Our final day of classes

Our short week of Spanish classes ended today and we were all more sad than we thought we would be. Our teachers were fantastic. Heidi and Emily were with Maria Isabel, who is an excellent language teacher who has traveled quite a bit, spending nearly a year in France at one point. Lance's teacher (with Mike and Karen) was Romel who is a hilarious guy with a tremendous amount of patience.

We had a barbecue this evening and the director of the Casa Xalteva school, Jose Luis, came by to join us. This is a guy who spent eight years in Alaska getting an education and working before coming back here to work at this school, helping people learn Spanish and helping kids stay off the streets. He really has an amazing story. Romel is his younger brother and he told us his story as well. He has a degree in computer engineering and he got a job working in a factory owned by someone in another country. I am not sure what his job was - some type of management I think. But he was paid 200 cordobas a week at that job. That is about $10. It really is unbelievable. He is doing better as an English teacher, and I think he is enjoying it as well. But it should be remembered that his is a story of success in this, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

We will miss our teachers and our adopted family at Casa Xalteva very much. They really gave us a connection to Granada, more than just a better understanding of the language. They made our experience more human.

The rest of the day was spent seeing more of the city. We can walk to everything. We finished with the barbecue at La Casa Siesta and good conversation with our friends and other guests. Tomorrow we are looking forward to one of the highlights of the trip - a zip-line canopy tour of the jungle near Volcan Mombacho.

Hope you are all doing well. We are greatly affected by this country.

Love and Peace,
Lance, Heidi and Emily

P.S. While I am thinking about it, I want to share something we have been talking about concerning the poverty here. One of our fellow students is from England and her name is Rosa. She works with La Esperanza, an organization trying to help the poorest of the children in Nicaragua go to school. She has been around the world and she noted that the poverty here is unusual. Because there is an extensive family support system, people rarely go without shelter or food. It may not be a standard that most of the developed world would find acceptable, but it is survival. That, combined with the fact that kids everywhere here - kids we know are poor - have no trouble finding things to do. They have no televisions, no video games, no easy entertainment. But it is easy to find a game of futbol, or a game of beisbol (baseball is the king of sports here) being played with a stick. They may be poor in material goods, but they are not poor in spirit. This is a lesson that I think we Americans would do well to learn.

A day at the Laguna

Wow! What a day. Our second full day of Spanish class went wonderfully at Casa Xalteva. The school organized an afternoon trip out to Laguna de Apoyo and we were very glad to go along. Laguna de Apoyo is a lake set in the crater of an ancient volcano (now defunct).

We spent our day at a colonial-style home called "La Orquide" (The Orchid). The new owner of La Orquide (www.laorquideanicaragua.com) is Mike and he is in Heidi and Emily's Spanish class. This guy's story is amazing. He is 26 years old and made some "really good investments" back in the states. He is now semi-retired (at 26!) and has bought this hostel, which is an absolutely amazing place. He has a traditional Spanish home in which he lives, and he has a guest house that he rents out for about $100 bucks a night - for the whole house. This is a world-class place with amazing views in a beautiful setting. Honestly, had it been for sale when I saw it I may have tried to buy it myself. I have no idea how I would go about living in Nicaragua, but this place would have made me want to find a way.


We swam in the Laguna and enjoyed the company of our fellow students. It was a great way to cool off and relax for the afternoon. Imagine Isla Sorna from Jurassic Park 2 and you will have a good idea of our surroundings. Sadly, we did eventually have to leave. But this was a perfect way to see the natural beauty of Nicaragua. Here is a picture of the group at the house just before we left.


By the time we arrived back in Granada, it was time to eat. We ate at a street vendor, who gave us heaping portions of pollo asado y carne asada con gallo pinto (chicken and beef with rice and beans) along with fried bananas (both sweet and not sweet). It was more food than any one person would need, although Lance had no trouble finishing his and some of Heidi's. (It's a good thing we walk everywhere.) Honestly, this was the best food we have eaten so far and we paid a total of four dollars or so for all three of us. Que delicioso!

We are making plans for the weekend and there is so much to see and do - zip line tours through the rain forest, shopping at the craft market in Masaya and seeing so much more of Granada.

It's time to close up for the night. More to come tomorrow!

Love and Peace,
Lance, Heidi and Emily

P.S. We learned that it is winter here right now (or possibly late fall). But that has very little meaning. It must be in the mid 90's every day with humidity in the 90% range. And the only place we visited with air conditioning was the ATM lobby of the bank, which we were not allowed to stay in very long despite our desire. So...think cool thoughts for us.

Nosotros estamos aqui en Nicaragua!

We arrived last night here in Nicaragua and took a short ride from Managua to Granada - the oldest colonial city in the Americas. We arrived late at night and were able to meet with our friends, Mike, Karen and Carlos to get an update on the place before we crashed from a long day of travel.

We awoke early (it is really too hot and humid to sleep long) and got to see Hospedaje La Siesta (the hostel where we are staying) in daylight. It is a charming place run by Boris and Marcella. Boris is from France and has lived in Nicaragua with his wife, Marcella, for two years. They are warm and inviting people and they have done everything to make us feel like we are home. But we didn't stay long for we were off to our first day of Spanish classes at Casa Xalteva.

Heidi and Emily started in el clase principante (for beginners) and Lance joined Mike and Karen in their beginner class, week 2. Our teachers are great. Very patient and kind, and the classes are small (3 people per class). Lance feels like he has learned more Spanish in one day than in a semester in school. Casa Xalteva is a wonderful place, teaching Spanish to travelers and also serving as a boarding home/school for street kids who have been orphaned.

The city of Granada is a city of dualities. It has been discoverd by tourists and foreign investors, so the area around the parque central is beautiful. The cathedral, which was originally built in the 1500s, has burned down several times and been rebuilt. Its current incarnation is about 120 years old (see picture). The street going away from the park and toward the lake (Lago Nicaragua - the second largest lake in Latin America) is full of renovated colonial buildings and nice restaurants. It's a beautiful place to hang out and, in fact, it is where we had a nice dinner of chicken, steak and gallo pinto (the national dish of black beans and rice, eaten at nearly every meal).

But that is the beautiful, clean side of Granada. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and it is difficult to escape that reality. There are beggars and poor people all through the city and much of it is run down. But that does not detract from the kindness of the Nicaraguans who are all willing to help and very curious to learn English and hear about our travels.

It has been a full day. We are tired and more than a little sweaty. Tomorrow, we have our second day of Spanish class and we get to see more of the city.

Hasta luego!

Love and Peace,
Lance, Heidi and Emily

(Hey boys and Mom/Gramma - We love you and miss you! We are thinking about you all the time and we can't wait to hear how your vacation is going together. Say hi to Gandalf for us!

-Love,
Mom, Dad and Emily