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!

Saludos! A long day of visiting potential sites, seeing the countryside and unexpected adventures (it wouldn’t be B3 if we didn’t have some of those, right???)! Today Amy, Josh (our driver) and I headed up to the northwestern part of the country and then made a loop through the north, heading back down south through the highlands, ending the day in the provincial capital of Estelí. Nicaragua continues to show us gorgeous paisaje (scenery) – today being the mountains, low clouds and coffee lands of the northern provinces.  Families have welcomed us into their homes, given us food and drink, community members have poured out eager to share with us different aspects of their community, children have peeked out of doorways asking for their picture to be taken…the people in this country are open and excited to show us (and all of B3) how truly special their country is and share a part of their lives with us. Every day I’m here, my affection for Nicaragüenses grows stronger. I can’t wait for the teams to arrive next year and experience the incredible richness of this country.

Day 2 of visiting potential projects and meeting new and wonderful people! As close as a twenty minute drive outside Granada brought us into rain forest-esque landscapes complete with muddy and bumpy roads. These roads led to opportunities that would promise lots of work to be done and lasting friendships to be formed.  It continues to rain each day around 2:20 (Amy noted the time two days in a row) rather heavily and for about an hour, but we’ve been assured multiple times that it won’t rain during the time the teams arrive (no guarantees unfortunately). I can’t seem to get over the amazing vibrancy of Nicaragua – from the brightly colored houses (typical in many Latin American countries) to the stunning views, to the personalities of the people here – everyone and everything seems to be… je ne sais quoi…muy vivo!

We landed in Managua to beautiful (yet humid) weather. The rain started coming down mid-afternoon and was quite torrential for about half an hour. Due to this amount of rain, the land is vibrant green and lush with beautiful plants and flowers.  We’ve meet with wonderful Nicaraguans who have shown us amazing hospitality and are very excited we are coming to work in their country.  The food here is amazing! Delicious coffee, fruit, and beef are just a few of the samplings we’ve had so far. A trip to the grocery store was a learning experience where our driver became a teacher pointing out the different fruits we’d never heard of – then at lunch we were able to enjoy them!

Odyssey team members add another layer of bricks to the walls of the new dormitory at Casa Hogar in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Casa Hogar, Feb  23, 2011 Cuenca, Ecuador It’s hard to believe that we arrived only 3 days ago when we wound our way up the Andes on a 4 hour bus ride.  A world of lush green trees and ground cover enveloped us. Ears popping, OMG chattering and cameras flashing, we had arrived in a land so foreign that we could not possibly begin to frame our expectations.
We drove directly to the work site, Casa Hogar, opting to skip the supermercado and drop our stuff at our accommodations afterward.  As we approached a set of pristine tile roofed buildings we saw about 5 or 6 boys in a small field running toward the bus, some jumping, some calling out with arms wide. We had no idea that we—this group of weary and kinda ragtag teens and adults—could be so highly awaited.  Two boys ran to the bus and got on as we collected our backpacks and water bottles.  They were shy, not looking at us directly but so genuinely happy to see us. They led us through the filigreed iron gates and down the drive to the Casa Hogar family. Many of the B3 kids have said they have never been hugged so long and so whole heartedly. Their open arms were the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
As you might expect, the past days have flown by. It seems like we`ve been here all of our lives, in a good way.  The boys, aged 6 to 14, have experienced things in their lives that we would probably be horrified to even read about in the newspapers.  Most of them were picked up by the police from under bridges, beaten and then delivered here for detoxing from drug addiction. They are mostly runaways from abusive homes or have been tossed out to the street by their families.  Others have been left on the doorstep. One 7 year-old brought himself here.  They are clean, polite and respectful.  They are loved here. They are jubilant at us taking an interest in their homework. Several of the older boys are the top students in school.  We have learned so much from them about resilience and gratitude.
Their Casa Hogar parents, Maggie and Paco are about as close to saints as imaginable.   They believe in the power of love and prayer.  Regardless of our individual beliefs, the results are undeniably amazing.
The B3 kids and the CH kids have become siblings, maybe closer.  We have a boombox at the work site and when the little ones come home from school and finish their chores, they´re allowed to join us. When the work day is over, the music continues and they all dance to tunes like Michael Jackson´s Thriller. The boys love the music, regardless of their understanding of the English lyrics, they hum, moon walk and lip sync with the rest of the group. Their smiles momentarily erase their troubles and infuse us with a feeling that everything will work out for everyone.
The work has been progressing ahead of expectations and has been very rewarding.  The site was meticulously prepped for us, a clean foundation with steel struts and a temporary roof was ready when we arrived.  Neat piles of bricks were stationed at each work area.  The architect, a distinguished gentleman (think Ricardo Montalban) gave us an overview and I think we might have freaked him out a bit with our eagerness to get started with the cement. By midday, he was happy with the work and by today, he and the local workers are eager to see us. The kids have said that they are proud to get  their approval. The house will be beautiful, built with love and pride and on a foundation of great inspiration and service….a testament to B3. Stay tuned. We`re a long way from Fairfield County!