Adios, Nicaragua

Well, folks, today was our last full day in this amazing country.  Tomorrow, we leave Nicaragua and fly home to Portland, Oregon, USA.  We are sitting in our room at the Hotel Terrasol - the same room we stayed in when we arrived in Nicaragua back on 26 October 2013.

We're not even sure how to feel at this point.  Emotionally we've run the gamut over the last few weeks.  Excited, sad, melancholy, reflective, accomplished, proud, contemplative, happy.  It's been a whirlwind week leading up to our flight tomorrow morning.  As excited as we are about our opportunities and challenges back home, today has been mostly sad, to be honest with you, filled with a longing to stay here in this incredible country.  

Throughout the day, we've asked rhetorically "I wonder what's happening in Mérida right now."  We've reflected on our highs and lows over the year, the fun times that we hoped would never end and the extremely challenging periods when all we could think about was leaving.  We've discussed our students and how far they came, how brave they were and how hard they worked to improve their lives.

We are grateful to have been accepted by the people of Mérida - the children, adults, students and even those who never tried a class but were thankful we were here.  Or I suppose now I say 'there', right?  They were thankful we were there.

The night we arrived in Nicargua, we took a cab from the airport to this hotel, settled into our room and ordered a couple of Toña's in the lobby.  On our balcony, we filmed this little video to post for our blog, so all our family and friends would share in our first accomplishment, namely getting here!

Below, you'll see our newest version, sort of a recreation of that video, filmed just a short time ago, to mark our last night in Nicaragua.  We suggest watching the original before viewing the new one.  But do what ya want!

Adios, Nicaragua!

Loose Ends, Part III

After a brief interlude, we're back with the final chapter of Loose Ends!  Enjoy!

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One evening, I was on the porch waiting for Bex!.  I had taught one of our last classes at the house and she was returning home from her class across town.  Just as she was walking up to the house, our buddy Juriel came up to us.  He was there to invite us to his house for dinner.  Since 'his house' is actually his aunt's place and since his aunt is Tia Margarita, we were happy to accept!  Of course, we would have said yes anyway.  "Si, gracias!  Cuando?"  "Ahorita."  Now?  Well, alrighty then.  We put our stuff inside the house and locked up.  

Juriel even had a ride waiting, for Bex! anyway.  He had brought Cheyenne with him.  Cheyenne is a horse.  Thus my wife, for the first time ever, rode a horse!!

"So, this ear is the turn signal.. or the horn?"

Bex! is having way more fun than Cheyenne.

When we arrived at Margarita's, Juriel made like a masero (waiter) and seated us.  He brought us a couple of Toña's and disappeared into the kitchen with Tia.  A few minutes later, under the watchful eye of Margarita herself, he brought out our dinner - specially made nacatamales!

We've helped make nacatamales a couple of times and they are labor intensive.  We've also eaten a lot of nacatamales this year but these were simply amazing, by far the best we've had all year.

A special meal with special people.

The masa was seasoned a little differently, slightly spicy and with some achiote, and mixed with rice.  There was shredded carrot as well as pasas (raisins) in the masa/rice mixture, lending a sweetness to counter the mix of savoriness going on inside.  And the pork inside was plentiful, tender and with nary a bone to be found.  Special care had been taken to make these and we were grateful to be held in such deserving regard.  Juriel dined with us and Margarita actually came out to sit down and visit.  Keep in mind that we've mostly only seen her from the waist up all year as she is always working behind the counter making delicious happen.

We had a great time and felt so special, so humbled.

Muchas gracias, amigo!!

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Although we had wrapped our 'official' classes the prior week, we were holding open houses on our porch Monday and Tuesday for students to come by to ask any last minute questions.  Apparently, we had done an amazing job of teaching because we only had a couple of folks show up.  Haha!  Just kidding, on the 'amazing' part.  Yeah, attendance was light but as the island hits its busy season, people have much more work so we weren't expecting a huge turnout anyway.  

Maynor came by Monday to ask a few questions about irregular verbs.  And Marbeli showed up both days to catch up on some of the final classes, since she had missed much of the last couple of weeks taking care of her sick grandmother.  It was fun to be able to offer this time for our students and we're glad they took the opportunity to stop by.

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The sunsets continue to amaze.

We hear the fishing is best at this time of day.

Even Booby has been enjoying sunsets on the porch.

