Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bluefields and Palo de Mayo







This past weekend I went with a group of friends/ volunteers to Bluefields for Palo de Mayo. Bluefields is located on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. The people that live there speak English, Spanish and Creole. A lot of their ancestors came to Nicaragua as slaves from Africa for the British. The trip was so much fun! When I was there, it felt like I was in a different country. Since a lot of the people there are of African decent a lot of people mistook me for a Nicaraguan. A few times people came up to me and started speaking Creole. I had no idea what they were saying. While I was there I wasn’t sure if I should speak English or Spanish, it was confusing!

Getting there was an adventure in it’s self! We left Managua at 8:30 pm and arrived in a city called Rama at 2:30 in the morning. We waited in Rama until 5:30 am. and then took a little boat (panga) to Bluefields. That’s the primary way the people from Bluefields go back and forth to the capital. There is an airport in Bluefields but of course that is more expensive. On our way back to Managua it was raining and there was no roof on the boat so they covered us up with a tarp like luggage haha. It was very interesting. I stayed at another volunteer's house during the trip. His name is William. He lives in Bluefields with a family. His family is so nice; they have a really nice house and a huge family.

There was a parade to celebrate Palo de Mayo while we were there. Palo de Mayo means may pole in Spanish. Which is adopted from the May Pole that is celebrated in England. In Nicaragua, they are celebrating fertility. They dance around an actual tree with fruits tied to it. I didn’t get to see a May Pole dance, but I saw the decorated tree. At the parade there were people from the coast dancing traditional dances; it was really fun to watch and the little kids were so cute! I also ate seafood and sat by the water. I didn’t realize how much I miss living near water. It was very relaxing. I heard reggae music nonstop while I was there. It was a nice change from the music I hear normally in my site. There were a few bumpy moments during trip, which is inevitable when traveling, but overall a good trip! I want to go back and see all the beaches there, especially corn island and pearl lagoon!

Pictures: From Bottom to top
The Dock in Rama before we left for Bluefields
On the boat about to dock in Bluefields
A May Pole
A view if the parade from up above
Me with my friend Stephanie and Megan at a resturant by the water

I will put up the rest of the pictures on facebook.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Central Park Inauguration





This past weekend was the inauguration of the central park in my town. When I first got here in November it was under construction. I was told by many people that the park was really beautiful before. So I was really curious to see what they would do. The finished product is really great! There are beautiful trees and a little gazebo and benches and a basketball court and a stage. Last night they had a free concert for everyone. They had tradional folklore dances and some hip hop dances which was fun to see.

I also saw a band called the Nuvevo Panzers. One of the first songs they started singing was one of my favorite songs I hear on the radio here in Nica. At first I thought omg this is the same group that sings this song, yay! Then I heard another song I knew and that’s when I put it all together. Last night I heard my first Nicaraguan cover band. They played all the popular songs that are on the radio and it was a big dance party. It was fun to watch all the people dancing, and doing salsa, merengue, and bachata. All the dances I can’t do, but want to learn. It was a nice event, to get everything in the town together to celebrate. Because of this big dance party, we don’t have school today. The mayor decided that people will need some rest today after the bacanal aka big fiesta. I took some pictures but they aren’t very good. There is also a picture of the park during the daytime(also not very good_). There is also picture of my host brother with his project. He worked really hard on it and I was impressed. It’s all the rivers in Central America.

Adios Amigos