First Day of School

I have butterflies in my stomach!  For those of you who don’t know what I/We’ve been up to, we arrived In Managua, Nicaragua on Friday night, and to Rivas around midnight.  By “we,” I once again mean Lisa Marie, Jen, 5 wonderful students, and myself.  Students working with CGA all complete a process beginning with an essay and interview.  After this, all students have varying responsibilities to make this happen, including a ton of fundraising. 

Here in Rivas we will be helping and teaching at Escuela Especial Sor Maria Romero.  We cleaned the school on Saturday and prepared supplies and care packages for each student yesterday.  The school consists of 84 students with varying disabilities – some known and some unknown.  I could not sleep last night due to the excitement of meeting these students today.  I have already heard so much about them that I am itching to get in there.

During my sleepless, night, I wrote this: 

Tomorrow is the big day - our first day working at Escuela Especial.  Nerves and excitement are getting the best of me, even though I should definitely be sleeping.  I want to know everything ahorita, and be as prepared as humanly possible, but know it is a task to be learned on the spot. 

After a day of preparing care packages of rice, beans, soap, pasta, toothbrushes, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and the like, with only a minor bean mix-up, everyone shall go home from school a happy camper.  During our hours of sorting supplies and packing these gift bags, I observed a collective excitement among our students.  During all of the commotion, counting, sorting, piling, measuring, and packing, I heard comments such as:

“I can’t wait for the kids to see these bags, they will be so excited”

“Do we actually get to hand out these packages?”

“Their families will be so grateful!”

“How many people can eat from this supply?”

Among the excitement about the care packages for each child came many curiosities, such as what the heck this oddly shaped soap is for, how everyone does their laundry, how to make the dry beans, etc.  In addition to the help we will be bringing to the school, our students will be learning invaluable insight into this country, their customs, and way of life.  We have already learned a lot!!!