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Every single day over the last few weeks, we've hoped for decent enough conditions to paddleboard.  And every single day the wind has been blowing something fierce or we've been busy with other plans.  Or both.  Boo!  The end is approaching and soon we'll have to deflate our boards to pack.

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Before Marbeli left the open house class on Tuesday, she mentioned that she and her family had made nacatamales, which were cooking away as we spoke.  She asked if we wanted two for dinner and the answer was 'Heck yes!'  

Around 6 that evening, she came back with two fresh-out-of-the-pot bundles of goodness, which we devoured for dinner.  Many people here make nacatamales and then sell them around the the community or at events.  We assumed this was the case and offered to pay her.   But our money was refused.  These were a gift from Marbeli and her family.  

Yep.  The people here work so hard for what they have, and it leaves one speechless when they are so giving.

In fact, I think I just got something in my eyes while reflecting on this.

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The view from our office on one of our last mornings in this island paradise.

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Our OBS kids (and their families) threw a despedida to celebrate the end of school and to say goodbye to us.  We had a swim day in the lake and a specially prepared lunch.  It was a lot of fun and the kids were having a blast splashing us and dunking me!

Keneth sporting his ultimate Hawaiian beach look.  Love this kid! 

Yostin, playing catch.

A very waterlogged - and happy - Dulce.

Jesner took a little too much pleasure in dunking me...

Anjela (back to camera) with Itzel.

Ericks, one of our high schoolers and kindergartener Franklin's big brother, was there to help wrangle kids.  We agree that he is probably one of the best older siblings ever.  He takes such great care of Franklin and the love he shows is evident.

Swimming and water are a part of life here, obviously.  It's an island.  Living on a heavily used path which led to a prime laundry and bathing spot in the lake, we regularly viewed 5-6 year olds bringing their toddler younger siblings for bath time.  No adults.  The older kids are simply... responsible.  Ooh, I think I just heard the United States gasp and speed dial their lawyer because that society works on the basis that nothing is ever one's own fault - there is always someone else to blame.  I noticed something special when the kids were piling on to dunk me.  When I would relent and go under, I would blow bubbles.  But sometimes I would hold my breath and as soon as the bubbles stopped, I would have 6-10 hands quickly grabbing at me to pull me up.  These kids take care of their loved ones.  They play - and work - and take responsibility for one another.  I found it very touching.

After we were worn out from swimming, we enjoyed a great meal that was prepared by the moms.  Then Julia gathered all the children with us, we got in a big circle and held hands for goodbyes.  Julia asked if the kids knew why we were gathering today.  They answered that we were saying goodbye to Profes Rebecca and David, and celebrating the end of the school year.  She asked the children if they had anything to say to us.  Kids get shy when put on the spot but Jasmina piped up immediately to say thank you for teaching us English all year and then many of them took turns saying 'thank you' (many saying it in English!); Itzel wished us safe travels; several of them wished we could come back.  If only...

We love these kids so much and we already miss them!

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With a busy week ahead of us, we knocked out a batch of tortillas, setting up the assembly line one last time.  We netted a couple of dozen to enjoy with quick meals throughout the week.  Mmmmm mmmmm!  It would take Heydy about 20 minutes to make this many, by the way!  We'll get faster.

Thank you, Marbeli and Heydy!!

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Wednesday was a big and exciting day for us!  For one last island adventure, we took off at sunrise to bike around our volcano, Volcán Maderas.  You can click 'the link below' and check out the details - elevation, temp, etc.  It was a good day for this trip - overcast skies kept the heat of the sun at bay and we had a breeze most of the trip, as well.

the link below

There has been a lot of road work being done lately.  We're told it's been 7-8 years since anything has been done.  In Mérida the crews have been digging out a hillside and dumping the dirt along the road, grading and rolling it til smooth.  And it's great, at least for getting around.

Crews have been 'repositioning' the island for a few weeks, making a lot of noise and dust in the process.

With better roads come faster idiots, though - people are driving way too fast through here nowadays.  The people in the community are grateful for the road work, of course, but when you're used to having 5 minutes to get out of the way from the time you hear a vehicle approaching to its actual arrival, it's an issue.  It's flat out dangerous now.  Plus the amount of dust just makes for a bad deal, too.  They need to install some policia acostado's, especially near the schools.

We weren't sure how far around Maderas the work had reached and were assuming it was only in our neck of the woods.  We were surprised to see that they had improved the road most of the way around.  It made for mostly easy pedaling for us, even though we were prepared for a more epic ride.  There are only a handful of villages around the southeast side and virtually no vehicle traffic, so it was great.  

