A couple of Talent Show pics

Generacion Radical: ¡Avivame!

Lis & I sing "Revelation Song"

Nica notes

Sleeping in bright orange sheets that have turned my pjs orange.

Waking up at 5am when my Nica-papa shouts at Xavier (the young lad who helps on the farm) to get up. Then going back to sleep for another hour until actual getting up time at 6am.

Gallo pinto (rice and red beans re-fried together) and a fried egg for breakfast. Yum. Accompanied by better instant coffee than you can buy anywhere in Britain (no sugar, despite my Nica-mama's horror).

Cold, and hence short, showers in the morning.

After about 3pm washing/flushing the loo with buckets of water from the big barrels that we fill earlier in the day. Throwing the loo roll into a bin and not into the pan...otherwise flooding ensues, this point has been proven by some North American visitors.

Using Spanish words and phrases even when speaking in English and occaisionally being so confused that I can speak fluently in neither language.

Rice and tortilla with every meal, even if the main dish is pasta.

Constantly having worship music/Christian TV on in the house. Mainly in Spanish, but sometimes in English. I can now sing along to all the most popular tracks.}

Main forms of transport: taxis, microbuses, horses.

Squashing into crowded minibuses so that you are practically sitting on the lap of the person next to you, or if not, in their armpit!

On days that we spend in the community space in La Conquista, eating more bananas and oranges than might generally be recommended while trying to keep an eye on all the kids.

Concentrating so hard on a film in Spanish on the TV that my family have to shout to get my attention...

Always being content to be in short sleeves even when Nicas are wearing scarves inside.

Torrential rain on a tin roof; a very calming experience as it drowns out everything apart from the thoughts in your head. Space to think, soothed to sleep.

Being called "chela" meaning "white girl", both affectionatley by friends and collegues and as a kind of cat-call in the street.

Seeking advice from my wise Nica-sisters.

Bedtime at 8pm!

To Catarina...and not far beyond

Just a wee update to let you know how things are going in Jinotepe. My family have been complaining of the cold, especially in the evenings...when I explain that the temperature is now at something approaching Scotland's summer I get looks of horror.

The beans are growing! To the delight and relief of many Nicaraguans it looks like the next bean harvest will be a good one and bean prices should start to fall in December. I did however have the unfortunate opportunity to visit some bean crops sown in the land-bank project that had been almost entirely demolished in one night by straying cows. At the moment thirteen families farm the land here but no one yet lives on their plot; I hope to organise some sort of workshop to give construction advice for simple, well-built homes.

Don Alfredo, the father of my boss at the Luke Society passed away after a long illness. There was much sadness in Jinotepe, and Nicaragua as a whole at this news but also rejoicing for the wonderful example his life was of Christian living. As well as pastoring various churches he had been influencial in much social outreach. The incredible floral tributes at his funeral showed just how many people he had touched and the parade through town following the coffin stopped traffic due to the numbers of people that wanted to pay tribute.

On Saturday Kat (fellow Latin Link volunteer), my Nica sister Clara and I decided to visit the nearby town of Catarina, it has a beautiful, if touristy, viewpoint over Lake Apoyo and over to Granada on the other side. My idea was to walk down to the water, maybe have a paddle and then climb back up. Granted, it is fairly steep but I thought it entirely possible as there is a path cut through woods and we were shown the entrance to the trail. I have become fairly accustomed to walking on rough tracks in warm weather but for my companions the going was tougher and we considered it an acheivement to have made it halfway (30 mins walk) before turning back. Perhaps more of an achievement was that all three of us got back to the top again; Clara's frequent protests that she could not go on worried me slightly! Later she revealed she had been carrying with her, in her handbag, an almighty stone for protection against robbers on route...

Sunday we held a "bazaar" at church to raise funds. I spent several hours sorting, pricing and selling second hand clothes to eager women from the surrounding neighbourhood but was rewarded with the best barbequed meat I have yet tasted. All was good.

the start of summer

1st November was officially the start of the summer here in Nicaragua, it's raining less and the sun is stronger than it was, though until January we are in the "cool" months of the year. Excitingly as well as oranges, lemons, mandarins and other tropical fruit, my family have the most enormous avocados growing in their garden...at least double the size of anything you will see in Britain so I am tucking in. I have also discovered this plant...
...which you may recognise from your bathroom!

My work now has something of a routine as every Tuesday and Thursday I help run a kind of youth project with another volunteer, Robin. We have the use of a "community centre" really just a room with some tables and chairs in a nearby town and children and young people can drop in to play table games, ping-pong or games outside such as football or volleyball. It's a very informal setup and at times a little frustrating as the two of us struggle to maintain control and structure when 30 kids turn up at once. But we are starting to build relationships with some of the regulars and gain their trust and a bit more discipline!

It's not the work I expected to be doing with San Lucas but I'm starting to realise I have more important functions to fulfil that solely working in a technical capacity. I have also had the opportunity to visit the local hospital to pray for patients there as well as a care home for the elderly just a bit out of town. This was quite challenging in some ways. There is a real stigma attached to sending your relatives to a home; whereas here it is often seen as the best solution, in Nicaragua it sends messages of worthlessness or lack of care. When church group go to hold a mini service or serve lunch they want to say "we value you, we care - God values you, he cares," and it was a privilege to accompany a group of women from my church in this work and speak with some of the patients. The only slightly panicky moment was when one of the old men got me round the back of the neck and tried to insist that I kiss his lunch-smeared lips. Luckily, I managed to escape...