Rachel and Bobby Eddy weigh in on their experience in Nicaragua thus far…

“The Late Show with Bobby and Rachel”

Dearest parents, guardians, grandparents and Bruce’s posse,

Today was our first day in the town of Sonrisa de Dios.  We were welcomed warmly by the villagers, who dazzled us with their moves and grooves on the dance floor.  One man sang the popular Nicaraguan song “Nicaragua, Nicaraguita”, which is translated as “Nicaragua, my little Nicaragua”.  His voice was the equivalent to the brightness of 1,000 moons in the dark night sky.  We are not exaggerating.  Many of us got the opportunity to meet our amigos.  They were charming and friendly and invited us to join them as they tore up the dance floor.

We began the mixings of the rich, cream and sadly elusive cement.  Bruce [Miller] began the rigid, competitive selection of Cement Solution Employees.  Unfortunately, we have yet to begin laying the bricks; however, we intend to begin at 7:30 am sharp tomorrow.  We cannot wait to share our experiences with you, and intend to blog daily.

Thank you very much for your continued support!  Stay classy, B3!

Your devoted servants, Rachel and Bobby Eddy

December 2, 2011

As Amy and I sit here waiting to board the plane to head back to the States, I’m thinking about the weeks that the teams will be in Nicaragua working and spending time with the wonderful people in this country. I know that each year B3 students and adults have amazing, unique experiences, and that it is hard to classify any one trip is better or worse than any other since they vary so much from year to year, but I really believe that the teams will have touching trips this year.

Not only are the community members in each site warm and welcoming, but also the partner organizations we’re working with are some of the most passionate-about their-work individuals I have met. From young college students in Un Techo para mi Pais to seasoned development workers of La Esperanza Granada, the people who work in these organizations are passionate about the education, health and general well being of Nicaraguans. Each person has an amazing story to tell of the organization they belong to and of their own life. I hope all teams will get to spend a little time with these remarkable people – they truly are inspiring.

Amy and I are sitting in the Managua airport getting ready to head back to the US. It’s been a whirlwind of a week, but spirits were/are very high all throughout the trip as our excitement to work in Nicaragua grows. We visited the last of the potential projects and now we face the tough situation of deciding which ones will fit the best matches with our teams. I can’t express enough how important each of the projects we looked at is – all are very vital projects that will change the lives of Nicaraguans in communities throughout the country. It’s never easy to turn down a project, but B3 can only do so much, unfortunately. The good news is, there are several organizations (government and non) working in Nicaragua and all are very passionate about improving the quality of life for the people here.

As per usual the children in Nicaraguan are full of life and always curious to say hello to the “gringos” and practice their English. We’ve made lots of new friends and are eager to see their smiling faces when we return. In almost every community we visited, Amy or I commented on how we could picture the B3 students loving the Nicaraguan children and envision them playing games with them during the trips. Amy and I are very excited to get back to Connecticut and share our pictures and videos with everyone – we know you’ll share our excitement too! See you all soon at the September meeting!