What a weekend!

Jess and I are finally starting to develop somewhat of a concrete weekly schedule, so look for a detailed account of our current work activities sometime soon. Also, I know Mrs. Lyttle’s class is patiently waiting a response from their interviewee. It’s on it’s way!

Today I thought I’d recount the spectacular weekend we had. On Saturday Jess and I went with a local nature guide and friend, Edith, to a beautiful farm on the top of a mountain. This farm raises cattle for a cooperative of farmers and agriculturalists in the area. The mayor of Somoto is the current administrator of the farm, so he goes up the mountain every Saturday to make sure everything is in order. This week’s trip also involved a yearly vaccine for all of the cattle.

We left at 8:30, traveling in a pick up truck. Peace Corps actually prohibits us from riding in the backs of trucks, do to the obvious safety concerns. However, it’s nearly impossible to go anywhere or accomplish anything outside of the community without breaking this rule. So, we choose our battles, use discretion, and cross our fingers that our bosses won’t find out. Probably not that smart of an idea to write that on a blog that anyone in the world can read, but oh well…

The farm would only be about 45 minutes from Somoto if the road were paved. Even less if it were flat. However, neither are the case in this situation and we found ourselves traveling for a good hour and a half to get to the top of the mountain. I don’t think we’ve described the majority of the roads here, but let’s just say you’d never be able to pass in anything less than a 4 wheel drive, extremely high truck. The most popular vehicles here are Toyotas, with the Land Cruiser and Helix in the 1 and 2 spots. The Helix is a beautiful extended cab pick up truck that really is as mean as it looks. They don’t sell them in the States, but there’s probably more than 100 just in Somoto, alone.

Anyway, upon reaching the farm, the Mayor and the local workers began the vaccination process. You’ll see some pictures of that below. Jess, Edith, and I saddled up and explored the farm. Yes, we saddled up. It was my first time on a horse in at least 10 years, about the same for Jess. However, we’d both seen enough Western movies (just watched Silverado last week) to look authentic. I even got mine up to a gallop a couple of times. That was scary.

Edith told us all about the ecology of the area. We think of Nicaragua and Central America as a land of tropical rain forests (of which there are plenty), but once you get high enough in the mountains the foliage looks a lot like it does in New York or New Jersey. There are pine trees, oak trees, and your basic run of the mill grasses. There are also some strange plants, like this cactus that grows all over the rocks.

Or this stuff that looks like a fern. It’s called “Barba de Viejo,” or, “Old Man’s Beard.” It’s very soft and could almost work in a Santa costume during Christmas.

Anyway, we had a few hours to explore before the vaccination was done. We saw some beautiful views, that’s for sure. It was a little sad that Astro couldn’t come, but we had no idea what it would be like so we erred on the side of caution. Don’t worry, though. He’ll be getting up there as soon as we have a free Saturday.

Sunday we experienced our first downpours of the rainy season. The rain was deafening, the streets were flooded, and the lightening was huge. The next day our coworkers described it as a “refreshing spring shower.” Hmm…. I guess we’ll see if it gets worse.

We passed the day at home cleaning and organizing. Astro appreciated the attention.

Answers to the Class

The Public Library of Somoto

Mrs. Lyttle’s Class: Thanks so much for your second series of letters. We will be interviewing a few Nicaraguans later this week to complete our first Nica Profile. We wanted to take some time today, however, to answer some more of your questions to us. Here it goes!

What kinds of books does the library have and what can I contribute?

First of all, it’s great to see all of you so excited about helping out down here. On top of that, to hear you passed your Playpump goal proves what a great group of kids you are. In terms of library books, the librarian specifically asked me for atlases and encyclopedias, or educational books. I think they are looking for the kind you’d find in the Adamsville library when you are looking for information about a specific country or specific theme, like Dog Training. They also have story hours for younger kids, and I’m sure Mrs. Lyttle can help you find the right kind of picture books for those guys. They also asked for books in English, as well in Spanish, so a good mix would be great! Also, used is fine, as long as it isn’t too gross.

What kinds of technology are in Nicaragua?

