Bryson, Scarlet, and I celebrated Thanksgiving in a small town in Nicaragua called San Juan de Concepcion, over an hour from Managua.
I've had the opportunity to do several Spanish immersions (Costa Rica, Guanajuato, Playa del Carmen, and San Sebastian), and wow - this one took immersion to the next level.
When I look for schools, I look for a strong Spanish program (ideally 1:1), opportunity to do a homestay (ideally who have children that my kids can become friends with), and ways to get to know the culture and contribute.
La Mariposa does that and more. It is a Spanish school that has homestay options, but it is also a non-profit deeply committed to helping the community. They have a volunteer program where you can help out however you'd like.
They have programs that range from education (free classes afterschool to kids), support for kids with disability (mental health, physical therapy, and equinotherapy with horses), medical (they provide free medicine to kids with disabilities and deliver the medicine to their homes), homebuilding (they construct homes for those in need), environment (they have an organic garden that provides for the students' vegetarian meals and also prepare hundreds of trees that are given away free each year to communities that are trying to reforest their land), and employment (during the pandemic, they kept everyone on payroll even though the school was closed for several years).
The school was started by Paulette who moved from England a couple decades ago and used her retirement money to give to the school. We saw her most days helping staff, students, families, kids, and even animals too.
We learned so much during our trip - not just Spanish but about Nicaragua and some of the issues the community faces. It was a beautiful way to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Day 1: Horseback riding. The school provides free activities each day, including weekends.
Alex would protest to this one, but I let Bryson ride in the back of the truck. When in Rome...
National bird of Nicaragua - turquoise-browed motmot, also known as Guardabarranco.
Scarlet's art. Can't leave home without her art supplies.
Our homestay. We had guests this day. Gonzalo, Mirian, Yaya, and daughter Wilmera. Friends from Canada Joanne and Joanne (yes, 2 Joannes!)
Our homestay had 1 room as the living room and dining room and kitchen. Then a dirt "hallway" leading to our rooms. The kids and I shared a small room with 2 beds. We had an outside toilet and a bucket shower that was pretty cold (but refreshing?).
The kids' dream coming true - taking care of a newborn.
Equinotherapy. I had volunteered at an equinotherapy program in Guanajuato, and the most I got to do there was clean horse stalls and brush the horses. I was amazed they let us (including Scarlet) lead the horses around on the path.
Wilmera loved Scarlet and gave her lots of gifts like this one.
La Mariposa rescues dogs and has several dozen on its reserves. This one lost her eye :(
We spent a week volunteering focused on animals. We got to go in the cages and feed the animals.
We got to feed animals by hand including the birds.
Going into the forest to get leaves for the animals.
Scarlet is Minnie's mama.
We also helped with the surgeries of spaying and neutering dogs and cats. La Mariposa does this free for the community whenever they have the funds. Joanne, a donor from Vancouver, was there visiting when we were at the school, and she fundraised $2,400 to have six sessions where they did over 150 surgeries for free for the community.
We didn't do any surgeries ourselves, but we helped with sorting out the needles (in packets!) and comforting the animals after their surgeries.
This is the waiting room.
The surgeries are conducted outside under the canopy. This is the line.
Sadly, many of the animals had cancer because of the pesticide spray, which is common to use in the plantations in Nicaragua. So when the vet does the spaying and neutering, he also tries to take out the cancer, too. Many of the people are also getting cancer and their children are born with disabilities.
Feeding the dogs at 5:30 each night. It is a bit of a Fight Club.
One of the dogs has a skin disease and needs to be washed with special soap.
We have delicious meals that are provided by the school. Here is our meal hall.
In addition to the grandfather/grandmother, their daughter's family also lives in the home. There are 2 rooms here for the daughter's family. This room is the "living room" with a TV (watching some women's wrestling match) and where the 15-year old sleeps, and the other room is where the parents and Wilmera sleep.
