library. In the end, walking won and off we went. I mostly chatted with the girls, held hands, learned about their schools (they’re on winter vacation now for the next week), and then raced across the field to beat the boys to the library. After an hour or so of reading in the Library, Armando and I were off to pick mangoes. And then we were all off to an afternoon of soccer before the long walk back. According to my promise, I detoured on the way home for a 13.5 visit and more SET.

The night didn’t bring much scandal or interest, but I did learn to play desmoche, a Nicaraguan card game reminiscent of Jin Rummy.

SATURDAY.

Today I went to a soccer game held nearby in which the girls from 13.5 played (and won, might I add). Leah and I convinced the Lesther and Marcos, two younger brothers of a teammate, to accompany us. Their shenanigans didn’t disappoint. Lesther and Marcos are always full of energy and Marcos kept passing me nancites (disgusting fruit) of which I ate a few before declining the others. People here love nancites; from what I know, gringos usually don’t. There are plenty of other Nicaraguan fruits - mamones, jocotes, icaco, mangoes, pitahya - which are absolutely delicious.

I promise to have more reflective/interesting updates in the future. I just wanted to get the scattered details of the last few days on paper...well...on the blog.

Happy Mother's Day!

In celebration of Nicaragua's upcoming dia de la madre, we dedicated two "tuani hour" classes this week to crafting Mother's Day gifts. On Tuesday, we wrote and decorated cards and made bracelets. Today, we took photos and decorated picture frames. Here we are, hard at work...

However, apparently today wasn't just about celebrating mothers. Look at what I found one of the chavalos busy crafting...

In case you need a closer look:

Finally, a translation: "Jan I hate you a lot and I hope we continue like this"

No. Words.

Jan Maggi

Vamos a la playa!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the beach with some of my fellow PDs and a new friend visiting Kelly. Little did I know I'd be sharing the sun with...

COWS!

This certainly made for an interesting day at the beach. This whole situation made me chuckle... hope you enjoy the photo!

Love,

Jan Maggi

Just because.

Today was a rough day. I got some bad news.

I went on a walk to clear my thoughts. As I made my way down to the library for "Farito" homework help, I decided to visit some of my English students. I stopped by my home-stay family where I was reminded about some upcoming birthdays. Next, I visited a newer student's house for the first time. Her mom runs a venta, a store, and this little girl always has the cutest earrings. One time, after I complimented her on her fun yellow square studs, she showed up at the next class with a pair for me! I've heard this is very Nica (i.e. compliment someone and then they'll give you whatever you complimented them on), but it had never before happened to me. It's a touching, uncomfortable place to be in when someone gives you a gift and you don't know how to begin to pay them back (as we so often feel the need to do after a gift is given). Well, during my visit today, my student's mother showed me her store and pointed out a few stacks of earrings for sale. Remembering that she wanted to give some to the other teacher (Leah) and wanted to let me pick some out myself, she asked which I liked. Indecisive as I am, and unwilling to take away the earrings but unable to pay, I said I loved them all. Next thing I know, my precious student and her mom are insisting I take the whole package of beautiful butterfly earrings. Just because.

A little kindness goes a long way. This made my day.

The Earth's pretty super tuani, if you ask me...

This “semester” we at MPI have all been trying out something a little different in place of what used to be our Art class. It’s called La hora tuani, cool hour. Basically, this is a time where the PDs on a rotating schedule can take an hour and teach the kids anything that they find particularly cool. So far, there’s been guitar, kids’ yoga, popular dance, pancake-making, and science, among other things. This has been a cool time (ha - literally) to expose the Farito kids to a wide variety of topics and ideas, experiences and experiments.

So...what do I find super tuani? So super tuani that I’d want to spend not one Tuani Hour, but two playing around with the subject at hand? The environment! Conveniently enough, today is Earth Day, and with the whole world in celebration, the Farito kids, some fellow PDs, and I joined in this week with some pretty tuani activities.

To get them in the spirit, we spent Tuesday making posters to advertise Earth Day and talked a little bit about why the Earth is important. We also talked about how we can take care of the planet, with the kids offering some helpful suggestions (Plant trees! Put your trash in the proper place!). We spent the second half of class making that classic kid pleasing dessert, dirt, except instead of combining oreos, pudding, and gummy worms, we used oreos, flan, and sour gummy worms. It was festive! It was very real looking, but I have a feeling that with so many deviations from the normal recipe, it was unfortunately very real tasting as well.