Almost everyone here has cellphones, which aren’t prepaid like in the States. You have to go to a store to buy minutes on a regular basis. It’s actually a better way to save money, because you can still receive calls and text messages, you just can’t send them without “saldo”, or money in your account. Internet on every corner in cyber cafes, but rarely in houses. People have MP3 players built into their cellphones, but nobody has Ipods. Video game systems can be found in “Casas de video juegos”. There are 2 or 3 in every town and you can find all of the 10-15 year old boys there after school. The pride and joy of every Nica family is their “equipo,” or stereo. The massive systems with speakers the size of a small child are all the rage down here. The more lights and buttons, the better!

What kinds of American businesses are in Nicaragua?

You can find Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Quizno’s, Pizza Hut, and Dominoes in Manaagua and other really big cities. Towns like ours (which is about the size of Bridgewater) only have family run restaurants. There are only a few different grocery stores and the biggest chains are owned by WALMART. They have different names, like Palí and La Union, but they carry the same brands as WALMART. Other than that, we really don’t see any American run companies other than charity organizations. They have, however, heard of Harry Potter!

How do you get paid?

First of all, we don’t get paid. We get a stipend which is calculated to have us pretty much break even at the end of every month. One student wrote that it was 4,000 dollars a month, but in actuality it’s 4,000 Córdobas. That works out to about $200. We have a bank account and we just go there monthly to get dinero. There are even some ATM’s scattered about.

What kinds of jobs do people do?

People here are employed in 1 of 4 ways: 1. The Government 2. Non-Profit Organizations 3. Family Businesses 4. Unemployed. Unfortunately, about 40% of Nicaraguans are unemployed, which means there’s a lot of work to be done by the NPO’s. I think if Jess and I were to live in Nicaragua after Peace Corps we’d either work for a non-profit or own a little hotel/restaurant on the beach.

Why don’t the Nicaraguan Police stop the Nicaraguan Postal Service from stealing mail?

Another unfortunate aspect is that people really don’t get paid that much at all. A nurse might make $100 a month. A teacher less than $100. Police and government workers might do a little better, but not much. That’s one of the results of high unemployment: people will take whatever pay they can get. It also means that people with do whatever they need to do to survive. Most likely the Postal Workers (who are government employees) sell all the nifty stuff they take out of packages to earn a few extra bucks. The police could care less, because they’re looking for their own ways to get ahead. It’s a lot tougher to be honest when honesty can’t pay the bills.

What is the food like? Do you get bored of rice and beans?

Jess and I try to eat a ton of fruits and veggies, as well as cook all sorts of different meals because, yes, we do get bored of rice, beans, and tortillas. Nicaraguans, on the other hand, aren’t very adventurous when it comes to their food and would much prefer some gallo pinto to some fancy schmancy chicken francais. Things we’d consider gross in the States are perfectly normal down here, pretty much out the necessity to use every part of the plant or animal. You name it, they eat it, and they’ll tell you it’s “rico,” too!

Are Nicaraguans shorter than us?

In general, Nicaraguans are shorter than us gringos. This is mainly because the majority of Nicaraguans are descendants of Native Americans living in the area. They are called mestizo because they are a mix of Native and Spanish blood. You can almost guess someone’s economic status by the way they look, as those directly descendant from the Spanish, who look Eurpoean, have always had the economic, cultural, and educational advantage. There’s a town near us called Cusmapa that’s about 70% indigenous population. People of pure indigenous blood look very similar to the Native Americans of the States. Sadly, Cusmapa is one of the poorest villages in the country.

Do Nicaraguans know English?

English proficiency is very low in Nicaragua. All Nicaraguans took a little of it in school, but hardly anyone here can speak it fluidly. However, all the Nicaraguan jokesters love to shout out, “Hello, my friend!” when we pass. At the ladies they shout, “Marry me, my love!” Sometimes it’s funny, most of the time it’s annoying.

How are dogs treated in Nicaragua?

Nicaraguans view animals as tools. That’s not to say that perspective is bad, but when someone makes their living farming, working the land, and doesn’t have access to machines, it’s the animals who do the work. Therefore, they treat animals like we treat a car. You take care of your car, as cheaply as you can, to make it last for as long as you can. When the car gives out, you buy a new one. So, people here don’t form bonds with their animals: a horse is for transportation, a donkey is for carrying wood, a cow is for meat and milk, and a dog is for protection. That isn’t to say that people don’t have family pets like we have family pets, but it’s really only those than can afford to. Don’t worry though, we’ve budgeted to take good care of Astro! Maybe some day all of you can meet him when we come back to the States!


