What better way to wake up?
Door: Rebecca
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Rebecca
11 Oktober 2011 | Nicaragua, Managua
As early morning lights starts to peer through the bars of the little bamboo wall of my cabana, birds start to sing and roosters start crowing. When opening my window a fresh morning breeze comes in, accompanied by a lovely grayish yellow light. The sun still has to wake up and rise, but by the look of it, it will be another beautiful sunny day.
While walking to the outdoor toilet some of the dogs, including to hyperactive puppies run towards me to great me..their sandy paws cool from the wet earth, but their bodies still warm from a long night sleep. The curious monkeys stop for a moment, just long enough to look who's there, before they continue their daily routine...searching for food, eating, playing, sleeping and just monkeying around. Then the parrots in the spacious cages, next to the cold water shower, start their daily chatter ...my guess is that soon all the other guests will be awake now. So after a quick shower I make my way to my little cabana again to get my notebook and a pen...time for a little bit of Spanish grammar homework.
Struggling a bit on the tenses and the right conjugations I keep thinking about the presentation I held almost two weeks ago, on my last workday at the school. The children were all a bit nervous to show the teachers there cute paper mache animals and to be honest I became quite nervous myself when I saw that the small group of teachers that we invited wasn't as small as I hoped it would be. But all went well and I explained the teachers and the other members of the team about the work, all in Spanish, so I felt quite good about that. My last week in Costa Rica went by quickly...said goodbye to 'my' children, received presents, cleaned my room and scrubbed the paint stained tables with such force that even the original paint came off. ..oeps. After saying my goodbyes to the children and teachers I went two days to the beach, to surf , sea-kayak and snorkel a bit. And so I ended my Costa Rica time. The last day of September I jumped on the bus with Emily, a American girl I met in Liberia and we crossed the border of Nicaragua. It was a nice bus drive, nice scenery and good company and the hours flew by. I spent the first night in Rivas, a small town in Nicaragua in a small and quite dark little hotel. I never really knew what people meant when using the expression ‘bare bones’, but those were the first two words that came to mind when I entered my room, so now I know. Thanks to the very loud and helpful owner, who announced the departure of the 3 o’clock night bus to Managua (by just shouting Managua, Managua in the middle of the night) and thanks to all the early, talkative risers at that hostel, I woke u very, very early ..and therefore found myself in a minibus a little after six..my big backpack on the roof, on my way to la Mariposa language school. Last year Ruth and I went there, learned Spanish and fell in love with the place. And here am again..learning more about the language while enjoying time with my younger sister Ruth and her friend Venice, who're working here as interns now.
I actually intended to stay just for one week at this lovely Spanish school/ eco-lodge ,but already the second day I decided I would stay another week and last night I decided to stay a third and maybe even a fourth…I cannot seem to leave yet. And since I heard they could use some volunteer help in the kitchen now that more guest are arriving, I found myself a good excuse to stay a bit longer.
It is nice to be back, not only thanks to the lovely dogs, the cute monkeys, the talkative parrots and the beautiful garden. I am sure that the friendly and great teachers, the good food, the nice trips to local artisans and outings to nearby towns, as well as the interesting talks about Nicaragua and her history are all add up to feeling welcome. This place really feels like a home away from home.
And so I will be here for approx. two more weeks, helping out as an volunteer here in the kitchen, practicing my Spanish and meanwhile feel like being on a holiday...what more do I need?
Lovely greetings from a, suddenly, very rainy Nicaragua.
-
11 Oktober 2011 - 21:18
Odette:
Wat is je Engels toch mooi meid!
Heb je wel een vaste datum vliegticket terug naar NL eigenlijk? En wat zijn je verdere plannen? Behalve 'mannen die vrouwen haten' lezen :D?!
Abraço! -
11 Oktober 2011 - 21:35
Ruth:
It's so nice to have you around. I recognize the stories you tell and have to laugh when you talk about the dogs. They are some much fun. For now a big hug and I will see you in the kitchen...what's for dessert sis?? -
12 Oktober 2011 - 06:07
Naomi:
Hi Dear sister,
Thanks for your nice update; it's sure sounds like you're having a pretty good time! And it's nice that you're able to stay a little longer at La Mariposa, because there is nothing better than a place that feels like a home away from home....
Have a great time, good luck with your Spanish lessons, give my love to Ruth and Venice and enjoy everything as much as you possibly can!!
Love, kiss and hugs, Naomi -
12 Oktober 2011 - 06:18
Henny:
Hello dearest Rebecca, is this you? What a fast (and good) decision!! So you can.... Bring in some 'Dutch' recipes into the kitchen in such a way they don't like to see you going!
A big hug from the campsite (here it's raining too) -
12 Oktober 2011 - 07:12
Alma:
Dear Rebecca,
what a nice blog :-) Keep doing the good work and have lots of fun along the way. Greetings from rainy Den Haag. Alma -
12 Oktober 2011 - 08:23
Joke:
Good morning Rebecca, again it was nice to read about your adventures. Your way of writing is very good. So, you are helping in the kitchen now? A nice and important job. In the meanwhile you meet many guests, I think. May be, you can make a Dutch recipe, as surprise to the guests, like smashed patatos, onions and carotes? (just joking) And here in Breda, suddenly, it's raining cats and dogs, and sometimes it's very,very windy: autumnwheather. Rebecca, have a nice time and give my greetings too to your sister Ruth and Venice. All the best. Joke -
12 Oktober 2011 - 16:43
Maarten Zilverberg:
'just monkeying around'; i like :) wat een heerlijk ontspannend stuk zo tussen de ene en de andere studie-opdracht door. Schrijf alsjeblieft elke dag zo'n stuk!
Trouwens, toevallig vandaag Marga en Hoja nog even gesproken in Utrecht. Woensdag vliegen ze weer terug. Als het goed is krijg ik voor die tijd via de mail nog wat foto's, als je wilt zal ik er paar de oceaan over sturen naar jou toe.
Groetjes! -
16 Oktober 2011 - 22:10
Sarah:
weer een muy bonito stukje! Besos
-
19 Oktober 2011 - 18:23
Mariette Engels:
dag lieve Rebecca, en nu kan ik ook lieve Ruth en Venice erbij noemen!
Wat een prachtig verslag weer, en wat een uitstekend Engels schrijf je.
Je hebt je tijd in Costa Rica mooi kunnen afsluiten he,dat is belangrijk, fijn dat men over de presentatie zo enthousiast was. En wat moet het weerzien met Ruth op zo'n mooie plaats heerlijk zijn geweest. Gaan jullie nog samen reizen?
Ik blijf meeleven. De prachtige paars gekleurde sjaal die ik van jullie kreeg, draag ik al enkele weken, want met name de ochtenden zijn hier koud. Nogmaals bedankt voor dat mooie kado.
Het ga jullie goed, lieve mensen!
lieve groet,
mariette -
26 Oktober 2011 - 04:55
Hetty:
beetje laat, maar heb genoten van je mooie verslag. het is ook zo ontzettend poetisch geschreven. fijn dat je samen met Ruth bent, of was??
dikke knuffels van ons
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