"Dirt" cups...a little too real

The main event, however, surpassed all expectation. Thursday’s class was completely dedicated to a community clean-up. We showed up today to see over twenty chavalos ready to don gloves and bag trash! They quickly scampered about the dirt roads of Cedro Galán looking for trash, even asking for more bags to fill. In the end, we bagged 26 bags of trash in less than an hour! It was so much fun and so successful that I hope we do it again soon. After all, every day is a great day to take care of the Earth!

little hands, big help!

Do something great for the Earth today!

- Jan Maggi

Bad News/Good News

Lately I’ve been pretty depressed with the world news. 21 people were killed in Thailand’s red shirt anti-government protester movement. Colombia’s using child informants in a civil war they deny exists (i.e. “If we’re not in a civil war, we can’t possibly have child soldiers”). A former human rights lawyer and judge in Moscow was recently murdered by Russian nationalists. Poland’s President and other officials died in a plane crash. Rio de Janeiro is literally underwater with 229 killed by the recent flood and countless buried in mudslides. Sex abuses scandals rock the Church while earthquakes rock the lands of Haiti and Chile.

It’s so easy to remain isolated from these events, for these places to seem remote, for these people to be only numbers. I’m thankful to be living abroad because I am constantly reminded that there is more to life than my comfy, cozy, little world at home.

There’s more than sipping Starbucks while reading the NYTimes, jogging through the park, studying all day, lunch on the go, dinner with friends, studying in the library, and repeat. To put it in perspective, even here in Nicaragua, there’s more to life than Elena’s delicious meals, driving in the Micro to programs, Chureca, Cedro Galan, Chiquilistagua, dinner with the PDs, reading NYTimes online, Skyping sessions, watching the sunset, and some version of repeating this day after day. Yes, these are the little routines that make life, life. But there’s always something more, and for some reason, living abroad helps me focus on that more that’s out there, even if that something more is the depressing news that makes you wake up and realize that life isn’t always what it should be. At home and abroad, people are dealing with the same problems: domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, lack of infrastructure, poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism...

If that’s the “bad news,” what’s the good news? The good news comes in the form of people and institutions who say no to the problems of the world. I am impressed with the work of friends in the Peace Corps and USAID. I am impressed with what my friends are doing abroad and at home and even in the Vanderbilt/Nashville community. Those stories encourage me to seek solutions and to keep hope. This year I have discovered that a life dedicated to service doesn’t necessarily mean a career dedicated to nonprofit or humanitarian work. Everyone can act out service and social justice. Advocacy comes through awareness, and that is something everyone can and should seek.

Typical. Volcanoes.

Nicaragua is known as the "Land of Lakes and Volcanoes."

Volcán Concepcion

It's easy to see why! Nicaragua is home to 19 volcanoes including both active and extinct volcanoes and various volcanic lagoons. One of my favorite places to visit in Nicaragua is the Laguna de Apoyo, a beautiful lagoon in an extinct volcanic crater, the deepest body of water in all of Central America with crystal-clear water fit for swimming and diving. Our first week of Nicaragua brought us to Volcán Masaya, where we made the short walk to the top of this active volcano to see fumes rising from the mouth. (Only a 15 minute stay is permitted). Last weekend on our PD retreat, we visited Isla Ometepe, home to Maderas and Concepcion Volcanoes. Our group hiked to the top of Maderas to see the eery-looking lagoon of the extinct volcano. While hiking, Ian got the above shot of the active Volcán Concepcion; meanwhile, I was enjoying a different vantage point beachside...

Managua, Nicaragua

Look at this little gem I found!

The singer is Guy Lombardo, the legend who popularized the well known version of "Auld Lang Syne." Enjoy!

Typical. Oncoming Traffic.

I'd like to, in the next few blog posts, highlight a few "typical" aspects of (my) life in Nicaragua.

The first? Oncoming herds of cattle. One of my favorite memories is still the first time I experienced the wonder of being stopped in traffic by a pack of slow-moving, large-horned steer. I was on the way to Kid's English in the Patrol, and the little 13.5-ers were singing "Yo te extrañaré" or "El Amor" or one of my other favorite belt-your-corazón-out songs at the time. Next thing I knew, we were hovering on neutral as the cows moseyed on by. What a life. And while this experience of being stopped in the middle of the road may not be extremely common, it is fairly typical to see farm animals on and around the streets, even in town. It should come as no surprise that the Nicaraguan economy relies heavily on agriculture.

Days eight - nine: Panama. Just do it.

