Nicaragua January 8

We arrived safely in Nicaragua last night, after 12 hours of airport logistics. Good flights, no lost luggage, decent airport food. Who can complain? To think that in just 12 hours, you can be SO far from home! The weather here is warm, and apparently it is the "windy" season. It's a bit dry, apparently they never got the rains in the fall, and are concerned about crops as a result. Sensible concern. The photos you'll see were shot today, unfortunately they are not in order. On some computers, I can arrange them according to how I want to tell the story. With the new laptop (??) I am unable to do this. Dragging and dropping images is apparently a NO GO. SO, if things appear out of order...they are. :) We are staying in Cedro Galan with Manna Project International www.mannaproject.org

Today was for food shopping, the marketplace, and the initial tour of the Bradley House. (Bradley House is the school/clinic where the 4 WSC students will be practicing their Occupational Therapy skills.) The photos above are from the marketplace, which although sustained by locals also caters in a BIG way to the tourist trade. Stall after stall of basically the same items at the same prices. However, one stall in particular caught the eye of the girls...the bag shop. As in alligator bags. One story we heard was about how a volunteer once paid for her entire trip here ($7,000) by buying these bags and selling them back home in the states. Hmmmm. Enterprising individual! The bags aren't remotely appealing to me, but the girls were quite entranced by a few of them.

Leah (from Manna) explains somethig to Nicole, Marianne, and Jessica in the marketplace. I think it was the alligator bag story..

Lots of jewelry, clothes, cigars, mugs, shoes, hammocks and coffee at the marketplace. All I got was coffee...so that I can give it to friends once I am home!

Some of the staff at Bradley House...they have staff meetings on Friday mornings, and that's when we happened to come by for the orientation. Our work starts on Monday...the students will be working at the clinic from 8:30 until 4:30 each day. Our assignment is to help with evaluations for the handicapped children that come there. Next week, 10 new children will be brought for evaluation and therapy, in addition to the 50 children that are already receiving treatment there.

Michelle (far left) explains some things about Bradley House to our group. Each room at the clinic serves a different purpose.

A breakfast meeting, Nicaragua style! Jackie Brennan meets with the 4 Occupational Therapy students (Nicole, Melissa, Marianne, and Jessica) to go over today's agenda.

This is the room we share at the Manna House. We bring the house population up to 16, I think. Good thing the place is so big! Photos of the house from my trip here in 2008 are here: www.pbase.com/erikajake/nicamanna