1-28
I arrived tired but well yesterday. Sandy, Bayardo and his son Joshua met me at the airport and took me to Sandy’s house. My room is fairly large and the bed is very comfortable. The light is your typical bare fluorescent bulb on the ceiling but it’s brighter than our hotel last time. I would still recommend bringing a battery-powered lantern and extra book lights. The room is faced away from the street it’s so fairly quiet. However, the dog barking is pretty intense! Jazmina, Sandy’s wife, is very concerned about my comfort. She said she wanted to practice her English, so we had a long conversation with lots of dictionary look-ups. I wanted to e-mail people last night, but the dog had chewed through the cord. We ate lunch outside, facing the garden. Lots of flowers, butterflies and even a humming bird! The food was great—chicken, fries, rice, plantains. The weather is in the ‘80’s but there’s a steady breeze off the Mirador (which cools things down at night).
1-29
Sandy and his family are great to be with. Jazmina is very lively and good-natured. We spend a lot of time trying to use my limited Spanish and her limited English to understand each other. Gaby (14) is a bit shy, but wants to improve her English. Today we went on an extremely rigorous hike down to the edge of the crater lake and back again. Sandy described it as a 2 hour hike but it turned out to be more like 5 hours! Much of it was straight down or straight up. I realized I’m not in the best shape (or they’re in much better shape than I realized!) I saw a gecko on the window pane and was reminded of our trip to Thailand. Jazmina says they’re not native to Nicaragua but were imported from Asia. The water supply seems much better than 2 years ago, maybe because they’ve 
had more rain. We’ve had numerous (although short) rainstorms in the evening. The faucets all produce water (no buckets in the shower!) My Spanish is much better than two years ago, but I’m more conscious of how ungrammatical it is! Using Rosetta Stone was a huge help.(thank-you Lorrie!)
2-3
Today I was sitting outside having lunch and watching all the activity around me. I realized that I was living inside a family compound. There is a single drive up from the street, spreading out into a large parking area and about 3 or 4 other attached buildings which house various family members. A group of men were mixing cement in front of the different houses and carrying it in buckets up to the second floor of Sandy’s house where they are adding another room complete with plumbing , electrical etc. There are lots of rusted machinery parts and three-wheel motos coming and going. Various men are tinkering with motors, while the small boys watch. The women are washing clothes on a cement washboard and hanging them to dry. Stacks of wood (I think to heat water for washing and also 
for cooking). Lots of dogs, cats and small children running around. One little girl (age 9) chatted with me all through supper. She told me that at night her father uses a book to teach them all English and how important it was for them to learn and, in fact, it was important for the whole world! Later she accompanied me to the copy store(the local pulperia). I offered to buy her a treat, but she explained to me how bad it was to eat sugar and junk food! The children here are incredibly open, sweet and affectionate. One of my students (about 12) came to class with his little cousin (about 4 and still in her silk pjs). She chimed in with the others, while sitting on his lap. Maybe its not as idyllic as it looks, but I think most of the children feel surrounded by family and love.
2-4
I finished my first week of classes. In the slightly more advanced group we played Bingo, using recognition of different vowel sounds. I gave out mechanical pencils (the kind where you turn the tip) as prizes. Very intense competition! Before I had a chance to demonstrate how the pencils work, two boys had taken them apart by removing the eraser! Fortunately they figured out how to put them back together. The kids didn’t have regular school this week so some came to my classes instead. One boy came to all three classes! Ana and Mariela (students from 2 years ago) competed to hold my hand and walk me home for lunch. I’ve noticed that people seem better off than last time. Almost all of the kids have notebooks and pencils now. Some even have colored pencils and markers!