Our steeds await during a snack stop in San Ramon.

The pedestrian bridge in Tichana.  The new foot bridge is on the right.  Prior to its construction, the only crossing was via the narrow path on the left.

The school in Tichana.

Rest stop on the church steps in Tichana.

As long as there are snacks, there are smiles.

Some of the less good road (the best of the worst and pretty good, actually)

Some of the new and improved road.  We could really fly, if it wasn't so uphill.

When we reached the community of La Palma, we stopped to ask directions to Julia and Pilarte's house.  Julia is the 1st grade teacher at OBS and Pilarte is a teacher in Tichana, so everyone knows them.  After asking a few different people, each one getting us a little closer, we found their house.  Alas, they weren't home!  But we are 100% sure they will hear that two gringos on bikes were looking for them cuz we were getting all kinds of curious stares!

We knew we were close to familiar territory when the road dropped back down to lake level.  Soon enough, we hit Balgüe.  We thought about breakfast here but it didn't look like much was open so we headed for the isthmus and had a delightful late breakfast at a roadside place.  The young women who ran the place were fun and sassy, so that made the meal even more enjoyable.

The day offered stunning views of Concepción.

After breakfast, we started down the familiar road to Mérida.  About forty-five minutes later, we were home!  It was a fun ride around the volcano and we're glad we made time to do this.  Seeing the small villages on the much-less-traveled side was interesting, in that the houses were about the same makeup as those in Mérida - everything from brick to palm thatched homes.  No restaurants, only a few pulperias, several churches and schools.  That side of Maderas only got electricity a few years ago, so we weren't sure what to expect.  There is some seriously beautiful country over here, too!  

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Our afternoon adult beginner class, the rockstar group we've had all year long, came to the house tonight (Wednesday) to have dinner with us.  Alcides, Berman, Isidro, Marbeli, and Heydy (only Juriel was missing) brought gallopinto, tacos Nica-style, and arroz con leche for dessert.  Bex! introduced the folks to a US classic - potato salad, which they all loved!  We had a great time and it was so enjoyable as we had actual conversations in English and Spanish!  This group was a blessing and we looked forward to each and every class with them.  

We shared the newspaper article that was done about us when we were in Costa Rica, for the last event in our 50@50 Project.  A daily called La Teja had done a write up on us as part of their coverage of a local foot race.  The reporter asked us, among other things, what our future plans were.  Our students were touched because in the article we mention specifically that we're returning to Ometepe to teach English in a rural community to help the people improve their lives.  We were assured that we had indeed done so.

A personal highlight of the evening was finally having a beer with Isidro!  He and I had talked about it all year but had never worked it out.  So tonight, we made that happen!  We also gave away quite a bit of stuff we had that we weren't bringing home - miscellaneous items like post-it notes, an umbrella, envelopes, paper clips, etc.  They were very thankful and we again encouraged them to continue classes together.  We even gave 'Profesor Alcides' a whiteboard and markers.  Now they have all the tools to keep the ball rolling!!

It was yet another incredible and touching evening with people who will now be our friends for life.  And what they don't realize is that we gained as much from them as they did from us.


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Thursday was spent around the house, finalizing our packing plans and trying to keep the number of bags to as few as possible.  Hamilton and some of his family came over in the afternoon and we played Cornhole.  Hamilton, his daughter Yossi and her son Jarvin, and family friend Laura had a great time - as did we!  Once they got the rules down, the competition was on!  Recall that we had paid Hamilton and his son to make these boards for us back in July.  In between rounds, Hamilton asked us what we were doing with the boards, assuming we had sold them.  He was very pleased when we informed him that we were giving them to him and his family, so they could enjoy it and remember us.  He was extremely moved that we would just give them back to him.  He is a great guy and, with his family, have helped us in so many ways all year.  With some help getting the Spanish right, Bex! wrote up a set of rules for them and they got lots of scoring practice while we played.

Yes, in America we throw bags of corn around for fun.

Dad and daughter

Laura, watching a match from the mango gallery (no peanuts, here)

Three generations of Hernandezes (or is it Hernandi?)

Hamilton, Bex!, Yossi, yours truly.