We had a few unhappy letters since we didn’t answer all the questions last time. I’ll do my best to answer more in the next blog! Also, sorry about the lack of pictures lately, we will do better.

Life in Somoto

Clowns are just as scary in Nicaragua...5 year old birthday party

Things are falling into place for us in Nicaragua. Each day is a bit more routine. Work is still a bit of a mystery at times, but projects are starting to come together. For me, this means that I have started to fill up my weeks, day by day, with small projects to pass the time while I am assessing how I can best help out here.

Today, I had my first practice with Somoto’s first ever (as far as I know) girls basketball team (yeah for 10 year olds!). And on Friday, I start teaching sexual and reproductive health at the high school. Basically, what this means is that I am going to return to the states with an interesting mix of Spanish vocabulary – sports and sex.

But in more exciting news – we have a house! And its cute! Matt likes to describe it as ‘El Castillo’, to people who are looking for us. The exterior architecture is not exactly typical Nicaraguan, but it works, and it appears sufficiently fortified to keep us safe for two years. We have a nice little sala/living area which houses our plastic table and chair set, our bookshelf and our most prized possession – the rocking chair gifted to us by the former volunteer here in Somoto. There are also two small bedrooms with toilets (yes – we are fachenta (snobby/rich/stuck up) in PC terms because we live in a department capital and don’t need to use a latrine) and a small cooking area.


Me in the ´Kitchen´

We also have a back patio of sorts which is convenient because……we got a dog! Before all of you naysayers out there start asking questions and being negative – yes, we can bring him home and yes we intend to. We have very recently experienced the sadness of leaving a pet behind (though to a wonderful new mom – thank you June!) and we didn’t want to go through that again. So we looked into the laws and costs, and it is perfectly possible to bring a pet with you to the states, as long as it is up to date on its vaccines. So, we have our beautiful Astro (he came with the name – I have no idea how or where they came across the Jetsons, but anything is possible in Nicaragua) to keep us safe and keep us company for the next two years. He is currently 4 months old, which is convenient because he’s already potty trained and can be left at home alone for a couple of hours at a time. And, he’s absolutely adorable.


Astro


Matt and Astro in the Sala


Matt and Astro in front of the house

So, all in all, our life is quite nice here in Somoto. We are enjoying ourselves, dealing with the horrendous heat, and learning more everyday. Hopefully soon we’ll have enough vocabulary and local knowledge under our belt to dive into some serious projects.

Guitarras Zepedas

As many of you know, I play guitar. Others might know that I´ve been planning to purchase a guitar in Nicaragua since we first learned we were coming down here. It´s not that Nicaragua is famous for it´s guitars, it really just stemmed from the fact that I didn´t want to lug a full-size guitar all the way down here.

Well, it turned out to be a very good decision. Every Nicaraguan guidebook makes note of the Zepeda family, Nicaragua´s oldest family of luthiers (guys who build guitars). They have a workshop on the outskirts of Masaya, the artisan capital of Nicaragua. So, about a month back Jess, myself, and a few other volunteers made a trek out there to check out the guitar shop as well as the enormous and beautiful craft market. Some of you might remember the picture of us in sombreros...that´s Masaya. It turned out to be a great day. After a few hours of searching we came across the very humble workshop manned only by the family and a few extra hands.

The way things work there is like this: Sergio Zepeda´s (the main luthier) wife shows you around the workshop and takes you to a wall with several different sample guitars. You choose the look you like best and build from there. You have a ton of choices to make, customizing your guitar exactly how you´d like it. There were so many options, I would doubt if two of the same guitars have ever come out of that place. I spent about an hour and a half that Saturday pointing, drawing, gesturing, choosing, and constantly asking, ¨What if...¨

After you´ve made your choices, the luthiers go to work and PRESTO! In 4 weeks you´ve got a handmade, completely custom, very high quality guitar for literally a 10th of what you´d pay in the states.

I made a quick trip down to Masaya this past Friday to pick mine up, and I couldn´t be happier! The results are below. Sorry I don´t have better or more close up pictures, but I´m sure you´ll be seeing this guitar in a lot of pictures from now on.

Isn´t she a beauty?!

World Wise Schools Entry #1

Hello Mrs. Lyttle’s Class!