2-6
Last night I sat outside my room in the early evening. Because I’m on the second floor it feels like you’re in the treetops. The coconut palms are highlighted by the setting sun and I can see and hear the singing of tiny birds. Some are bright red, some a brilliant yellow and others pale blue. I think they are parakeets of some kind. Very tranquil or “tranquillo” as Jazmina likes to say. Sandy and Jazmina have 5 children and 10 grandchildren, ranging from newborn to 9. Most of them live in the compound or nearby. Jazmina has two sisters who live on either side. They have a dog named Dukie and several cats who don’t seem to merit names (or any attention) for that matter. I met Faridey Francela (10 mos.). She looked at me for a few minutes and then burst into tears! I was reminded of how universa
l Piaget’s stages of development are—classic stranger anxiety! My Spanish is picking up due to Jazmina’s frequent practice sessions. We talked about the nightly barking–dog marathons. She was amazed when I told her that in Ann Arbor people might call the police if you let your dog bark all night. After that, Dukie seemed to have less free rein.
2-7
My students have started bringing me small gifts—a mango, a banana and a lollipop! Today a tiny girl (maybe 3?) presented me with a bouquet of bougainvillea. A student riding a bike stopped on the street to offer me two of his jellied treats. When I described how sweet my students were, Jazmina taught me a new word to describe them—carinoso ( affectionate and lovable). Most of them are very enthusiastic about learning English, a switch from two years ago. When I asked about it, the explanation was that the schools are stressing it more and people see it as improving your employment prospects. I think its also that the kids have had a lot more exposure to people speaking English, i.e. Kaley.
2-8 Its often difficult to change large notes so I asked a group of about 7 or 8 family/friends sitting around the table if anyone could give me change. To my surprise, Sandy and Jasmina’s son Winston (18) whipped out a wallet full of bills. It turns out that he is the one who owns and runs the 3-wheel taxi service! Jasmina told me he has over a million cordobas in the bank. Gaby (14) is the one with computer savvy (just like here!) If you want to use the internet she has to make a trip to the pharmacy to add minutes to your account (the same as cellphone service). Then it can be a laborious effort to get the connection and to maintain it. Still, it’s a huge improvement over what was available two years ago.
2-11
Karl arrived about 9 last night, totally exhausted after his 19 hours in t. Today at lunch Sandy and Jasmina asked him if he wanted to go for a walk classes. Remembering my own experience I tried to encourage him to take a nap instead. He ended up hiking for two hours, much of it going up and down steep hills.It looks like Gaby’s Nicaraguan folk dance performance has to be postponed as she has a sore on the sole of her foot. It also means we can’t use their internet connection since I can’t possibly ask her to run around on a sore foot! We can use the internet café inexplicably known as “The Silver” but at night its too dim to make out the keys. No one knows why it has this name since its not silver and the name isn’t printed anywhere on it!
2-17
Karl has been sick for a few days but seems to be recovering. Bayardo sent a doctor from the church to check on his condition. Before the doctor came, Sandy went out 
and purchased a bottle of something which he claimed was a surefire cure. I looked up the ingredients in my Spanish dictionary and it turned out to be cod liver oil mixed with orange syrup. Jasmina came up to the room with some linament ( I think) and proceeded to give him a very vigorous rubdown—chest, back, legs and feet! About 9 pm the doctor arrived with her black bag. She was very concerned with his blood pressure although she wouldn’t say what it was. Karl confessed that he’d forgotten to take his blood pressure medication that day. She gave him a stern lecture(all in Spanish) about the importance of taking his medication every day at the same time. Then she wrote out a list of five medications for me to get at the pharmacy—one of which was an antibiotic. After she left she phoned Bayardo to give a report. I felt as if I’d time-traveled to an era before I was born. Cod liver oil? Linament rubdowns? Doctor housecalls? We tried to pay her but she flatly refused. We both felt very touched by the care and concern given by these people. I have one more day of class. So far, I’ve scored 3 lolipops, a souvenir keychain, earrings, a ring, a rose, a friendship bracelet that reads “Dayan” as well as many hugs and other expressions of appreciation.
