Travel with mamawolfe: Cementing Friendships in Nicaragua

Posted on July 27, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Cameron and Lily on the first day.

The first day in Nicaragua is often a blur. Between the red eye flight, the road travel from the airport to Managua, and then arrival at the Seeds of Learning Resource Center midday, it’s hard for me to tell the date or time. All I know is I’m feeling a strange blend of exhausion and adrenaline that helps me stay awake for nearly 36 hours.

Nicaragua’s landscape is amazingly green and tropical. The sky today is overcast and the scent of smoke hovers in the air as we load the Toyota truck and head off for the worksite. Twelve kids and seven adults, coated with sunscreen and loaded with backpacks and water bottles, took off down the dirt road for the first day of our adventure.

The back of the existing school, where our building begins.

The children and teachers greeted us in Casas Viejas. Currently, the community has a two room schoolhouse for preschool through 6^th grade. Our job is to help construct a two-room annex to provide a space for high school students. In Nicaragua, high school is grades 5-11. For the kids of Casas Viejas, the nearest high school is over several mountain passes, about a 90 minute walk. This addition will provide high school for not only kids, but also adults in the community.

Teacher Ana (left) and Ize, our host at SOL (right)

Yuri teaches 17 preschool students, Ana teaches 22 primary students in 1^st-3^rd grades, and Marisa teaches 22 4^th – 6^th graders. The teachers also serve as liaisons for the community to provide information about the school building project.

Nicaraguans are incredibly hospitable, and go to great lengths to make us feel welcome and comfortable in their community. As soon as we arrived, Carolina, a 6^th grader, quietly came up to me and waited for me to speak. She had a sweet smile, and was excited to get to know the teenage girls and me. After a prayer and singing the national anthem, she proudly danced for us.

Our work task for today was to prepare to start building one of three walls for the school. First, we had to create a human chain to move bricks from the front of the school to the back area where the annex is being built. It was a great way to get to know some of the kids, and we were able to move hundreds of bricks fairly quickly. Cameron managed to turn it into a game, while getting to make some new friends.

Cameron begins to build a foundation.

To the kids great delight, the wall building began a bit early! Lily took right to the bricklaying, while Cameron helped build a cement foundation.

This trip, I decided to be much more organized about getting to know the kids’ names, so I took a photo of these girls and asked them to write their names and ages in my notebook. I’d forgotten that photos are a huge treat in Nicaragua.

It snowballed, and soon I had nearly every child wanting to write in my notebook.

After a few hours of brick laying, we tumbled into the pickup and headed for home. We knew we’d sleep well, with the work of cementing friendships in Nicaragua has begun. The awkward introductions were over, and tomorrow the real building would begin.

Cameron covers his face from the dusty ride home.

How can you resist these smiles? Not bad payment for a long day of work!

Julito

Josselina

Jose Manuel

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Nicaragua Packing Party

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Today was our official ‘packing party’ for our trip to Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua. We leave tomorrow night! The receiving of the donations and packing of the supplies makes the trip seem so real…this is the exciting part for me!

Why a packing party? Well, as part of our trip, we collect donations of school supplies, books, office supplies, crafts, and other items that are usable to the schools built by Seeds of Learning. This year, in large thanks for the interview and article published in The Davis Enterprise, our community stepped up and donated so many supplies that they filled my car AND sixteen suitcases, duffel bags, bins and boxes.

I wasn’t sure if we would fit everything, but thanks to our expert packers (and soon to be school construction workers), they managed to get each box and bag tightly packed – and no container weighed more than the 35 lb. weight limit.

Let’s see… 35 lbs. each, times 16 boxes…thats 560 lbs of supplies! WOW!

I was astounded at the outpouring of support from our community, as well as cash donations from others living far away, that helped us gather such a huge amount of materials. Cameron packed dozens of brand new backpacks – the kids in Nicaragua will love having something new and all their own to take to school each day!

Linnea and I packed dozens of children’s books, all in Spanish. I got excited just reading the titles – I can’t wait to read them to the children in person! Many of these donations meant a lot to the owners, and we appreciate you giving up those parts of your children’s childhood to help the Nicaraguan kids with their education. I promise they will be well used and well loved for many years.