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We had some last minute random stuff for the bilingual school so we went to Hacienda Merida to make the drop and say our goodbyes there.  Afterwards, we went to Pescadito's for dinner.  Leopoldina was very kind, giving us a discount on the meal.  Walmoro and Luvianca were there watching TV (they don't have one at their home).  When they heard us talking about leaving in a couple of days, Luvianca came right over to hug us.  Walmoro looked at us for a while, playing coy.  He finally decided that, yeah, he should give us a hug before we left.  As it turned out we would see them a couple of more times before we departed.  Fine by us.

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We've written several posts mentioning our printer and the issues we've had with ants moving in to set up their home inside it.  We voided any warranty on that thing a long long time ago - dismantling it and reassembling it several times.  We broke a couple of pieces and field stripped a delicate ribbon cable, all to keep it running throughout the year.  We are certain this model was not made for what we put it through!  A lot of cursing, prayer, crossing of fingers and good joojoo helped us maintain this machine, which made teaching a lot easier for us and a lot better for our students.

The buttons on the control panel quit working after dismantling No.2 or 3 - I forget.  Bex! figured out brilliant workarounds to bypass the printers' builtin programming to scan a recalibration page each time we replaced the toner cartridge.  We turned it off and on by unplugging it between uses.  This thing was held together with duct tape and glue from a gluestick.  No, really - it was.  It was jerry-rigged in about every way imaginable.  

And it worked all the way up to the end.  The last thing we printed was a photo of ourselves, to fulfill a request from Hamilton, who wanted a picture to frame and put in his house.  We were very honored - from what we've seen we'll be on the wall with family members and Jesus.

Any given day, we might have to try 3-4 different semi-technical workarounds to get it going - unplugging it, resending the print job, squeezing the control panel, etc.  Moving it even slightly meant having to reposition the ribbon cables just so to get them to make contact again.  So giving it away wasn't an option.  Plus not many people here have computers so there wouldn't be anything to print from.  Back behind the house we had a mini-landfill going - a concrete bay where we put non-recyclables and non-compostable stuff.  But we didn't feel right about just tossing the printer on the ol' garbage heap.  It did too much work for us this year to be treated like an empty rum bottle or a plastic Coke bottle.  We decided to send it off in style.  

Even though the lake was raucous, with waves and wind, we paddled out at sunset with our beloved HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2515 riding on the nose of Bex!'s board.  We got out a ways in the lake and pulled our boards together.  The printer was positioned so that it was straddling the two paddleboards.  Bex! sang 'Amazing Grace' while I switched to my Reverend mode to say a few words.  Then we let our boards drift apart, the combination printer/scanner/copier/fax machine sliding off into the darkening waters of Lago de Nicaragua.  It floated for a couple of seconds, then began filling with water.  It listed to one side and slipped away, just like Jack slipped away from Rose at the end of 'Titanic'.  Except our printer sent up more bubbles than Leo DiCaprio did.  Maybe not the most sustainable thing we've ever done but it was fitting.

At sunset, a final despedida for our friend.

Shortly before our Valhalla moment.

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Friday morning we started the actual packing.  We started with our paddle boards, giving up on getting a non-windy day to get some paddle time in before we leave these warm water climes.  Oh well.  We started with Bex!'s board and after a little trial and error, got it rolled and into its travel bag.  Then we got mine bagged and it was on to clothes and other boring stuff.

At one point we had a bag that took both of us to close up.  It was stuffed, so one of us zipped while the other pulled the flaps closed.  We busted up laughing when Bex! said "This is how Latina women get into their pants!"  Haha!  Many women here do wear them some tight pants.

Once we got going, packing went pretty quickly.  We rearranged things from bag to bag, trying to balance weight, but all in all it wasn't too bad.  Bex! had the great idea to use an extra rolling duffle we had instead of one of the two suitcases we'd brought down here.  This bag held a lot of stuff, allowing us to eliminate two entire suitcases.  The number of bags we'd be traveling with turned out to be a wash, even though we gained two paddleboards.  Between materials we used up, donated, gave away, and wore out, we had less crap to bring back.  We were quite pleased with how it all turned out! 

Not too shabby!

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Bex! made gallopinto con huevos revueltos one last time!

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Hamilton stopped by to bring us corn on the cob, fresh from his garden about 30 meters behind our house.  And later that night, he came by with his wife, Maria Estela, to give us fresh corn tamales with a big chunk of salty cheese.  These were made from garden corn harvested that morning and were absolutely delicious!  We had a great visit with them and Hamilton presented us with bracelets he'd made for us.  Mine had my name and an R for Rebecca; Bex!'s had her name and a D for me.  Very nice gifts, indeed!

