High, Low, Far and Wide~ A Hidden Outdoor Wonderland

One of the reasons I initially chose to study abroad in Nicaragua was the plethora of outdoor activities available and what seemed to me a wilderness much less open and accessible to the average traveler. We worked hard to get to many of the beautiful sights that Nicaragua provided, but each time we were rewarded with pristine forests, beautiful landscapes and a deep sense of accomplishment. Here's a snapshot of several places we visited, hiked, and swam along. The pictures never do it justice, but hopefully there are a few that will make you want to visit ASAP~

Las Isletas de Granada-

During the weekend that my roommate's family came to visit, we toured a set of islands in Lake Nicaragua that were created during one of the explosions of the nearby Volcan Mombacho. The volcano towers over the city, so it's easy to see how long ago, some blasts of lava found their way into the lake and solidified into a chain of islands with a tropical and wild feel. Many of the islands are inhabited and more than a few now have beautiful vacation homes of both wealthy locals and international investors. 

To get to the islands, we hired a guide on shore and then rode a panga through the charming channels and around the unique homes. "Guide" is always a loose term, but we had a great time with our island resident and his boat captain friend, who seemed to know enough to answer a few of our questions and was more than willing to share secrets and fun facts once we convinced him we really could understand Spanish. The islands house a community of their own including a school and a few hostels, but nearly all supplies have to be brought over from Granada, including water. 

Volcan Mombacho- Maker of Islands

Monkey Island

Vacation Home

Local Home

Cemetery Island 

Volcan Mombacho-

Our Half Way Stop

View from the Top

After spending an afternoon under the shadow of the volcano, we woke up early the next morning to conquer the beast of a hike. To be fair, while I was aware that most people opted to take a truck to the top and just hike around the craters, I was unaware that the reasoning behind it was the deathly incline and lack of trails except for the long, paved road used by said trucks. Luckily, I was with friends that were willing to follow my crazy lead, and after many hours of fighting our way to the top, we felt incredibly accomplished and more than a little dumb. But the view was amazing and we were more in tune with our jungle warrior spirits than ever. We also managed to hitch a ride down part of the way down with the rest of our crew (my roommate and family) who were smart enough to book a tour. 
  

Chocoyero-El Brujo-

Through our Spanish class, we had the opportunity to visit a few sites outside of Managua, including a beautiful nature preserve with ancient trees, a life-giving waterfall and some unique creatures. Our guide provided a long introduction to all of the local wildlife before leading us through several of the trails. 

El Chocoyero Tree

The site was named after a local legend about a man who was given permission to bathe in the waterfall by a wizard, under the condition that he not tell anyone else the secret location. However, on his was out, Chocoyero spilled the beans and is now forever immortalized (in the nude) as a tree alongside one of the trails. 
Along the way, we saw giant guayabon and ceiba trees, supposedly hundreds of years old. The cliff next to the waterfall is filled with hundreds of nests, home to the 'chocoyeros' (parakeets) that dive in and out around the waterfall all day. In the welcome center, one of the display boards was titled "Donde el bosque se transforma en Catedral." As an outdoor adventurer, this concept is a key reason why I so enjoy wandering through the woods and hiking in the wilderness. This panel compared the forest to a cathedral, which not only has intense symbolic meaning in the Central American region, but also related to the part of my that finds it easier to worship God when surrounded by His creation than within the walls of a church. 


   

Cañon de Somoto-

This canyon is located in northern Nicaragua outside of the small town of Somoto. This region of Nicaragua is very poor and we were surprised by the large number of signs we saw for NGO's and aid projects around the area. We passed through  on our journey north to El Salvador, and while the $13 tour seemed a little pricey, it was well worth the cool dip and gorgeous tunnels carved into the cliffs. Our guide was a 17-yr-old local, Josue, who led his first group when he was just six years old. We climbed, floated and jumped our way through the canyon, then ended with a beautiful hike through the Nicaraguan countryside. 

                                                                                                   

Selva Negra-

Selva Negra is a beautiful cloud forest located on a the land of a German family that has lived in the region for generations. Our journey there took us back to Matagalpa, the central coffee region of Nicaragua, and to our first hot shower in well... all of Nicaragua. Once we arrived at the actual nature preserve, we wandered the grounds of the farm and ecolodge area, and then started on our trek through the cloud forest. One of my favorite parts was a beautiful church tucked into the base of the mountain that was open air and shrouded in green. The funky plants and trees kept us entertained as we wandered up and down the hills of the reserve, up the Atajo trail and down El Fuente de Juventud (The Fountain of Youth.) Four hours later, we were overjoyed to be greeted with delicious treats and fresh coffee back at the lodge. 

My Adventurous Companions

The Model of the German Style A-Frame Lodge

 

 

 

 

-Maggie Frazier

A Little Evaluation

The truth is, I had a such an amazing last month while studying abroad that I hardly had time to stop and sort through all the new sights, experiences and adventures, let alone to get them written down to be shared and experienced by others. I am "home" in Laramie, WY and have had a relaxing, although difficult adjustment period in the last few weeks. In light of these things, I still plan to write a few posts about the natural wonders of Nicaragua and my time in El Salvador and Costa Rica. However, as I was filling out my ISEP evaluation form, I realized that many of the questions provided a good overview of my experience abroad and may be of interest or at least provide a glimpse into some highlights of my semester. So while copy and paste may be cheating in blog world, here are some fun facts about my time abroad.

