Two weeks in La Mariposa Spanish school in Nicaragua
The eco-hotel:
We opted to stay in the eco-hotel at the school, and we had all our lessons and meals there. All the food is veggie and locally grown, and the cooks were amazing - each meal was different and so tasty. Our room was lovely and spacious, and we had a huge picture window looking out to to garden. The gardens at the school are a wildlife oasis, as well as lots of plants and trees, there is an abundance of natural wildlife (birds, bats, insects, spiders), and a host of rescued animals including monkeys and parrots.
We really liked the set up of the school and hotel, everyone ate meals together and we met lots of interesting people. Ash really liked that at mealtimes everyone spoke English, because at the last Spanish school we did a home stay and they spoke only in Spanish at mealtimes, which he found a bit overwhelming at times! We also loved chatting to Paulette, who is a real inspiration for the work she has done in La Concha, and hearing about the history of the school and Nicaragua. We actually initially only booked one week at the school, but we both loved it so much we decided to stay for two!
One of the best things about the eco-hotel was that they have 18 rescued dogs living there. We loved talking to and stroking all the dogs everyday, and there were a couple who liked to sleep on the balcony outside our room. We made good friends with two in particular - Ash fell in love with Corazon (there was talk of taking her home with us 🙈), and my favourite was Cheespa. Ash made regular trips to town for dog treats, and by the end of our stay we had a gang of regulars stop by our room for treats throughout the day!
Spanish lessons:
We did four hours of Spanish lessons each day, and the lessons were split into two hours of grammar and two hours conversation. We both really liked having the lessons split up, and our teachers were all great. After the end of the two weeks we have both learnt a lot more Spanish, and the school also have workbooks so we can continue to practice and learn after we leave (which we both need to do!).
Volunteering:
We also decided that we would volunteer our time whilst we were staying at the school, working in some of the community projects every morning. There are lots of ongoing projects to choose from: animal rescue and conservation, organic composting, working in the organic garden, or working with local children. We both decided to volunteer with the local children’s projects: Ash worked with the local children’s physiotherapy clinic (though there were adult patients too!) and I worked in the children’s psychology clinic.
Ash was mostly giving massages and supporting with physio-based exercises, which he enjoyed. Though at times, the lack of facilities in the project was a challenge (for example, there is no running water and so no handwashing facilities). One day he also helped out with painting the physiotherapy room. Ash enjoyed interacting with all his clients, and even had a few regulars!
The children in the psychology clinic mostly presented with problems with physical or learning disabilities, or problems with attention, depression and emotional dysregulation. It was sad to hear some of their stories - lots of the children in Nicaragua have a lot of responsibility from a young age; as their parents both need to work, they have to look after their younger siblings, and do house work, washing and cooking. There is also a lack of education around development, and lots of the children get very little sleep, drink too much coffee, eat poor diets, and spend too much time on phones.
Given these conditions, it makes complete sense to me why some of the children struggle to concentrate at school, or are left feeling sad, anxious and angry! I was shocked to hear that most of the local children also don’t have any toys at home, and most of the psychology sessions focused on play (with some talking too). The children all loved to be able to spend time playing, and given the struggles they face in everyday life, it is probably the thing they need the most - the time and opportunity to play and have fun. It was fun for me to play with the children, and practice my Spanish by talking to them about their lives, and humbling to learn about how life is for them.
Activities:
The school have a schedule of activities each day that you can opt into if you want to (and have time around volunteering and homework!). Whilst we were there we both went to a history lesson about Nicaragua, the political history and struggles. One of the days I also decided to go on a trip to the Laguna de Apoyo - Ash and I had visited before, but I fancied some more time relaxing at the lake. In the end, only myself and another student, Helen, went to the lake, and we also had the bar there all to ourselves! We spent a lovely afternoon relaxing, swimming and chatting.
Overall we had a great two weeks at La Mariposa, and it was the longest time we’ve spent in one place in our trip so far! We met lots of interesting people and made some new friends. We did find the days quite busy and tiring at times - volunteering in the mornings and learning Spanish in the afternoons left us feeling pretty exhausted! We also didn’t take so many photos, which shows just how busy we were!
Next step: Ometepe island
Comments
Post a Comment