"Wonder Twin powers, activate!"

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Friday meant it was Margarita's for lunch - our last time!  We presented Tia with a photo of us and thanked her for being so wonderful to us all year.  She is a very special lady and we can't wait to see her again!  She was very touched by the picture and said she would always remember us, even without a photo!  We enjoyed a delicious last lunch of chicken, cerdo riblets, rice, beans, salad, and this delightful salad made from fresh baby corn.

And since it was the last visit and we were packing, we bought two bottles of 7 year Flor de Caña to bring home!  Woohoo!  As we were leaving, we ran into Juriel, Jose Carlos, and Maynor.  

Dos profesores with Jose Carlos & Maynor.

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We made the rounds, visiting the Lorio's to say goodbye and see baby Rosita one more time.  The family is so happy and little Ariana seemed to be adapting well to having a new little sister.  No longer the baby, she wasn't too happy at first!  Mama and baby are doing great and we look forward to seeing the Lorio's when we visit again someday.

Not photoshopped!  My wife, holding a real live, honest-to-goodness 16-day old baby!

We stopped in at the pulperias and produce stands we bought from regularly to say our goodbyes.  We received many thanks for our efforts, lots of hugs and positive comments about how we represented in the community.  We lived lived here, enduring the heat, the drought, the chayules.  Even those who never took classes were appreciative.  We were a part of the community and people here respected us for that.  (In fact, as we told people we were leaving at 9, 9:30 on Saturday, multiple times we had people respond with "No, you have to leave by 8:30, 8:45 for the bus."  We explained that we had too many suitcases and were taking a taxi, but were a bit proud to have lived so normally that the chicken bus was people's first assumption.)

We stopped by Marbeli's house and chatted with her and Heydy.  They agreed to come to the house to pick up some English language children's books we were going to donate to the village library.  We had talked with a local guy, an expat hotel owner who is involved with the library, but he never followed up on his commitment to get the books from us, so we were kinda stuck.  Thankfully, Marbeli and Heydy said they would make sure it happened.

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We made one more stop by Hacienda Merida to say goodbyes to some of the people we had missed the day before.  Darwin was there and as we were talking to him, he had an idea to try to keep us from leaving as planned the next morning.  "So, did you hear that there are no ferries tomorrow?  Yep, all the ferries are cancelled tomorrow, so you two can't leave."  Funny part was that there was a hotel guest that overheard him and quickly walked over to us.  "Excuse me, did I just hear you say there are no ferries running tomorrow?!"  The tourist and his friends had been in the process of finalizing their departure plans for the next day!!  

Bluff called.  We kept our mouths shut, grinning and chuckling at Darwin's predicament.  "Well, Darwin. You should explain to this nice man why there are no ferries tomorrow."  After some hemming and hawing, he figured out a decent save.  "Well, what I meant to say is that there are no ferries for people from Oregon tomorrow.  Where are you from?"  "Vermont."  "Oh, okay, you'll be fine.  But these two can't leave."

Darwin is the best!

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As promised, Marbeli came to the house later and got the books.  We also foisted off two suitcases and a 2 liter bottle of Coke we had left!  These last few days, no one left our house empty handed!!!  Plus, we told Marbeli that now she had suitcases so she could come visit us in the states!

Marbeli sat with us while we watched our last island sunset and it was a beauty!  Before she left, Marbeli told us again how special it was for the community to have us all year.  She was grateful for the opportunity we provided her.

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After the sun went down and we said final goodbyes to Marbeli, we went inside going through last minute packing decisions and preparations, when we were paid a visit by Marili, Ericks, Ricardo, Deymar, and Donaldo.  They brought snacks and Coke and balloons.  (It seemed like they'd gone to the pulperia by themselves and said okay, what do we need for a party?  It was adorably grown up.)  They also brought eggs and spoons, then had Bex! and I race each other while carrying the egg in the spoon which we were holding in our mouth!  Good times!  We tried out racing with pitchers of water on our heads, too.  Some balloons were filled with water and we tossed them around until *someone (*Deymar, every single time) dropped them.

It was our very last, very fun despedida and these kids made us feel so special by throwing us a party!  We shared snacks from our depleted refrigerator (peanut butter on crackers, raisins).  We practiced some English (Do you like peanut butter?  Yes, I like peanut butter.)  What did you do yesterday?).