2-18 Last day of class. For the younger kids, we review some vocabulary and I let them color their worksheets with the colored pencils I brought. I give out the rest of my stickers which they plaster all over their folders. I’m showered with gifts, many of them homemade—a ceramic candleholder, candy, notes of appreciation( some in English some in Spanish). The girls make me cards covered with drawings, hearts, declarations of eternal friendship and remembrance. They all want hugs and kisses. The boys hastily scribble some phrases on paper and do elaborate pantomimes of sobbing on each other’s shoulder over my leaving. We play a few rounds of bingo and I give them all a couple of the mechanical pencils (which they adore) and say that I will come back (although I’m not sure when). I feel overwhelmed by all the outpouring of emotion, but also a sense of satisfaction that all the work I’ve put in has been worth the effort.
2-19
Gaby’s foot has healed and the dance performance is scheduled for tonight at 7. Around five all the electricity in the house goes out. Jazmina asks to borrow the battery-
powered lantern that Karl bought at REI. The day before, power for the whole neighborhood went out just as we set out for a walk. Karl got out the lantern which elicited expressions of awe from the whole family, especially Luis (age 3) who comes up to our room to check out what other magical gadgets we might have. As it gets dark, I run around with my flashlight trying to help out. Jazmina directs me to where Sandy is standing on a ladder near the electrical meter with jumper cables. He keeps trying to connect different wires to see if he can get some power going but nothing seems to work. I go over to help Kenya who is frying some filled tortillas over a wood fire. As the dancers and musicians arrive, candles are lit and Sandy attaches Karl’s lantern to the center of the ceiling where the dance will take place. The dance group consists of about eight couples. The girls have full skirts with rows of brightly colored ribbons and the boys have hats, red cummerbunds and pointed boots. The dancing is a complex coordination of handheld fans, swirling skirts and very fast footwork. They obviously have worked very hard to bring this all together. To me, the lighting gives a softened effect which is very pleasing. Sandy thinks there needs to be more light, so he keeps running around trying to string up more lights. They keep going on and off which distracts from the dancing , but adds a note of humor to the whole thing. As I watch him, I remember how anxious I became when my own children performed. How desperately parents everywhere want to make things perfect for their children! Kenya made a huge and delicious pineapple cake which was served to the guests along with a sweet cinnamon flavored drink. After the dancers and musicians went home there was a long performance by Catarina’s boy prodigy/poet. Aferwards , he asked for one of the mechanical pencils! I gave them out to my students the day before and I guess word has spread!
2-22 Tonight we are staying in the biological station on the top of Volcan Mombacho. I was here before with Sandy and his family, during the daytime, but Karl has never seen it. We arrive around four and hike through the cloud forest, surrounded by bamboo, moss covered trees, orchids, bromeliads, and steam vents for the still–active volcano. We arrive back at the station at sunset and catch a streak of rainbow between the water and the clouds. After dinner we go out with a guide in search of the famous “rana de ojos rojo” or red-eyed frogs, as well as salamanders and other species endemic to the park. The air is cool and misty–we are actually walking around inside the clouds! The guide shows us the salamanders, about the size and shape of a child’s finger with stumpy legs. We see a green red-eyed frog , perhaps three inches long, peering out of the damp foliage. It’s a female, the guide informs us, they’re bigger than the males because they have to carry the eggs. He spots a chameleon, almost invisible against the green and an insect whose wings look like dead leaves. He shows us where tiny tadpoles are swimming. This place is as magical as I’d hoped it would be. The guide shines his light under a leaf and there, just inches away, is a tiny golden frog with red eyes. We can see the toes of his webbed feet stretched out to hold the leaf and his pale throat breathing in and out. He sits completely still, transfixed by the light. He is so perfect that I’m moved nearly to tears. Back at the station, some visiting students are watching TV at a deafening volume. I’m not altogether surprised. Nicaraguans have a very high tolerance for noise. I sit on a bench outside in the dark, watching the mist softly swirling by and listening to the rush of wind in the trees. Suddenly, I’m reminded of Lake Michigan. The sound could be the rush of waves on the beach. In a few months I will be there.