Thanks for the great letters. It’s great to learn about all of you and the adventures you’ve been on. Hopefully we can continue to share our experiences with all of you while we’re in Nicaragua. Below are the answers to the most popular questions you wrote to us. After that, please look for a special assignment we’d like the class to complete. Thanks again, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Why did you choose Nicaragua?
In fact, we had no role in the choosing of Nicaragua. With Peace Corps the volunteer can give a geographic preference in the world (for us it was Latin America) but the final decision comes down to the staff at Peace Corps. They make their choices based on previous language experience, technical skills, and needs of the in-country programs.

Is the island of Omotepe an extinct volcano?
Yes….and no. Let’s put it this way: the volcano of Omotepe is not on the list of potentially dangerous volcanoes in Nicaragua, which means they aren’t expecting it to erupt any time soon. On the other hand, the Peace Corps volunteer that lives on the island has come out of his house a few times to find 2 or 3 inches of ash covering everything, almost like a snowstorm. So, Omotepe is not necessarily active, but it’s definitely not extinct.

What are some other Peace Corps sites in Nicaragua?
There are currently more than 160 Peace Corps volunteers in Nicaragua and we’re working in pretty much every department, except the two autonomous regions on the Eastern Coast. Our volunteers are in the biggest cities and villages of 200 people…and everywhere in between!

What do you eat?
Food is very expensive in Nicaragua right now. Therefore, the majority of the people here only eat rice, beans, and corn tortillas. Occasionally they supplement with eggs. It’s sad to here, but the majority of people living in the country only eat 1 or 2 vegetables or fruits a week. There are a ton of organizations working in Nicaragua to improve that horrible statistic, but the reality is farms need to export all of their products to countries like the US to make enough money to survive and really can’t afford to keep much of their products in country. We’re very fortunate to have lived with families with incomes large enough to eat a healthier diet, something more similar to what we eat in the States, but that is definitely not the norm. More on food later…

What’s the deal with the LEGO piece?
Honestly, that’s the only one we’ve seen in Nicaragua. We haven’t ever seen a child playing with LEGO pieces. Sadly, we left the LEGO piece at the dump. Sorry, everybody…

Why did you join the Peace Corps in the first place?
Before we met each other, the two of us independently wanted to do something like the Peace Corps. When we realized it was a common dream, we started working towards getting in, and here we are today! We both wanted to experience another part of the world, and more than on a superficial level. We both wanted to learn another language. We both wanted to learn to live a simpler lifestyle. Mostly, we both know we want to spend our lives helping people, and this is a great way to jumpstart that career.

How is your Spanish? Did you forget English?
Our Spanish is coming along just fine. When we came in to Peace Corps we had a language ability of 3 (out of 10). At the end of training we were both 5’s. We are learning more everyday by reading newspapers, watching TV in Spanish, and just chatting with our family and co-workers. Our goal is to both be level 9’s or 10’s when we leave. No, we haven’t forgotten English, but we try to speak it as little as possible to improve our Spanish.

What kinds of fruits and vegetables are available?
If you live in a place with plenty of water it’s not uncommon to see avocado, lemon, banana, or mango trees. For instance, our family in Somoto has both a lemon tree and an avocado tree in their backyard. Basically, any of those tropical fruits that are really expensive in the supermarket in the States are just falling off the trees down here. It works the other way, too, however. Apples are very hard to find here, and they are easily twice as expensive as avocadoes.

How’s the weather?
Hot and dry. Right now it’s considered Summer in Nicaragua. There is virtually no rain and daily temperatures are in the 90’s. In May “winter” starts. That means rain everyday for about 2 hours and temperatures in the 80’s. That’s really all there is to it.

OK, that’s all we have time for right now, but if we missed a really important question feel free to send it to us again! On to the assignment:

We would like to start a section of our blog called “Nica Profile.” In this section we plan to interview a Nicaraguan every few weeks and post their responses and a photo on the blog. We would like Mrs. Lyttle’s class to come up 10 interview questions we can use. The questions should cover personal likes and dislike, family life, work stuff, and Nicaraguan culture. We’d like the class to vote on the best questions and then email them to us in both English and Spanish. Think you can do it?! Well, then get to work!

This weekend´s project: hanging up the basketball hoop!

Week Two Report

Our host family´s dog, Brandy. There really wasn´t any particular occasion...