Profe & Ericks

Goofy kids: Donaldo (rhymes with Ronaldo), Marili, Ricardo, Deymar

Group shot #1

Bex! and Marili - and way too many bunny ears.

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That's about it, really.  Our last week, our last night in our island home.  

Tomorrow morning, we were heading off the island for the last time.

Pomp and Circumstance

We wrote about our last days as teachers in this post and that means that promotions and parties were the next order of business!  Promotion is what we'd call graduation back in the states.  And there are some very neat traditions around the ceremonies.

First up was the promotion celebration for Mérida's primary school - the kindergarten and 6th graders.  Next year the 6th graders will start in on the first of five levels that make up high school.  We had the pleasure of teaching several of these students, all young women - Adele, Leonela, Priscila, Mayerli.  We also knew a few of the future first graders, so between graduates and their families we knew many of the people at the ceremony.  

One of the traditions here is that the students walk through town in a procession, escorted by a parent or other family member.  This is a way to show off to the community that the child is advancing and to notify everyone that, hey, there's gonna be a party tonight!


Wearing pants for the first time in I don't know how long, we joined the community on the road to watch the procession to the primary school.  Oh, and don't worry - I was also wearing a shirt and sandals, looking pretty scruffy - or as I like to say 'professorial'.

Como se dice pantalones?

Leonela with her father, Isidro - both were students of ours!

The procession making the turn into the primary school for the ceremony.

We got some pictures of the students as their names were called.  They walked through arches made of palm fronds.  It was very special and you could see students and parents smiling with pride!

Angel (balancing his 'way too big' mortarboard) with mom, Nely.

Priscila, with dad (Raul)

Adele, with dad

Leonela, with dad (Isidro)

Mayerli, with dad

Enough pomp, on with the circumstance.

Along with the precession through town, another cool tradition is the flag handoff, where the outgoing class hands over a Nicaraguan bandera (flag) to the incoming top dogs.  Each side makes a little speech about the importance of education and respecting the rights of students.  Awesome, all the way around.  One of our youth students received the flag, as the chosen representative for the incoming 6th graders.  Edwin was a superb student of ours and excels in all of his studies.  Because he attended our youth class regularly all year, he has a huge jump on learning English.  Plus he looked damn nice for the ceremony.

A fine example of the future for his country.

There were speeches by adults and graduating students.  Several of the school administrators spoke about the importance of education, highlighting how it is something that once obtained cannot be taken away, how important it is for prosperity, and charging students and parents with the responsibility for completing their educations and graduating from secondary school.  There were 27 students graduating 6th grade.  We hope there will be 27 students getting their final quinto año diplomas in 5 years.  (And we hope to be there to see it!)

The kindergarten speech wins the cuteness award.

The tradition of highlighting the culture of Nicaragua was upheld in the form of a dance. Very colorful and full of energy!

Escarlet, in green, was another of our students.

It was finally time for the handing out of diplomas!!  It was an exciting moment for each of the students, especially, and family all crowded the front to get pictures.  And because we're considered 'family' by many people here, Bex! got up front to snap some photos!

Priscila

Adela

Mayerli

Leonela

A graduation ring is a traditional gift for the girls; here is Mayerli receiving hers.

Prescholar

Sexto grado (almost all 27 of them)

This picture (below) sums up the bright future of Nicaragua.  The country is slowly changing and women are becoming more empowered.  They couldn't have a better role model than my wife.  We had the privilege of teaching many gifted young ladies this year.  As these women are educated, things will continue to change for them and their country.

Priscila, Marili, Bex!, Mayerli 

Proud teacher!

After the ceremony we walked down to Doña Clara's and Don Jehu's for a party being thrown for her grandson, Taco (real name: Brandon)  There was, of course, a piñata - this one in the form of Wine Pooh.  We had soda and cake, and enjoyed the whacking of the piñata!

Oh, bother!

Nope, no diploma for you!

Cake and Taco

Full of candy, Wine Pooh easily outweighed his assailant, who could barely pick up her weapon of choice.  Cute as heck, right?!

This little guy got in a few (soft) whacks but got very frustrated and upset when he couldn't knock the candy loose!  And the bear smirks...

After this party, we said our farewells and walked into town to attend a dinner for Adele, one of our students and a graduating 6th grader.  Neat story about Adele:  When we started offering our morning class at casa de profesores (our house) back in April, her older brother Eugenio brought her over to introduce us.  From then on, she attended regularly and was a pleasure to have in our class.  Smart, clever and a little sassy makes for a bright future!  Looking back, we realized that her brother was looking out for his baby sister, making sure she took full advantage of an opportunity he never had.  [More on Eugenio later.]