(4/2) After finishing Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and making fair progress on a selection of short stories, Kelly and I take off on a mid-morning quest to find coffee and last minute souvenirs in Casco Viejo. We soon find out that literally everything is closed. I manage to revisit some of the mola-selling Kuna women to purchase small gifts for my Mom and sisters (get excited, girls!) before we head out of the antiquated, charming neighborhood for the high-rises of El Congrejo, Panama's business district. Welcome to the Riande Continental Hotel, courtesy of COPA Airlines. Remember when our flight was overbooked? Well, Kelly and I spent our last full day in Panama enjoying the meals and facilities of the Riande thanks to our bit of bad luck gone good. However, I was actually in a state of shock for a while upon settling into the hotel. The beds felt so luxurious, the water so hot (that I took at least three showers in about 20 hours), the view from our windows so urban, and all in all the place felt at once surprising and familiar. I remembered that it is actually normal for me to have hot showers, a comfortable bed, a city's amenities. The hotel and it's niceties were a final contrast with much that I have encountered in Nicaragua, even though in Nicaragua I still have much more than I should ever need. The whole experience was a paradoxical reminder of how I very much so enjoy having life's extra comforts but also have so much more than what is really needed. I am a product of a culture of excess.

Thank you, COPA! Now, this is a vacation!

During the afternoon, Kelly and I visited the Causeway. The Causeway is a roadway leading to and connecting three islands. It was formed of the rock and earth that were excavated when digging the Panama Canal. Today you'll find people on the Causeway riding bikes, exercising, strolling with children and loved ones, shopping on the islands, or doing just what Kelly and I did - enjoying some ice cream! Perhaps the ice cream wasn't as tasty as that in Grancelment, but the views of boats sailing by and the Panama skyline at sunset were spectacular.

The Causeway

Panama City

(actually taken from a different location, but you get the idea)

Final conclusions from the trip? Panama is an absolute must-see. I recommend it as I would cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Munich, and Lisbon, some of my European favorites. There's history and culture to be explored and experienced, fine dining, great shopping, impressive skyscrapers, charming apartments, as well as myriad options for a great night out or a pleasant afternoon stroll by the waters. I couldn't have asked for more, which brings me to...

(4/3) Day nine and I'm off to Ma-na-wa-Ma-na-wa-Ma-na-wa!! Home sweet home once more. It's hot.

Yours truly,

Jan Margaret

Day seven: Basil Ice Cream & Killin' Me Man Sauce

Started the day with two fine cups of coffee along the waterfront. A lazy morning of reading and journaling followed, in which I reflected upon the peculiar Bocas del Toro scene: lots of restaurants, bars, & locals informing you of the myriad ways to explore the waters on a boat tour. A place where backpackers and families, friends and retirees congregated to get away from it all and enjoy the paradisiacal blue-green waters. Less resort, more rastafarian, but I imagine that depends on the locale...

great coffee, great book, great view, great morning

The lazy morning preceded a delightful meal at Lili's Cafe, where I enjoyed the best of Calypso cuisine. The menu's prices were in increments of "one dolla, two dolla, three dolla, etc."

I wasn't quite brave enough to try the sauce,

but the veggie sandwich and broccoli salad were delectable!

Farewell to Bocals, hello to Panama! Now that's my kind of city! I really think I may retire here someday. It's got everything an expatriate could want: the allure of an exotic foreign country and the infrastructure of America, hot sunny days and cool air conditioning, alluring night spots and wonderful walkways to stroll away the day, huge skyscrapers and charming old buildings, affordable prices and divine cuisine.

Speaking of that which makes the mouth water, Kelly & I capped off our evening back in the city with our second visit to Grancelment, the ice creamery which holds within it's walls something I like to refer to as the best ice cream I've ever tasted. I enjoyed a double scoop of chocolate-orange and basil (yes, BASIL!) ice cream. Don't knock it until you try it, folks, and this is one you should really try. It's delicious!

Basil and chocolate-orange ice cream... my new favorite combo!

Best,

Jan Margaret

Day six: Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

(3/31) Today was boat tour day! Kelly & I shipped off with about 15 others and set sail for dolphin-watching, snorkeling, lunch, Red Frog Beach, and more snorkeling. The forecast? Rain. Our mood? Thrilled. While cruising through the waves and getting pelted by water droplets, we couldn't help but giggle... it's been so long since we've felt the rain, so long since we've been cold, we were literally soaking it all up. Everyone else looked absolutely miserable. I think we may be the two oddest people in the Caribbean to have enjoyed a rainy day on the waters. Even the dolphins avoided the rain (haha) and were nowhere to be found.

