Take Flight Day Three: Our First Trip to Chacocente

By Gabby, Tilly, Kaiana and Alisha

It is our third day in Nicaragua and we still can’t believe we are here. Today we went to Chacocente with our ANS buddies. On our way to Chacocente we saw so many cool things like the Masaya Volcano. We have noticed that there weren’t many sidewalks along the roads, so people were walking in the streets, or in ditches. 

Also the houses we saw along the road were really different from the other houses we’ve seen in Nicaragua and the USA. Some of them were made of cardboard or tin, not bricks. Some houses didn’t have doors, but most had gates to protect them. We have also seen many people selling things outside, like mini pools, drinks, fruit, and candy.

We traveled to Chacocente with the ANS buddies that we met yesterday. When we arrived in Chacocente there were lots of kids coming to hug us, we felt so welcomed. We delivered desks, a tree, and a plaque to the Chacocente school and they accepted our donations. Tilly, Shanice, Alisha and Kaiana gave a speech to the Chacocente students and teachers, and we had much love and clapping from all the children. 

We were also amazed by their athletic abilities. We saw little kids and older kids climbing up trees. We had fun games prepared for all of the schools. We played baseball, soccer, and relay races, and all the teams were mixed up so ANS, ICS, and Chacocente students all played together. We climbed on trees, and it was kind of hard because some of us were scared a branch might break and we would fall.

 

Chacocente was much different than ANS. Chacocente was dustier because their school was more outside. They did have a few hallways, but other than that it was outside. Chacocente also was hotter because there was no air conditioner, because the rooms are open to the outside and there were no windows or doors. Chacocente has a lot of kids and they were really cool and the little kids were so cute. We also saw the bathrooms that last year's Take Flight group helped to build, and the tree that they donated.

During lunch, we helped pass out little bags of lunch, which was one sandwich and a small bag of chips. We were very upset that we couldn’t feed the dogs. They looked very skinny, their ribs showing from their sides. We felt so bad for them, but the children needed to go first. After lunch, we resumed with our regular activities. In the field, a few ANS students and some Take Flighters joined Chacocente in a soccer game. First match we lost. But in the second match, we were victorious.

On the playground, many of the little kids were climbing trees. One little boy was jumping from one tree to another. At first we were worried they might fall, but when we saw how agile they were, we quit our worrying. They flew through the trees like monkeys, doing all types of tricks, like they’ve been climbing trees their whole lives. Unlike them, we were a complete fail.  Some of us went to the little store and bought some candy. The lollipops were extra delicioso. After a few games of tag, it was time to head back to the hotel.

We took a few pictures with our ANS buddies and handed the bracelets out to some of the Chacocente kids. We were so upset to leave. Even though Chacocente wasn’t as nice and well furnished like ANS, the kids were the ones that made it so much fun. Being an ICS student in Chacocente showed us not to take things for granted. Especially when it comes to school. On the way back to the hotel a lot of people were tired. Lola and Tilly were taking pictures of the ones who were asleep. Finally at the hotel we freshened up and had a little snack. Then the prank wars began!

      It was boys against girls. There was a lot of flying rotten fruit and stealth involved. Eventually the guys won. After a few hours of pranks it was time to get in the pool. We threw Tr. Kate and M.Steve into the pool and cannonballed ourselves in the pool. Then we all started hanging from the limbs of our teachers. We were so upset when we needed to get ready for our dinner. Once we were all fancy, we hopped onto the bus and was on our way to go eat dinner.

Dinner was so much fun. We got to try so many different types of food, like chicken, potatoes, corn, sausage, beef and pork. It was all prepared over a big charcoal grill. There was one spicy dish that Kaiana thought was salad. That didn’t end well. After a few others tried it and had a burning tongue for almost half an hour, we started to dance. A few of Tr.Kate’s friends came and we started to teach them how to dance popular American dances. Once they left, we started to head back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel we had our nightly debrief. We talked about the qualities of good schools, and if ICS, ANS, and Chacocente were good schools. It was very interesting because there were so many opinions that always had a point in the subject. But we agreed that a good school prepared you for your future. Now it’s night time so, bye. Hasta Luego!

Link to Pictures for Day Three!

Official Administrative Request - Friends and family members: Thank you all so much for your support and your wonderful comments! But where's all the gushy-gushy? We're still waiting to learn what some of our travelers' embarrassing nicknames are!!! Tr. Steve and I can't be truly effective trip leaders until we know who they REALLY are. Come on...for your children's sake!