The dinner was amazing!  When we arrived, we got big hugs from Adele and she brought us into her home and seated us.  There were many others there, too.  In fact, we soon recognized many of the other guests as the teachers and administrators from the school!  We were in honored company, indeed!  We were immediately served soda and a big plate of vigaron.  Eugenio brought us a big bottle of Toña and a couple of glasses.  After the appetizer, we were served dinner - BBQ'd pork, rice, plantains = delicious!  And more cake for dessert!

One of our adult students, Ayser, showed up and let's just say he made sure we did not run out of beer!  We noticed, too, that a couple of the teachers left for a short time, then returned with Flor de Caña - so now the party was in full gear.  Adele and Mayerli pulled us outside to dance!  We switched off, sharing dance moves.  Gringos got nothing on Latina women!  We went back inside and the girls goaded us into dancing with their teachers.  The Nica teachers knew Bex! and I were together but we are pretty sure they didn't know we were together together.  Bex! used her Latin dance 'hands up' position to keep Luis in check and I am pretty sure I got engaged to a teacher named Nely.

After getting warmed up at the house party, we walked into town back to the primary school for the big dance.  See, the kindergarteners and 6th graders graduate, and the whole town parties!  A huge bank of speakers thumped the dance tunes and we joined in on the dance floor for a while.  It was a blast!  Our friend, Maykel, hooked us up with a couple of beers and we danced the night away.

If you're keeping score, everything thus far was all in one day!  Ah, sweet sweet sleep…

La puesta del sol - Day 1

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast and our respective morning drinks on the porch.  Normal routine.  But today… today was extra special!  Today was the promotion ceremony for our OBS kindergarteners!!  First order of business… I was looking a little scraggly so I went to see Abraham, the local barber.  He has an open air shop right outside his home.  During my cut, his family came out to visit.  It was a lot of fun!  He fixed me right up, although he just had to comment on how little hair I had.  Sigh.  Our friend and adult student, Juriel, stopped by to have some copies made - the family also has a small, basic print shop (the only printer in town besides ours).  Juriel joked that when Abraham was cutting my hair it looked like snow as it fell to the ground.  "Nieve, nieve!"  Hardy-har-har.  Everyone got a laugh when I jumped off the barber stool and chased him out of the shop.

Can you make me look like Sendhil Ramamurthy?

Why I oughta….

Today was also the day for the high school graduation ceremony.  Adele's brother, Eugenio, was graduating today and had invited us to his functions.  In high demand, us English teachers had another full day ahead of us!  We got all fancied up and it was go time!

Stunning!  And Bex! looks pretty good, as well.

If the people in Mérida were surprised to see me in pants yesterday, they were gonna be blown away today!  SHOES, SOCKS, a TIE, more PANTS.  Wow!  I've lost so much weight here that my clothes kinda drape on me but it was still a good look.  My wife looked absolutely beautiful!  My my my.

Proud graduates on their way to the Catholic church for the benediction ceremony.

Eugenio!  (Adele's brother)

We followed the procession into the church and caught the first part of the graduation mass.  We had to leave early because our OBS kids were staging at the same time for their procession through town!  

We met up with the children and their loved ones near the village primary school.  This would be the starting point for the walk through town to the bilingual school.  The girls looked oh so beautiful, with their hair in various styles of amazing.  And the boys looked muy guapo in their slacks, dress shirts and ties.  

Soon-to-be-first grader Moises had the quote of the day, when he saw me:  "Mira!  Profesor David… en pantalones!"  "Look!  Teacher David.. in pants!" 

Franklin and his mom, our good friend Nora.

Franklin with Profesor David.
The boys all thought it was cool that they were wearing black ties just like me!

Herding cats.

Once the kids had all arrived, they lined up with their escorts - dad's with the girls; mom's with the boys.  There was a 4 piece band that walked alongside, providing a festive atmosphere to our parade!  Yep, all the kids marched… wait, who is that hustling this way? Ah, almost all the kids had made it on time cuz here came Esneider and his mom!  Nora expertly directed them into their spot in line without missing a step.  Okay, now we had everyone!

Esneider, wondering if he's in trouble for being late...

Ladies first

Boys and their mamas

We arrived at the Ometepe Bilingual School grounds and the kids marched in under the palm frond arches, through their old classroom and into the hotel grounds where the party was all set.

