 |
| View of the cathedral from el Palacio |
Today was a full day. First off, we left hostal mochilas early in the morning to grab a typical Nicaraguan breakfast at a cafe. It was composed of the indispensable rice and beans as well as a salad with fresh avocado, eggs and fried plantain, once again with guava juice.
 |
| Typical Nicaraguan Breakfast |
|
|
Next, we walked back through "central park" and past the cathedral to "el Palacio", a beautiful colonial building that serves as a city hall, art gallery and kindergarten. From the second floor, we could admire a gorgeous view on the cathedral and the park.
 |
| Walking past the cathedral... |
|
 |
| The cathedral |
 |
| "Central park" |
 |
| Tables in "central park" |
After a couple of hours listening to Tim, Tess and the rest of the SEC team talk about the program, our schedule for the next two weeks and safety rules, we separated into our virtual NGOs (VNGO), talked about our goals and expectations and learned more about each other. My VNGO, team "Impacto", is composed of Maddy, Pauline, Emily, Ben, Craig, Jerren, Peter and me. After that, we walked through the Monday market to a typical "buffet"-place, well-known by the locals. After we sat down to eat it suddenly started pouring water, proof that the rainy season had begun.
 |
| Horse chariots waiting for customers in front of central park |
 |
| El Palacio |
 |
| View of central park from the second floor terrace of el palacio |
|
|
After lunch we headed back to el Palacio and played human knot, which team Impacto won thanks to our well thought-through strategy ;). Then, we all headed down to the Spanish school "Nicaragua Mia", where we will be taking Spanish lessons for four hours a day every morning for the next two weeks. Our professor is very nice and patient and after testing our level in Spanish, which for me is probably close to "Cero", taught us some "Survival Spanish". After having some good laughs about mistaking "shark" and "frog" and trying to twist around some french words to make them pass as Spanish and truly becoming familiar with the meaning of the words "language barrier", I got to meet my host family.
Martha Martinez, her 18 year old daughter and their very friendly dog Tito live a little bit off the center of Granada in a bright colored "verde" house. They were very welcoming and patient with my attempts to speak the very little Spanish I had just learned. "Me IIamo Jade" was probably the first and only sentence I got right. However, my efforts were rewarded and I got a taste of probably the most delicious mango I've ever eaten, prepared carefully by Martha at my arrival. After unpacking, watching some central American soap operas with the family and eating dinner: rice, beans, egg and a tortilla I said "Buenos Noches" and went to bed, still a little bit jet-lagged. Tomorrow calls for new adventures and the start of more intense Spanish classes!
No comments:
Post a Comment