The rain cleared up by our first snorkel. The colors underwater were brilliant: neons, greens, blues. Tropical fish swam the corals, and I even saw a tiny jelly - yikes! At Red Frog Beach, I napped in the sands as little boys carried the native frogs for me to view in banana leaves. Our final snorkeling destination led us to a beautiful reef tumbling off into further depths.

Bocas del Toro. Beautiful.

Day five: Seeing Stars

(3/30) Bocas del Toro, Panama. Pacific Ocean. Almost Costa Rica. Playa Estrella. Starfish beach!

love,

jan maggi

Day four: The Canal!

(3/29) History in action. My visit to the Panama Canal on Monday was absolutely surreal. Kelly and I scored some $5.00 student tickets to see the canal in its entirety: the museum, the informational video, the Miraflores Locks. It was totally worth it.

The history of the Panama Canal is quite intriguing. Ever since Balboa’s discovery of the Pacific Coast, world powers have been imagining the creation of a passage between the two great oceans - first the Spanish, then the French (many of whom died trying), and finally, the United States who broke ground on the Canal in 1903. The first transit took place on August 15, 1914, and took 8 hours. The cheapest price to traverse the locks was 36 cents, paid by Richard Halliburton who swam the Canal from August 14-23, 1928. President Carter signed the Torrijos-Carter treaty in 1977 in order to cede the American owned and orchestrated canal to Panama; officially on December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal became truly Panamanian. The canal has been a fabulous source of revenue and tourism for the Central American country. We visited the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific Coast, near Panama City, where we saw a 7 story boat pass through the locks. This boat, the CSAV Chicago, paid about $160,000.00 to pass according to local employees. A neighboring sailboat's fees were $500.00.

History in the making at the Panama Canal!

Our evening brought us to Bocas del Toro on an Air Panama flight. More to come on Bocas as the adventures unfold...

Day three: Girls just wanna have fun! (Shopping day!)

(3/28) After sleeping in and resting off the late night (early morning) out with our new friends, Kelly & I got up for lunch at our favorite corner store, Gourmet Super. The store owner, a Mississippian who moved to Panama post-Katrina, reminded us of the artisan fair nearby. As our afternoon plans included an easy day of shopping at Albrook Mall, we decided to take a detour to see the local wares.

Only about 60 miles from Panama lie the San Blas Islands, an archipelago which retains much of its undeveloped splendor and the traditions of the Kuna people. Kuna women sell their work in Panama and are most famous for their beautiful fabrics, called molas, which can be incorporated into purses, clothing, anything imaginable. They're stunning.

The incredible stitch work and detail creates beautiful patterns. Molas range in price from $5.oo (or a $3.00 coin purse) to $100, depending on the quality and design.

Moving on to Albrook, we quickly discovered why this mall has such a great reputation among the backpacker scene: stores had incredible discounts, some particularly for foreigners, and clothes as cheap as $2.00-4.00! Panama is on the USD, which made keeping track of our money easier over the course of the week. However, so much shopping was quite tempting on the pocketbook, as was the fact that the "discount mall" also had a Zara. One would think I'd died and gone to J Crew heaven...

Kelly and I ended our day with dinner at Mostaza, a restaurant with cuisine reminiscent of dear ol' España and delicious dinner rolls that seemed to be just like those at one of my favorite Madrileño dining establishments, La Vaca Argentina. We rushed to Grancelment before its 8pm closing to sample some of the finest ice cream I've ever tasted. After making a promise to come back later in the week for more, we headed home for the night.

Day two: Unexpected adventures (Who knew Colombians loved to salsa?)

(3/27) This trip is teaching me to be flexible. Here's why. When plans fall through (like waking up early to see the Panama Canal...), it opens up the day and night to a whole new world of posibilities.

Kelly & I spent the first morning exploring the dilapidated yet charming area near our hostal: Casco Viejo. This area is where "Panama" moved after "Panama Viejo" was under Henry Morgan's siege. It's full of ruins, churches, and cute ironwork. My kinda place. We took refuge from the sun in a wonderful little airconditioned corner store called the Gourmet Super and passed the noontime reading and resting. I tasted pesto for the first time in who-knows-how-long. They even had Coke Zero. Wow. The little things...