Jeysi, with dad Pilarte.  Jeysi's mom, Julia, is the 1st grade teacher.

Natalia

Cristel

Yostin & Osman

Jonathan

The students and their escorts were called up and seated one-by-one, with the full names of both student and escort read out (and nearly everyone here has 4 names, just like my wife).

Cristel Azucena Gonzáles Lorios

Moises Gabriel Lorio Corea

Franklin Ernesto Ramos Ruiz

Yostin Edwardo Bosa Ampie

Osman Yassir Mora Corea

Jonathan Ernesto Rivera Martínez

The ceremony was wonderful!  And we felt honored because we were seated up front with the teachers, Julia and Ruth, and OBS founders Alvaro and Esther.  And we even had our names on the banner!  FYI, Bryan Davis is a guy from the US who has provided financial support to the school since its inception (he was not in attendance).  The ceremonies were emceed by our friend and sometimes student Darwin and by our friend and fellow teacher Julia.  Julia was all dolled up and with her lovely long hair down, we barely recognized her.

Darwin and proud 1st grade teacher Julia

Like other ceremonies, there was dancing.  This time, some adults did two different traditional dances and our first graders - Itzel, Daren, Jasmina, Jesner, Josias, Adrian - also did a traditional Nica dance.  It was very fun - and kinda hilarious.  The kids would whisper directions at each other if one of them was out of place or just stop dancing altogether until things were back in order!!

The young adults' modern dance number

No, it's swish-swish-turn-swish-turn-turn

Wait, we have to dance with girls?  Don't they have cooties?

Our OBS kids also participated in the flag handoff ceremony with Jacqueline and Kenneth (two of next years' kindergartners) accepting the flag from now-1st graders Moises and Cristel.  Moises and Jacqueline each made speeches, which were incredibly sweet.  There were awards given, with first graders Dulce, Itzel and Adrian winning piggybanks preloaded with cold hard cash for being top students.  There was also a family visiting from the states who had purchased gifts for all the students - gift bags with school supplies.

Este bandera es un simbol de ...

Then it was diploma time!  Each time a student came up, there was a series of pictures taken by family, with teachers, family members, etc. - basically anyone who came to see the kids' ceremony.  We were deeply touched that the parents wanted us in the photos, too!  Truly, these children are very special to us and we were so happy to get to know them throughout the year!

Ruth, with the new OBS first graders (l-r) Yostin, Jonathan, Osman, Jeysi, Esneider, Natalia, Weslin, Cristel, Saul, Moises, Franklin

Alvaro, Slim, HotStuff, Julia, Ruth, Esther

David and his fan club (first graders Jasmina and Daren)

After the ceremony, families split off to tables for dinner.  A great spread of mashed potatoes, roasted chicken, plantain fries, rice all made for a great meal!  We sat with Julia, Pilarte and their family to help celebrate Jeysi's promotion and had a wonderful visit with them.  After a while, we said our goodbyes and walked back into town for - second dinner.

Yeah, really.  Eugenio had invited us to his home to celebrate his high school graduation with his family and friends.  We knew where to go, since we had been their the night before!  Again, vigaron, super tender pork, rice, plantains and beer.  Having just eaten dinner at the OBS party, we did our best.  Okay, I ate just fine, although I admit I was stuffed.  But Nica food is just so damn good and we're leaving soon and… and… (feel free to insert your own excuses here).  We chatted with Eugenio for a while, specifically to ask him what his plans were, now that he was out of high school.  We were very happy to hear that he is university bound to study English in Managua!!  He attended our classes last fall when we first taught here and we're excited to find out that he was continuing his education.  He is a great example for his sister!

There was another, bigger dance party in town, this one at the secondary school, to celebrate the high school graduation.  But after two nights, four promotion ceremonies this weekend and two dinners today, we were vanquished!  As much as we wanted to go, we went home instead.  Besides, we had such a great time at the dance the previous night, so why mess with that?!

La puesta del sol - Day 2

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Said it before; saying it again.  We are extremely proud of all of our students, especially those that celebrated these oh so important milestones in their educations.  Knowledge will help this country continue to develop and improve the lives of the amazing people here.  We are honored to have played a small part in that.  We know the community appreciated our commitment and sacrifice, and that is really all the thanks that we need.  Mérida will always have a place in our hearts!!  

Best of luck to ALL the graduates!!

David and Bex!