The Forgotten Children of the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

It's amazing how familiar this all feels except this time I'm doing it mostly in Spanish,  it's a very mixed class and today included extra family members including a 3 year old and the local dogs. One of the teachers joined us again and brought me a delicious nutmeg biscuit. Similarly to yesterday, ten children arrived at first and they just kept coming.  I arrived by 8.20 on the scooter and the deputy head was cleaning. It was a wet morning so I had some reservations about the scooter but it went fine. We began with revision of yesterday's words and I added more from  their paintings.  The children are quite shy but a couple are really good at the English words and several are quite talented with their art. Similarly to yesterday we did some writing and illustrating then either completed yesterday's or began a new painting. Firstly I demonstrated how the brushes and paint can be used. Amada took me to the library where I saw the very sad state of the fe...

Today was planned as a morning of painting activities, so I went to school by taxi with my two bags of materials. I thought I had plenty for 5 days of painting with 10 children. But that's just me and my sense of organisation and control.  By the end of the morning a total of 25 children had arrived between 8.30 and 10.30. So my careful lesson plan went a bit awry! However all were accommodated. I arrived to find one of the children cleaning the classroom, it was her turn. Then I and the head teacher and children assembled various tables to enable the children to paint and draw and access the materials. They were quite a varied group but all were keen. We had one or two 'lost in translation 'moments but generally all went well. Although with the increased group size  I am afraid of running out of materials,  in particular there will not be enough postcards to give out any more and I can do nothing about that. But the pulperia had a quantity of pencils, serviett...

Well today was a combination of meeting up with friends from afar and collecting more school equipment. We set off on the early ferry again, and having taken up the offer of a good price taxi, had a comfortable and fairly rapid journey. We went through Rivas again, which is a very bustling town and I am a bit amused by the names of pharmacies -misericordia, mercy, Esperanza, hope. Perhaps that would be more inspiring than Lloyds or Boots. It was quite hot on the mainland, and the car air conditioning was the normal ' windows open wide which makes any conversation impossible! But then I went to sleep! We arrived in Granada found the hotel and met Allison, my US friend from the Mariposa last year. She duly handed over the laptops that Peace and Hope had brought over for me. We had time for a little exploring then with the added bonus of Paulette and Ismael from La Mariposa, we shared a great lunch. Lots of ideas were shared with regard to Kids and Kayaks and Dreamlan...

I don' think management meeting and what that conjures up for us is quite in keeping with the culture. But nevertheless I wanted to have a real head to head and heart to hear talk both to firm up what we still need to do, and make forward plans. So we headed to Moyagalpa, our plan had been to take the bus but the taxi driver here offered me a special price as he said the bus would be slow and full.  He was right, but we survived the experience on the return journey. We spent some time talking in the park, where there were fixed tables and benches and free WiFi. Other than the growling dogs that kept appearing , it was ideal, and We got a lot of planning done and things clarified that we have been communicating. In ad only ever passed through Moyagalpa but it has a lot of little shops and restaurants. But I am constantly amused by the traffic. I struggle with just me on the moped, but frequently see whole families or large pieces of equipment. Our focus today was to provide e...

Yesterday I set out to meet a local doctor who is funded by an English organisation SIFT who are connecting with Peace and Hope.  However I arrived to find the doctor wasn't there but met three chaps from an organisation called Fundacion Esperanza. After a phone call or two which presented some challenges, I shared a coffee with them and learnt about their work supporting the medical clinics and also working with water purification systems. And then the doctor arrived, and we chatted and she gave me a lift to Urbaite but wouldn't leave me until Jose arrived. Everyone has been so caring. So for a very special day I got the chance to spend more time talking with Jose's  family about so many things. Some questions are quite direct and we shared a lot of personal opinions. They are very interested in my life in England but wouldn't be able to visualise how we live  at all, although of course Jose can as he has travelled to Europe. But likewise, my friends would struggl...

My hostel is called El Bosque  and I appear to be the only guest at present.  My room has everything I need, a light, a fan, some shelves, and I did borrow a plastic chair from the reception area. There are some hooks in the bathroom but no wardrobe and actually I'd  rather not let the bugs and spiders get in my clothes. The bathroom has a tiny basin and the tap is a bit precarious and the water stopped one morning. There seems to be a bit of water that comes out of the top of the loo tank when it flushes but I haven' investigated that as everything is functioning. The bathroom light doesn't always work so sometimes I have to tap it and it comes on. The cold shower works fine but the water does spray over a wide area so I have to prepare myself! There is a mesh window and I found something that looks like a soap dish that I washed. Have had to go native as my combined shower gel and shampoo with insect repellent leaked in my case and don't think it will last the ...

I saw no more of the spider but it possibly became the meal of one of the gekkos I keep hearing chirrup. But this morning there was a lot of loud scratching coming from the bathroom, so I opened the door very slowly preparing myself for a nasty shock but it was in the roof space. I later discovered that a hen had gone up there with her new babies. And I remembered the hen at La Mariposa that laid her eggs and nested in a hanging basket. I had a free morning so read on the veranda, had a little ride on the scooter and then a coffee before everyone arrived. I continue to wear my protective fear  and my multicoloured bruises remind me each time I dress! The morning rush hour was interesting and the evening one the same. My bedroom became like a factory, as sizes were sorted and checked and items bagged up and names. We hadn't quite got the numbers right, but small items I have ordered at the hotel pulperia and other items can be bought locally. The few remaining shirts will...