Day Two: June 27th- Unforgettable

Patty at her best :)

Juan with my sunglasses

I love the fact that I was up at 6 am, enjoying a cup of awesome nicaraguan coffee. Nothing beats an amazing sunrise. Today was a day filled with excitement, faith, hope and unfilitered passion. In preperation for our visit to the orphanage, we did a small activity which really had a profound impact on me.

We were paired up and in this activity, one of us had to have some form of a disability ( i.e. no use of hands, deaf, dumb or blind) and the partner would be responsible for caring them (including feeding, washing dishes etc). I did not have use of my arms and was reliant on A.J. ( a really nice guy from atlanta) to help me out. Sure, i loved being fed fresh fruits and yogurt but it kind of got out of control when one of the other guys decided to tie my bandana (which fastened my hands together) around the chair, then proceeded to untie me and treat me like a horse.

I realized it was all fun and games but at the same time, i really felt the underlying emotions of low morale and even sadness. I felt especially useless because I am so used to doing things on my own and being independent.

With those thoughts in mind, we were off to chinandega( downtown- the location of the orphanage). Upon entering the orphanage I was struck by the beauty of it. The kids (various ages) were lying on the mats and they responded in their own way to every movement that we made. Music really seemed to bring them alive and they loved the guitar.

One of the kids, Juan really captured my heart. I was really amazed by his motor skills. I knew that in ten minutes he would not remember me but his eyes showed me something else. He kept taking my sunglasses flipping it and placing it on his face. Everytime he did that he would break into this huge smile and indicate to me that he would like his photo taken. We continued to play with the kids , sing songs to them or just hold their hands for a little while. At that moment, I really wished that I could do more to help.

To lighten our emotions and our spirits, we pretty much had three hours to kill. So, that meant naturally more shopping, eating out and do i dare say ice cream? Our group decided to head to "Tip Top". Think of it as the less greasy, fresh version of KFC. The location implied fast food but, there was nothing "fast" about this place. We waited for nearly an hour to get our orders in. We made our exit and walked down the streets of chinandega. At this point, Patty decided to head to the Via to meet her long lost friends. On our way back, we ended up stopping for some much deserved ice cream (yummmy).

Joe and I enjoying some tasty treats

Yup, A christmas tree in the middle of market square (in June!!!!)

Following a quick siesta ( i think it should become universal) we hoped on a bus and went to mass. We were all under the impression that we would be hiking to a field in the middle of nowhere to attend the service. But, with the onset of thunderstorms, our heroic bus driver decided to take us through the fields. We were also joined by some of the locals from Via Catalina. They would have walked an hour to attend mass if we hadnt picked them up.

Enjoying the bus ride ( You may notice that the kids hair is very light- this is mainly due to malnutrition- not having enough iron or vitamins in their bodies)

It's raining! It's pouring! Relief from the heat yay!

The church was a make shift structure of plywood and tarp. It was just beautiful. The rain didnt prevent the locals from making the long walk. The priest made sure that he had all of his garments and provided blessings to all the locals in spite of the rain. It was clear that the locals had spent a lot of time making sure that the ceremony was a big celebration. Anna, an 80 year old woman had walked three days in a row to request that our organization attend the ceremony. She wanted us to see the need for a church and participate in the festivities. They even offered us juice bags, bread and exploded some fireworks (something i am sure cost them a small fortune)

Mass in the middle of a field

As we were heading back to the Casa, I was overwhelmed with emotions- some joy, some sorrow but a whole lot of hope. I was sort of communicating with one of the locals when I realized what their new nickname for me was. They didnt know where India exactly was. So, they called me "Gringo Negra"- That's right- White Black person. I've never laughed so hard when i heard the translation. After a quick dinner, we had downtime. Tonight was a night for skits. So, our group decided to enact how John and Sabrina (the leads for Amigos) had met and fell in love. I got to play Patty. Well, let's just say i was saying a lot of " Yeah, Man!". I had a blast.

Just when i thought, the night was coming to an end (8:30 pm), I was told that we adults would be heading out in an hour to transfer 500 chicken into their pens and load two squealing pigs onto the truck, to be transfered for the pig roast( the next night). Did i mention that every night by 7 pm, the power goes out? Yup, we were going to transfer these chicken in the dark..disaster waiting to happen especially when there is alcohol involved.

We stopped by a local bar and everyone ended up knocking a couple back so transferring the chicken was quite an experience. Once the transport truck finally arrived, we hoped into the truck and made our way back to the via. In the middle of the darkness, we slowly carried crates (rather comically) down a steep rock path ( i fell twice) and then proceeded to release the chicken. It was soo much fun! Especially with poop falling all over you. One interesting experience all right.

To top it off, the men had dragged to pigs kicking and squealing all the way to the truck. I was afraid of getting attacked by those monstrosities. I dont eat pork. So, I was clearly disgusted but pulled through. After the pigs were loaded, we made a pit stop to pick up brick for the roast and then head to the Finca (farm). At the form, everything was unloaded. Justin (one of the coordinators) really wanted to make sure he ate "Squealy" because of the trouble the animal gave him. I must say that Pigs are very smart animals. They knew they were being led to their deaths and worked hard to fight to the end.

It was approximately one am when we were making our way back to the casa. I was joking with the guys that since we were up, we might as well climb a volcano and watch the sunrise. I was glad then gave me an "Are you crazy look"? After a quick cold shower, I hit the bed and slept happily.