The kitchen is outside and has a wood burning stove. Mirian is famous for her beans which she makes daily and sells to people in the neighborhood. They also sell ice cream in little baggies and have a little store with some vegetables, bread, and soap.
Our friends Joanne and Joanne from Vancover.
Visiting Granada. This is the fort. Apparently in the 1700s, there was a fight between the political parties and Leon vs Granada. Managua was chosen as the capital because it was the option that led to the most peace.
There are alot of questions about the safety of Nicaragua. We found it to be really safe, and the school goes the extra mile to have security at the school even at night.
Climbing to the top of the church. Lots of signs to not ring the bell. But don't you just wanna?
Bate bate chocolate. Scarlet making chocolate from cocoa beans.
Visiting Lake Masaya. Volcan Masaya is in the background.
We took a boat tour through the lake and checked out a few islands. It was like the Rodeo Drive with million USD homes from heads of companies, ambassadors, and former presidents (like the former president of Costa Rica). Each island has a big home.
One of the little islands was bought by a foreigner just so the monkeys could have a place to live and be safe from deforestation. Here is Bryson feeding the monkeys some peanuts.
We didn't swim in the river (apparently there are crocodiles). But we checked out the pool.
We did a hike by Lake Masaya. You can't see it in this photo, but sadly there is a lot of trash in the lake. La Mariposa does clean-ups when they are able to have enough volunteers. But there is a literal waterfall of trash that goes into the lake from people throwing trash in the streets and the rain carrying the trash to the lake. Incredibly, even with the trash, people fish in the lake for food and also swim there.
Visiting the church and park in La Concepcion.
The bananas and produce are delicious - for squirrels too!
Scary looking but not dangerous.
Our classrooms are outside. Scarlet had 1:1 classes. They go for 4 hours each day, each have a 2 hour block. You can either sit anywhere at the eco-hotel/school or walk around in the pueblo or visit the volunteer programs or whatever you want with your teacher.
Bryson spotted this scorpion as he was looking in the dark for his jacket. Yikes.
Scarlet has adopted Minnie. She was heartbroken when she realized she couldn't put Minnie in her backpack. Poor Minnie was abandoned by her mother (or perhaps her mother was killed), and she had lots of maggots on her. Her other two siblings died, but Minnie was able to survive with the help of La Mariposa.
Hopefully we got all the fleas off of Minnie?
We got to visit Volcan Masaya. Real lava!
Scarlet's directions to Alex to make sure he takes care of Baby Bear.
Dear Daddy, there is a newborn baby bear. Love, Scarlet.
While we loved our homestay, we eventually decided to move to the hotel (same place as the school). It is awesome here.
Volunteering with the afterschool program. We gave some KIND bars and also our soccer ball. They had been playing with an old basketball and using it as a soccer ball.
Here is our homestay room. We used our suitcases as places to keep our clothes since we didn't have drawers.
The activity board at school.
Scarlet got to sleep with Minnie at the foot of her bed. We found out that Minnie is a chihuahua!
Scarlet took Minnie to breakfast. We kept her in a wash bin with Scarlet's clothes to keep her from walking off the table.
Bryson spotted this guy at night.
We went to a pottery making studio and got a try at the wheel.
I'm definitely not the one that Scarlet got her art skills from. Check out the hole at the bottom of my bowl!
Bryson also found a puppy.
Visiting Catarina Mirador.
Scarlet at Parque at La Concha.
Volunteering with the kids at the school and playing Uno with them. Scarlet gave them candy, KIND bars, and her soccer ball. The ball they had was sadly falling apart.
Next to the waterfall are holes for the chocoyos (parakeets). It's beautiful to see the birds flying from the holes to the trees.
Nicaragua has been an amazing experience - not just with Spanish and culture but especially the volunteering. Highly recommend going to La Mariposa (recommend the hotel instead of the homestay). It's a wonderful experience for kids, too!