What did you think about your housing and the living experience?
I LOVED my homestay experience and would always recommend this style of living accommodation as a way to engaged with the host culture and experience an environment apart from school, play and travel. I did not feel that our food and transportation stipend was sufficient, but we learned to work around that anyway. I felt very safe and comfortable as my roommate and I were placed in an upper-class community, but feel that I may have experience more of the culture and Nicaraguan lifestyle had we been living in a more centralized neighborhood or with a middle class family.

Tell us about your experience interning/working abroad:
What skills are you learning/using that you find most valuable? 
Is there a particular experience you want to share?
I did not intern, but I did volunteer at a primary school teaching English once a week. It was a very educational experience and I feel I was exposed to many of the educational and societal barriers that keep kids from attaining higher levels of education as well as better lifestyles in Nicaragua. I learned how to make lesson plans that are culturally appropriate (ex. how to teach careers in a country with high unemployment) and in my volunteering with non-profits, I learned a lot about the on-ground barriers to providing for people needs including unexpected natural disasters, societal views on gender and authority, cultural parenting norms and political barriers for both organizations and residents receiving aid.

Tell us your FAVORITE:
1. Aspect of the university/campus
2. Place to visit or thing to do
3. Characteristic about the culture
1. I loved the small classes and our host coordinators and support staff. I felt very comfortable coming to them with any question or concern and also appreciated their efforts to include us in campus activities and events.
2. Isla de Ometepe- beautiful tropical volcanic island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. What more can I say?
3. I love that Nicaraguan culture accepts things as they come and doesn't rush through the fun and exciting things in search of what the future holds. While waiting for EVERYTHING can be trying, eventually it was nice to settle into the "tranquilo" culture and understand that many things are out of your control, especially with the lack of infrastructure and easy communication (let alone street addresses). I loved being able to wake up in the morning and decide to go the the beach, a volcano or a colonial city and know that people would be willing to help me get there. Some of the most lively conversations I had were with taxi drivers or people on the bus, and they were always will to share their insights on the country and culture or give suggestions of where to visit and what to do.

Go CUSE! A shot of our Volleyball Tournament 

What was the most valuable thing you learned or experienced while studying abroad?
I'm not sure this is a fair question.... A few valuable things I learned were:
1.  When you are anxious, scared, frustrated or worried, breath and wait five minutes. Chances are you'll learn something that will give clarity to the situation or show you what to do next. 
2. While being accepting of another culture is important and key to any study abroad experience, there are some things that you can decide are right or wrong and that can motivate you to make a positive change in your community and the world. 
3. Learning a language is HARD. I mean really, really hard. I have so much more understanding for non-native speakers in my own culture and applaud anyone who chooses to live or work somewhere where they must use their second language more than their first. I feel much more able to relate to non-native speakers and more willing take the time to listen and engage with them whenever the opportunity allows. 
4. It's a big world out there. Don't assume you can understand it all in a semester, but don't forget how much you can learn in a short amount of time when you keep your ears and eyes open. 

Tell us what you thought about the academics at your host institution:
1. How were they similar or different? 2. Did one professor stand out? 3. Did you have a favorite course?
1. The standard of education in Nicaragua is significantly lower than that of the United States. In light of that, the academic part of my experience was not particularly challenging, other than the fact that it was in a foreign language. I did appreciate the amount of writing and reading required because I was trying to enhance each aspects of my knowledge of the foreign language and felt challenged to read and write above my initial level of competency. I was also very surprised by the classroom environment at my host university which was much less formal than those I was used to. It was very acceptable to shout out questions in class, talk with your neighbor, answer a phone call or walk in and out of the room at one's leisure. I very much enjoyed a new perspective on history and international issues, as well as an outside opinion of my own country's policies and global impact.  

Post-Volcano Boarding

3. The teacher that stood out in my experience was my Intro to International Relations professor. She was very helpful and patient with me as I struggled through the new language, but also had a unique way of helping students understand the phases of international relations throughout history, engage in what effects those processes have on our society today, as well as asking for student input and opinion on societal, moral and global impacts of international relations.
4. My favorite course was one in which I was not actually registered, nor did I attend classes. I was fortunate to take part in most of the excursions of the Earth Science and Geology classes at my host university and therefore saw many of Nicaragua's natural treasure and learned about the ecosystem, wildlife and formation of the country from an ecological standpoint while never having to actually write a paper or take a test. 

If you were trying to encourage someone to study abroad at the location where you did, what would you say to convince them?
Nicaragua is the hidden beauty of  Central America. You can never be more than three hours from a beach, there is every sort of outdoor activity and landscape that you can imagine and people are friendly and helpful, even if they never stop staring or laughing at your Spanish. It's also cheap. If you want a place where you can go and see everything, without feeling limited by your bank account, this is the place. Going to school in the capital city of Managua also provided us access to every other part of the country AND to international buses that passed through on their way Costa Rica, Honduras or El Salvador. This is also a great place to learn Spanish because you are forced to use the language on a daily basis and have less access to English compared to other Central American countries (specifically, Costa Rica.) Nicaragua also gives a real-life portrayal of an underdeveloped country and the political, social and economic barriers to development and success in a globalized world. You will have many opportunities to challenge your own ideas of what is "normal" and open yourself to the benefits and hardships of cultures and value systems. 

So if anyone needs a tour guide for Nicaragua, sign me up! I feel incredibly blessed to have had such amazing experiences and meet so many different and wonderful people. I can't to see how many ways my time abroad affects my present and my future!

- Maggie Frazier