We woke up this morning feeling fresh, without an alarm, and stepped out into the sun-filled courtyard. It was refreshing, and slightly strange to wake up and not know what time it was.
We cooked a delicious breakfast of eggs and onions, potatoes and fruit. After we all leisurely ate, we got dressed applied a hefty amount of bug spray and ventured out into the city of Granada. In the light of day the city felt very different. It was busy with people walking about or riding their bikes (always with more than one person strategically placed on it), and people selling a wide variety of goods along the streets. One of the street vendors was a currency converter, just a man on the street with a large wad of money making exchanges. If it had not been clear before, it was very obvious at this point that we were not in Kansas anymore!
After a short walk we arrived at the central park or square of Granada and as Avi negotiated (in Spanish) two carriage rides for us to Lake Nicaragua we all stood together looking very out-of-place in our American tourist-looking clothes. Once Avi got a fair price, we all piled into two carriages and took about a 20 minute ride to the lake. When got out, we were greeted by some kids selling ice cream out of a cooler, one of which was one of Avi's previous students. It was great to see him interact with his student with such ease.
We then all got in a small boat to take a tour of the isletas. Lake Nicaragua, I learned is the largest lake in Central America and one of the largest in the world. It is also holds the only freshwater sharks in the world. (My mom was thrilled to hear that fact *note sarcasm) The lake was beautiful and the breeze provided a great relief from the heat. We were able to get out of the boat and walk around on one of the around 250 islands in the lake, and see five howler monkeys on another island.
After the boat tour, we walked back towards the center of town and on the way Dina, Jim and Sara got some sodas. In Nicaragua, however, they drink their coke out of bags. It is really cool! They basically put ice and the drink into a plastic bag and then tie it around a straw and voila.
When we got back we went to eat lunch at a restaurant called Casa Blanca. We ordered some Tona, which is Nicaraguan beer and very good. The food was delicious!
After lunch Avi took us to see one of the schools he teaches in. He took us through one of the poorer areas of Granada to get to the school. It was shocking to see all of the people especially the amount of children living in make-shift homes out of scraps of wood and metal. We started taking pictures of the kids, they were elated to have their picture taken! It made me slightly uncomfortable to see the conditions in which some people live. It was my first time seeing such severe poverty, and it was heartbreaking.
When we arrived at Avi's school he showed us around the school. It was sad to see how little is devoted to eduction. To say the school was basic is a huge understatement. The school was rectangular shaped, with the classrooms around the perimeter. The classrooms were furnished with just desks and white boards. There are no windows, just bars so the classrooms are very loud. No books are provided, and although there are recommended workbooks, Avi said most of the students cannot afford them. Overall, he said the lack of funding is is major problem for the school system, and although teachers get paid fairly well and it is considered a respectable profession the teaching environment is difficult.
We left Avi's school and walked back towards the center of town. Avi walked us around to see some of the Cathedrals. They were beautiful and it was interesting to walk in and out during evening Mass.
For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant and although the service was slow, the food was great once it arrived. And as Avi warned us, we are on Nica time.
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