We were continuing our wanderings through Casco Viejo when we ran into Julio, a white polo wearing, card-carrying member of the tourist agency. He charmed us and tricked us into a well-informed tour of the rest of CV, as well as a visit to the waterside cinta, a long walking path along Calle Balboa. Julio's unexpected appearance easily made the day - we learned more from him than we would have by ourselves or from a guidebook. Along our tour, we passed traditionally dressed Kuna women selling their wares and walked through the Panamanian equivalent of lover's lane. One thing's for sure, Panama is romantic. I'm completely captivated, and it's just day two. Coming back to the hostel, Kelly & I decided to rest on the balcony, watch the city skyline twinkle across the waters, and enjoy some white wine from Spain, a rueda.

We were bien-tired and bien vestidas as we left our hostal in search of dinner. Our one requirement for the evening: air conditioning. We are not accostumed to this luxury and thus completlely taking advantage of its availability. We stumbled upon a recommended restuarant called Casablanca complete with snapshots from the classic film adorning the walls. I ordered a veggie burger (it's been a goal of mine to find one) and rose wine.

Just as we were deciding that perhaps our night would end early (as nights involving wine so often do), I came back from the restroom to discover Kelly making friends with the neighboring table.

Flashforward to midnight, we're walking through curtains into a ballroom full of salsa dancers swaying along to live music in an environment straight out of Cuba. Welcome to the Havana Club. Our friends from dinner are leaders in a Colombian business selling education technology, but even better, they love to salsa.

Flashforward to 5:00am - we're still dancing to salsa, rap, and latin pop, now on the uber trendy Calle Uruguay with our new friends. We're at s6is, a hip bar with loud music, great dancing, and a balcony overlooking the poshest party street. I'm high-fiving a Panamanian who likes the Titans and Peyton Manning. I think back to my study abroad days in Spain, where a night out easily doesn't stop until the Metro reopens at 7:00am. I guess the Panamanians and Colombians have something in common with the Spainards besides Spanish...

Day 1 - Culture Shock (or "good things come to those who wait")

(Friday 3/26) After checking out NYTimes' 36 Hours in Panama City, Panama and my trusty Central America on a Shoestring (thanks, Lonely Planet!), I was eager to get to Panama City, Panama (not to be confused with Panama City Beach, FL). Kelly and I arrived for our 8:15am direct COPA airlines flight to said destination, only to have the staff inform us that there were not seats for us. As we had purchased our early flight in order to spend the whole afternoon exploring the wonders of Panma's capital city, we were not well pleased with our attendant's message. He assured us we would see the next flight out as well as $150 vouchers from COPA, an additional night's stay in Panama to make up for the afternoon lost, and a free transfer of our return flight from Friday (4/1) to Saturday (4/2). We spent the morning in a luxurious Managuan hotel (I didn't even know this place existed!) and enjoyed a free buffet breakfast/lunch.

Our 12:30pm depature on COPA flight 411 routed us through El Salvador, giving us the opportunity to meet traveling scouts from Guatemala. Am I the only person who didn't know that scouting was international? Apparently there is in fact a Central American Scouts convention in Panama this week. Fascinating.

Upon our arrival in Panama, we held our breath waiting for Kelly's luggage to arrive. It did. Thank goodness. After our flight was somehow too full without us this morning, I was alittle wary of the airline provider. However, after the attendants provided us with our hotel reservation for next Friday night and free transportation from the airport, my negative first impression (I can't get to Panama because you oversold my flight?!) was changing rapidly (You're giving me an extra night for free with $50+ worth of transportation and $30+ worth of food ANND a $150 voucher!? Wow...you can mess up my flight whenever you want!). Like I said, good things come to those who wait.

Our nice taxi driver educated us on all things Panama during our 30 minute ride to Luna's Castle, our hostal in Casco Viejo. He was a Bocas del Toro native, perfect for us as we'll be traveling to the beach town of Bocas Monday-Thursday. As we neared the town, my jaw dropped as I saw the expansive skyline. He pointed out the new Trump Tower (shaped like a D for Donald), the Hard Rock Cafe, different malls and construction projects, all as we cruised down the well-lit, well-paved, Miami-esque Avenida Balboa. Have I ever mentioned that there's only one skyscraper in all of Managua, and that's being generous? And that most of the roads don't happen to have street names? I guess having your capital city lying across fault lines isn't the best idea, but the Nicaraguans make it work.