Tomorrow night, we fly out on a red eye flight from San Francisco, California to San Salvador, El Salvador – about 5 hours. After a short layover, we fly to Managua, Nicaragua-just under an hour of flying time. When we arrive in Managua we’ll be met by Seeds of Learning staff, and will drive nearly two hours to Ciudad Dario, where our adventure really begins.

Thanks so much to all the supporters of our 2013 trip…we couldn’t do this work without you. Think good thoughts for us, and stay tuned for updates from the work site and around Nicaragua. The nineteen of us, as well as the Seeds of Learning staff and the people of Nicaragua thank you.

Adios! ¡Hasta pronto!

Territorio soberano. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jennifer Wolfe

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Children, Your Life Is Pure Adventure

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Nicaraguan folk art

Life is pure adventure,
and the sooner we realize that,
the sooner we will be able to treat life as art.

~ Maya Angelou

This just seemed perfect for me right now; we’re about to embark on pure adventure in four days when we leave for Nicaragua and our volunteer work with Seeds of Learning. My greatest wish for my children is that they realize their life is ‘pure adventure’, and that they are the artist holding the brush.

This beautiful quote, by my favorite author, is from a beautiful website, First Sip.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Nicaragua: The Countdown Begins

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Cameron building desks in Nicaragua

Seven days from today we leave on our second adventure to Nicaragua. Working with the non profit Seeds of Learning, my children and I will join thirteen other teens, teachers and adults to travel to Ciudad Dario to help build a high school.

Our trip in 2010 was simply life altering, and I expect that this year’s adventure will be nothing less. The work is physical and emotional, but so gratifying. The friends we made, the people we met, and the work we did have helped move my life in a different direction since we returned.

Today our story is featured in our local newspaper, The Davis Enterprise, thanks to the kind writer Anne Termus-Bellamy. Please click this link to read more about us in the fine article, “Davis Teacher Returns to Nicaragua to Plant More Seeds of Learning’. If you’re inspired to support our project, please contact me or contribute to our Indiegogo campagaign (see link on sidebar).

And of course, I’ll be blogging as we travel and internet connection allows…you won’t want to miss the fascinating people and beautiful country of Nicaragua.

Injustice All Around Us: Seeds of Learning in Nicaragua

Jennifer Wolfe

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Bike Ride With Me: Along the Truckee River from Tahoe City to Squaw Valley

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Jennifer Wolfe

Nearly every winter weekend I’m in the Tahoe snow. November through May my ski racing kids, my ski coaching husband, and my ski mama driving self spend lots of family time near Tahoe City – but it certainly never looks like this.

Tahoe in the summer is an entirely different place, with a huge variety of activities. As much as I love Tahoe in the snow, it’s a nice change of pace to abandon the boots and grab a pair of running shoes and hit the beach and trails.

This weekend we decided to get up early to beat the 4th of July tourist crowds and hit the bike trail between Tahoe City and Squaw Valley. We headed off from the west shore, about 2 miles from Tahoe City.

The Truckee River in Tahoe City, just below the lake outlet. We’re the only ones around. For now.

No matter what sport we do, I’m always bringing up the rear.

along the Truckee River

The first of a series of bridges across the Truckee River – some in much better shape than others.

The bike path is an easy ride…fairly flat, and very close to the water. I found myself getting lost in the scenery usually covered in snow.

River rock view

I love how easy it is to stop along the river and get up close and personal. I couldn’t help myself. It’s a lot colder than it looks – remember, it’s Sierra snow we’re looking at!

I love thinking about who has gazed at these rocks, this river. My ancestors journaled about them in the 1800s- they must have looked identical to today. In fact, these rocks were actually formed by glaciers millions of years ago. Just think about the generations who have witnessed their majesty.

My husband’s family has been coming to Tahoe for generations. We stopped here, at blue bridge, where he remembers fishing with his grandfather. Thirty-five years later, the bridge has deteriorated and is now closed off as a ‘hazardous area’.

the blue bridge and fishing rock

The river flows out into a meadow-like space, smooth and gentle.

Turns out my husband is incredibly patient with my bike riding strategy. I’m s.l.o.w…not only am I looking side to side instead of straight ahead, I’m like a two year old, constantly stopping to take a closer look.