Things are going well in Somoto. Jess is forming a girls basketball team with some local 10 year olds. Through her work she was able to meet up with a Nicaraguan whose been playing and coaching basketball for some 20 years and just so happens to be available weekly to help her out. Tonight (Sunday) they had their first ¨practice¨with 5 girls and only one basketball. I hung out for a while, but anyone reading this blog should know that I do more harm than good on a basketball court. It was clear there was a lot of enthusiasm from the girls and I´m sure the next time they meet there will be twice as many players. Let´s just say I´m purty durn proud of Jess!

This Saturday we went to Esteli with another Madriz-based volunteer. Esteli is the largest city in Madriz and boasts almost all of the accomidations of Managua. Better yet, it´s only 1.5 hours by express bus from Somoto. In Esteli I continued my quest for a cowboy hat, however, after about 3 or 4 stores, it was clear that my head is about 3 sizes bigger than any Nicaraguan. So, the search continues (sadly)...

Esteli also has a satellite Peace Corps office. It´s basically a bathroom and a couple computers where volunteers in our area can go to relax, do some research on the internet, or pick up and drop off stuff for other volunteers. Probably the greatest thing about the PC office in Esteli is the floor to ceiling bookshelf filled with cheesy airport novels. Since reading is a big part of our lives, it was great to come across this treasure trove. I walked out of there with Dan Brown´s Angels and Demons and Jess took the 5th Harry Potter book.

Speaking of books, I´m just about finished with a really interesting historical account of the 1980´s in Nicaragua. As many of you know, and probably as many of you remember, the Sandanistas, a Nicaraguan political group based in Communist ideals, overthrew a 40 year dictatorship in 1979. After a strong victory with virtually unanimous support from the Nicaraguan population, the Sandanistas began an 11 year experiment/revolution. From as early as 1979, and all the way through the defeat of the Sandanistas in the 1990 presidential elections and beyond, people have viewed this decade in Nicaragua with wonder, praise, disgust, disbelief, confidence, fear, and a million other emotions. The effect of the Sandanistas on Nicaragua, and really the Western Hemisphere, is still being disputed as to whether it was an inherently ¨good¨thing for the people of Nicaragua. It´s a facinating story in and of itself, but it´s also particularly pertinent right now because the unofficial leader of the Sandanistas and President during the 1980´s, Daniel Ortega, won the Presidential Elections in 2006 after failed attempts in, well, every national election since 1990. Depending on who you talk to, Ortega won with somewhere between 32 and 37 percent of the vote, while the other pletheura of parties came in somewhere near the low teens and twenties.

Being volunteers, we´re not supposed to really publicly discuss our political opinions, especially about in country politics, but we certainly are allowed to learn as much about the political process here. I´ve been trying to talk to families about their ideas and experiences during the 1980´s and how it compares to the current situation in Nicaragua.

I´d love to talk more about it here, but I´ll let all of you reading with particular interests in history to head over to wikipedia or some other research site to check it out first. If any particular questions come up that I can help answer (which can include asking your question to a Nicaraguan and translating the response here) please let me know.

¡Adios!

One Week Down, 103 To Go!

¨La Concha¨in Somoto. Located in the Center of town

Well, we’ve completed our first week in site without any major glitches. We’ve been able to learn our way around town, find the best internet cafes, etc. We’ve even begun (and potentially ended) our hunt for a house of our own. All in all, we are very happy.

In relation to work (Matt) I have been bouncing around different organizations in town trying to figure out who’s got what projects going on and where I can offer the most help. One of the biggest tenants of Peace Corps is that every volunteer needs to be sure the work he or she is doing is sustainable past their departure. Also, it’s important to note that we should not be doing a job a Nicaraguan could be doing. Some might say the opportunities left can be counted on one hand, but once a volunteer gets comfortable in their community and creative with their ideas it’s easy to fill your work day.

I am officially assigned to the Centro de Salud (Health Center), which serves as the primary health care center for the community. Remember, Nicaragua has universal health care, and while there are plenty of private practices around, the majority of the population use the free services offered at the Health Center. Also, the Centro is an extension of the National and State Health Departments, responsible for local educational outreach. That’s partly where I come in. I work with the Health Promoters who spend their days visiting rural communities, established community groups (taxi drivers union, pregnant mothers club), and anyone else who will listen to a talk about how to live healthier. Most topics revolve around reproductive health, disease transmission, and hygiene and community health.

