Hard work does pay off

This past week we spent a day hiking around the Mombacho volcano with our MCC team. Five of us chose to take the longer harder path...we were unaware what we getting ourselves into. At first the trail seemed easy enough, but then the steps of wood began that where only big enough for one foot. The steps took us down as well as up and every once and a while there would be a normal trail that we were all grateful to see. The trail was hard, but by the time we made it to the top it was worth the views. We could see lake Nicaragua, Granada, Apoyo lagoon, Conception volcano (Ometepe island), Masaya volcano, Managua and Leon. Also, our guide took us to an area he never takes tourists (yeah right), the prohibited area. Basically, it was a different view of the second crater. The second crater was a lagoon, but the wall washed away a long time ago due to escessive rains. Now both craters are covered in flora and fauna and is one of the only two cloud forests in Nicaragua. This was probably the first time since we arrived in Nicaragua we felt so physically worn out...it was a wonderful feeling. Our legs were so sore the next few days from all the stair climbing up and down it was difficult to walk, which is a necessity when your trying to catch buses.

Greta, Sarah, Beth, Seth, Matt

A Little R&R Did Us Wonders

The week of March29-April 6, my (Sarah's) parents were here visiting us. They could not have come at a better time. Since December we have been very busy with Aso Fenix groups and projects, so we were ready for some rest and relaxation. We stayed in a beach town, San Juan del Sur, for 5 days where we read, watched tv/movies, swam in the pool, swam at the beach, made jewlery (my mom and I), ate great food and slept a lot. I did not realize how worn out I was until we had no agenda and I had time to sleep and rest. It was a good time to spend hanging out with my parents. We had not seen my dad in over a year and my mom in 8 months, so it was a much needed reunion. It was not hard to see them leave since we will see them in a little more than a month...no they won't be returning that soon, but in fact we will be making our first visit home since we arrived. We will be spending half of our time in Denver, Colorado with my family and the other half with Seth's family in Rapid City, South Dakota.

My Namesake

I just finished reading a book by Jhumpa Lahiri titled the Namesake, so it seemed like a good title for this blog. I never planned on naming any of my kids after myself, nor did I ever think anyone would name their child after me. What I never considered was having someone name an animal after me, this could be considered an insult to some. A family in the community of Corozo that we enjoy a lot named one of their four birds after me. At first I thought, great they named a bird after me, but then they told me the other birds did not have names. That was when I realized how special I was to have a bird named after me. They also told me they were going to give me the bird, but right now it was too young. They are going to train it to eat everything, so when they give it to me it will be easy to handle. I have never wanted a bird as a pet, but I am so touched by this that I will probably have a pet bird once we find a place to live in Teustepe. So I would like to introduce all of you to my namesake...Sarita (little Sarah).

Como matar una gallina

After almost a year and half in Nicaragua I can now say I have seen how a chicken is killed and prepared for dinner. We have eaten chicken many times when we visit houses, but the food was always ready for us. I never thought I really had the desire to see the process of how a chicken goes from roaming around the house to being part of the meal, but surprisingly I found it rather interesting. We were staying with a family in a community called Corozo. Marbelys asked me if chicken was okay for lunch and if I was interested in helping her. Her husband killed the chicken by twirling it around very fast; the chicken moved a bit after, but it did not bother me the least. Then you put the chicken in boling water for a mintue to help remove the quills. The quills were easy to remove and low and behold it looks like a chicken we buy in the stores. Then she proceeded to burn some of the little hairs off by holding it over the wood fire. After the hairs have been burned off she cleaned the bird with soap and water. Now starts the butchering; cut the feet off first, then the head, cut open the body and clean it out with water and then remove the stomach and other organs and the last step is to cut the chicken into smaller pieces for cooking. We had fried chicken and a speciality dish (I forgot the name of it) made up of the organs and mint and wrapped in a bannana leaf. Lunch was delicious. Although I may never be able to kill a chicken at least I know how to prepare the chicken.