Friday, December 14, 2007
Home again!
Posted by KB at 03:45 PMAfter our trip to Nicaragua we had a weekend to spend with our families. Some people also visited Nueva Suyapa or Valle de Angeles as we knew it was our last chance to do so. Monday night we had our goodbye party with the professors- the students gave a gift to every professor and we all had a goodtime laughing and hanging out together. Then Tuesday night we had our final party with the families. We had had a few practice before then and ended up pulling of a prettty good perfomance. We played gringo loco- were we asked what students did what stupid things- and threw in a few skits as well as a of couple dances- “We’re all in this together” from High School Musical was a big hit! Wednesday morning our families saw us off at the airport and after tearful goodbyes, we were on our way home. We didn’t have any major problems in the airports and arrived home in Grand Rapids at 11:40 p.m. to a huge crowd of our friends and families! Thanks to everyone for a wonderful semester! What a fun time we’ve had learning and traveling together! 
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Nicaragua
Posted by KB at 06:40 PM The last few weeks have been a mix of emotions. Although we’ve been busy, we’ve had time to note our feelings of excitement to go back home but also surprise and sadness to know our time here is almost over. After our relaxing vacation in Roatan (most of us hung out at the beaches when it wasn’t raining and just enjoyed time together without schoolwork, some of us spent time with family) we had a busy last two weeks of classes. Lots of presentations, exams, and papers! But we fit a Thanksgiving dinner in there- we went to a really nice restaurant and actually had turkey and pumpkin pie. Then we had a weekend of exams; most of us only had two. And then Monday morning we left at 6:00 for our trip to Nicaragua.
We were in the bus until about 1:00- we even ate lunch on the bus. In the afternoon we went and saw the ruins of old León and in the evening we had supper at our hotel. Tuesday we had breakfast at the hotel and then left with our guide, Gorge, to tour León. The highlight of the tour was a beautiful church. 
We then left for Managua and the Centro Nehemía. (Although we spent a lot of time in the bus, we enjoyed watching movies together while we traveled.) At the Nehemiah center we received a tour of Managua: we saw some beautiful scenery and learned some of the history of Nicaragua.
Then we had another lecture over the history of Nicaragua and a presentation about the Nehemiah center. That evening we had supper with Calvin grades living in the area and heard about the Christian school there.
Wednesday the real adventure began as we went to the Volcano at Masaya.
We first saw the view from above and smelled the smoke rising from this active volcano but then had the opportunity to climb through a cave that the lava had formed. We even saw bats! 
We had a late lunch and then some free time to explore Granada. We were all thankful for free Internet at our hostel but also enjoyed visiting a church there and watching a sunset from the bell tower. 
After some pizza, we watched a movie and swam in the pool. Thursday we had a great breakfast and then left for the market in Mayasa. We had fun buying our last gifts but were all excited for the afternoon canopy tour! We had a great time zip lining over a coffee plantation and enjoyed free coffee afterwards. Then it was back in the bus until arriving at Vida Joven (or Young Life) camp in Matagalpa. 
We had supper and hung out that evening. Friday morning we heard about the Vida Joven program in Nicaragua and talked about some of the things we’ve learned during the semester. After lunch, we were on our way back and arrived in Tegucigalpa at about 7:00. Another fun trip and great time of bonding for the group!