I was able to give my first “solo” charla (the Spanish word for group talk) on Thursday. The topic was HIV/AIDS and the audience was 19 12-15 year old kids. We were in a little town in the mountains around Somoto called Uniles. I had a great time and I think the kids did, too. This particular group is being trained to pass on the information to their peers and family, so they all have a real sense of responsibility and involvement. Even still, the kids separate themselves (just like they do in classes in the States) into those willing to participate, those to shy to participate but eager to learn and, of course, the troublemakers. All in all it a productive hour and a half, and it helped me orient myself to the world of giving charlas solo.

In other news, Jess and I met up with another Peace Corps Volunteer and HWS grad on Saturday. Raul is currently a small business volunteer in Honduras, and lives only 20 minutes or so from the Nicaraguan border. If you’ve looked at a map of Nicaragua you know Somoto is only about 30 minutes from the Honduran border. So, thousands of miles from the shores of Seneca Lake, we had a HWS reunion with people from two different countries, and it only took an hour to get there! It was great to see Raul, who will be finishing out his service in July. We’ve already made plans for him to make another trip so we can visit the famous Somoto Canyon.

HWS Latin America Club Inagural Meetiing

Somoto´s Central Park. Paradise!

Address

Hello!

We are still searching for a house, but we did secure a mailbox! Our new address for everything is:

Jessica Werder and Matt Lyttle
Apdo # 08
Somoto, Madriz
Nicaragua

I´d like to take this time to say thank you for all of the great cards and notes we´ve recieved. We´ve heard from so many people, and I´m sure there are many more notes that were sent and lost in the system, so thank you!

(Happy Belated Birthday Peggy Bunnell!)

¡Bienvenidos a Somoto!

Yes – I am feeling much better J. I think that my already sensitive stomach just doesn’t deal well with Nica bugs (plus I would advise against drinking Managua’s tap water – that was just a bad late night decision; I don’t know for sure if that’s what caused it but it seems like an awfully odd concidence).

We have both officially started ‘work’, though I think it will take some time for both of us to figure out exactly what that means. The main program with which I am going to work is a program that focuses primarily on youth and issues of sexual and reproductive health. It has been a very successful three year program which will lose its funding in December. So, I find myself wondering what the best (and in true Peace Corps mentality, most ‘sustainable’) approach to work will be – to spend my time with this project only to find myself out of funds and out of work in December, or to branch out into the community and initiate some of my own projects. We’ll see. Madriz (the department in which we live) just organized an HIV workforce this month, in recognition of the growing problem in Nicaragua. I hope to contact the director of this program and see if I can help out in any way.

Matt finds himself in a slightly different situation. He volunteered to take over a project that the former volunteer had started in conjunction with a group of Irish University students. The group built a health post last year in an outlying community, and they hope to construct another one this year. It sounds like he is going to be the liason between the group and local contractors for much of the project which should be fun for him. Other than this, he is exploring ideas for working with the University (brand new and very small) population in town and thinking about other projects.

All in all we are doing well and are excited to start our two years here. We started our search for houses today, though it seems like it is going to be a slow and rather round-about process. Nothing is particularly direct in Nicaragua, and it appears that renting a house will follow that pattern. There are few houses in Somoto that have ‘For Rent’ signs and when you encounter one that does, there is no direct route to encounter the owner. The process involves speaking with roughly every neighbor to arrive at consensus about who owns the house, and then with multiple people in the street to arrive at a consensus as to where the person lives. After that, you look for their house, realize that they don’t actually live it, but in Managua, and proceed to look for the house of their brother, cousin or other relative once-removed to see how to get in touch with them. As with everything here, it will be a learning process.

Jess´s family in El Rosario. This is us saying ¨¡Adios!¨

Swearing In is a Success!

It’s official, Jess and I are bonified volunteers of Peace Corps – Nicaragua! We swore in yesterday in a ceremony officiated by the U.S. Ambassador, Paul Trivelli. Our training families and colleagues at Peace Corps were there for the ceremony, not to mention a bunch of the local TV stations.

We’ve been celebrating and enjoying a few final hours with our fellow Nica 46’ers, but slowly but surely people are pealing off for their sites. Jess and I were planning to head up to Somoto Saturday, but she’s managed to come down with something fierce and has been virtually bed-ridden today. We’re going to give it a try tomorrow morning on the 9:45 express bus, so we’ll see if she’s feeling better.

Here are the three Santa Teresa Trainees and their families.

Here´s El Rosario.

And here are all 18 of us!