I can see why Panama is nicknamed the "Miami of the South." However, as we crossed into the more delapitated - dare I say more charming? - area of Casco Viejo, I entered streets that reminded me at once of Portugal and Cuba. I knew from that first taxi ride that I was not in Managua anymore. We arrived at Luna's Castle to find that our hostal is funky, arsty, friendly, and completely stocked with all the amenities one could desire: a kitchen, computers, hammocks, a book exchange, free towels, new friends, and a bar downstairs with "loud art" (waiting to see what that's like). And so with a quick exploration of Casco Viejo and a 10% off dinner at Aroma's Cafe thanks to our hostal's discount armbands, Kelly and I settled downstairs for a bit to make some new acquaintances and sample some domestic drinks.

You know what, Panama? I think we're going to get along just fine!

Semana Santa - Holy Week

Friday welcomed me and the rest of Central America to the phenomenon known as Semana Santa, Holy Week. For the 9 days preceeding Easter (and even the day after), there is no school, mucha fiesta (lots of party), religious demonstrations, and tons of travel. Managua basically shuts down and moves to the beach. Even the biggest discoteca Chaman is relocated to the sands of San Juan del Sur. Like I said, mucha fiesta...

For the Manna volunteer, Semana Santa brings a plethora of options. Some chose to spend time with loved ones in the States; others are spending time with loved ones in Managua (and like I said, by Managua, I mean the beach...). Another option is having your loved ones come to you. With a week off to enjoy the heat and the sun, what better time to welcome friends down to pass the time and catch up on the past 8 months? Finally, the last option is to join the thousands of others who use the time to travel around Central America. After a sleepy farewell to my roommate upon her 3:30am depature to Guatemala via El Salvador, my friend Kelly and I went to catch our 8:15am direct flight to Panama.

The following updates will be my ideas, expectations, adventures, reactions, and insight into the 5th Central American country I've been blessed to conocer, visit. Please pardon the fact that my next few posts will be from the perspective of a tourist in Panama versus an NGO volunteer in Nicaragua. I hope you will enjoy the following tales!

Who Ya With?!

It's officially here! Spring break 2k10. That means lots of hustling and bustling around the Manna House as our lives for one month are taken over by leading groups, managing programs, playing tour guide, and overseeing service initiatives. It can be a hectic time of the year, but so far it has proven to be one of my favorites. Why? Perhaps a better question to ask is not "Why?" but rather "Who Ya With?!"

"Who Ya With? VU!" is a token Vanderbilt cheer, and this past week Ian and I got to relive our Vandy spring break as we hosted the Manna team from our Alma Mater. Due to the fact that Manna hosted 3 spring break teams, ours was one of the groups chosen to dwell off-site for the week at El Salero community center.

Not a bad place to stay

Our spring breakers held strong through early mornings, full days, and late nights. Ian and I hoped to introduce them to a variety of organizations and opportunities working in community development in addition to MPI. The week's schedule consisted in volunteering with our programs and the preschool (Esperanza) in La Chureca and hearing presentations/visiting neighboring organizations including USAID, Fabretto, and a teaching hospital. We gave them a taste of Managua with a city tour and visit to Huembes market, as well as a real taste of Nicaragua - a trip to the famed Nica buffet (delicious for only $3/meal), a dinner in the community under a starry night sky, and meals prepared for our gracious cook Fermina highlighting my favorite mixture of rice and beans, gallo pinto. At the end of the week, our group planned and orchestrated a class for "Tuani Hour" in which they introduced the chavalosto some popular American dances. They brought a little bit of Nashville down South to Central America with Wild Horse Saloon-level moves choreographed to Cotton Eye Joe. After Tuani Hour, we took the children to El Salero for an afternoon field day.

Our spring breakers were absolutely wonderful, a breath of fresh air: happy and positive yet critical-thinkers, easy-going. I enjoyed the outside perspective and vigorous energy they brought to Ian and me. I enjoyed the feeling one gets when meeting someone new from a shared background (even though the end of the trip heralded an onslaught of Vandy nostalgia). I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation that is present in the University environment and is always transferred down by groups coming from the midst of academia. I enjoyed the banter and joviality characteristic of a college spring break and the reflection and inspiration characteristic of service work. All in all, it was a great week, paradoxically exhausting and rejuvenating.

So, just in case anyone feels like asking...

WHO YA WIT?!

......

Here's my answer:

VU!

GO DORES!!!

......

Vandy spring break may be over, but "spring break season" continues as we host groups from Massachusetts and Texas this week. Moreover, I'm only two weeks away from my spring break. (Yes, I'm living in Nicaragua and get a spring break!) Last week, Kelly and I booked our trip to Panama City, Panama. I'll be seeing the canal and who knows what else. Any advice is welcomed and encouraged!

Missing home, loving life, soaking up too much sun,

Jan Mags