oh chavalos

So I have been busy,busy,busy.
To begin, I have planted a garden in my host family´s yard with the help of all the little boys around the area. Basically they took charge and repeatedly told me "see how creative Nicaraguans are". It was awesome. Today I looked and we already have some plants showing. However, not without a struggle. I have been chasing pigs, hens, chickens, dogs, etc. out of that garden. The fence which is made out of plastic bags has been of little help! But I have my fingers crossed.
I have created a boys youth group, the same group that has helped with the garden. They are amazing and have been loving every minute of it. We did a wall-sit competition the other day and they were screaming and yelling in pain but they would NOT give up! It was great. We all made Christmas cards. I showed them my purse made out of bag wrappers and for the next two days all I hard was "CHRISTEEEEN! Tenemos mas bolsas!!! Mire!" They were so excited to find bags in the street so we could get started. The next day we washed them and hung them out to dry. We made bracelets on Monday and we will soon be making belts! I love the enthusiasm!
We had Purisima on Monday. It is a holiday where they walk around to different personally decorated altars and sing hymns at each one to celebrate the Mother Mary. Then the owners of the altars give little gifts: jewelery, housewares, or gofio (a cookie like thing made from pinolo) I loved it! I got a ton of the food!
That's all for now...Heading to another baile tonight for a promocion!

!!Si hombre!!

Week one is almost done at my site! It has been an interesting week as I have gotten to know more about my new home. It is bigger than I thought (6,000 people, not sure if I have mentioned that) and everyday I find a new bridge leading to a new section. The people are very kind and have dynamic personalities. I have been approached by many people showing interest in personal, community, and school gardens, which is very exciting! There is little knowledge of proper land use, garbage disposal, composting, etc. However, even with the lack of knowledge, the people are aware of the issue and are enthusiastic to learn about possible solutions. My host sister has told me that a lot of people here were fortunate to receive land when the new government was instated. However, many of them were unable to manage it properly and fell into debt / extreme poverty because of the drought; almost all of them have rented their land to sugar growing companies. Unfortunatly these companies use slash and burn agriculture to produce their crop. The big sugar companies do not pay much rent and afterwards their land will be unusable (and as a result even less income). Hopefully, with more environmental education, they can find some answers.
Despite their economic situation, the people still seem to cherish their family and community events. I was invited to a promotion (a graduation) of preschoolers the other day. I sat on stage and proceeded to kiss about 200 little kid´s cheeks. Afterwards, la directora (my counterpart), two other sub-directoras, and myself went to one of their graduation parties. It was filled with regeatton, a piñata, soda, a dinner plate, and a goody bag. I have another promotion on Friday, a high school graduation. My host mother´s birthday is on Sunday.
I have already made a compost pile with my host sister and cousin and I hope to start a garden soon. On Monday I look forward to the start of a youth group.
(Thank you all for your support thus far in my journey)