Field trip

Last week the youth group took a field trip to El Velero, a Pacific Ocean beach. It was the first event of the year for the group, and a chance to get out of the barrio. We left the centro at 6am, in 2 buses. The mini bus I was riding in was in sad shape, so it took us 2 and a half hours of funny noises and backfiring to get there. After letting the kids release their pent up energy, Gustavo led a meditation activity, where the kids had to quiet their minds and not talk while visualizing an animal from the water, air or earth. We then split into groups based on the animal they chose and reflected on how these elements sustain and protect us. I led the earth group… Although some of the kids were throwing wet sand at each other, the rest had some good contributions to make about how the earth provides us shelter, food, animals to help us with our work, etc. We then read an anecdote about friendship, as the outing was celebrating Valentine’s day, also known here as the day of love and friendship. We ended with a group hug, which turned into a pig pile (see picture).

The other activity we did was a secret friend gift exchange. All the kids and the staff brought fruit of some kind. We all picked one half of a traditional Nicaraguan saying, and had to match up with the person who had the other half. I ended up getting a huge papaya that rotted in the sun (sad!).

After that, we ate and swam all day. I took a long walk on the beach and collected tamarind seeds with Fatima and Kenia, two of my students. We cracked some open and ate them… they’re very sour, and probably burned a hole in my stomach… Which reminds me that between swimming, sitting on the beach for an hour during the reflection and walking on the beach, I got a horrible sunburn on my back, which is still peeling after 10 days!

We left at around 5, sunburned, tired, covered in sand and salt. Besides the minibus breaking down on the way home, we made it fine, and I was off to the airport to pick up mom and dad!