1/14/14- Managua

We started off the day with our last breakfast in Nicaragua at Casa San Juan. It was a bitter breakfast as we knew we would soon be saying good bye to fresh Nicaraguan coffee and guava jam spread toast.

From there we went to Nitlapan to finish up our project and finally deliver our proposal to the organization. Everyone worked effortlessly to finish up their detailed wire frames and we had one last meeting with Maria to finalize everything and walk her through our database proposal. We were excited about finishing the project and Maria and the staff at Nitlapan were very satisfied and thanked us tremendously for all of the work and help we provided. We took a group picture with Maria and John, Soly, Cameron, and Gary bought themselves long-desired Nitalpan hats as souvenirs that served as a symbol of our graduation  and hard work from Nitlapan.

 

After wrapping up the project,  we met up with Cynthia and Christian to go touring around Managua. We drove up to the Parque Histórico Nacional Loma de Tiscapa which was a high altitude area overlooking the Tiscapa Lagoon and the entire beautiful horizon of Managua. 

To make things even better, we stumbled upon a zip lining canopy tour across the lagoon. It wasn't a part of our plans but we couldn't resist testing our fears and taking advantage of this once in a life time experience. There was a several of us interested in the zip lining tour so we got ourselves suited up and took off flying across the lagoon. Some of were brave enough to go down upside down and super-man style with the help of the enthusiastic instructor. 

 

After zip lining, we boarded the bus again. Our next stop was a pier on Lake Managua. While at the pier, our group walked on the sidewalk along the water. We spent a little time sitting on benches by the water. The pier had numerous restaurants and bars. We learned from Cynthia that the pier was a very popular hang out spot at night. We stopped in one restaurant for drinks.

Soon after, we got back on the bus. On our drive back to the hotel, the bus took us there some of the lower income neighborhoods in Managua. The names of the neighborhoods we drove through Monsenor Lezcano, Barrio Santana, Linda Vista, and Las Brisas. These neighborhoods were packed with houses that were built right next to one another. On the streets, there were vast amounts of people standing around, including young kids. It was eye opening to see how the residents of these neighborhoods lived. After driving through, we made our way back to Hotel Casa San Juan.

1/13/14 Full Day at Nitlapan

 After a long and enjoyable weekend in Leon, it was time to get back to work and finish our report for Nitlapan.  At this point we finally started to fully understand what our clients were looking for from us. So we were able to put in a full day of continuous work. In the morning at work that day we met with our clients in order to address any question we had before leaving for lunch.

 Of course a day of work would not be the same if we didn't go to our favorite place, just a quick five minute walk from UCA. Also always passing our favorite but dangerous colored pencil face. Lunch was very filling as it was everyday and gave us the energy to get right back to work.

When returning to work in the afternoon we took all the answers we received from our clients in the morning and decided as a team what the next step was. At this point in time we really had all the work divided up equally. As the day of work came closer to an end we were begging to see the final project. We had ideas from each group that we split up in, including ideas for database systems, sitemaps and flowcharts.

After a productive day of work, feeling confident in being able to finish our report on our last day, our tour guide Cynthia showed us around the campus of UCA. We were able to see all different aspects of the campus, including a sports field to the business school to the main walkway where all the students spent most of their free time.

The day wouldn't be complete without stopping at the local super market to get fresh coffee to bring home.

Finally returning to the hotel we ventured right to the dinner table to fill up once again. We followed this dinner with another reflection to speak about what our plan was for finishing up our work and how we were going to present our ideas. We then ended the day hanging out together on the patio of the hotel, playing games, and getting to know each other even better than we already did from a great experience on the trip. This was a great bonding experience for us all and was truly a fantastic way to conclude most of the trip.

1/12/2014 León

After breakfast, we took the drive into the heart of León where we were all awed by the old architecture and open town square. Even though it was still early in the morning, the town was quietly bustling to get ready for their day. Street vendors opened their stands, ice cream carts were just arriving and in the background the songs and hymns being sung in the church could be heard. Walking up the the church and taking in the immensity of the structural beauty was an experience we will never forget. Enormous columns protruded from the foundation and exhibited the grandeur of the all white church. It was humbling to enter into such a timeless piece of history this country has prided themselves on maintaining for decades. Inside, sculptures and art adorned the walkways and walls. We then visited a second church which was smaller than the first, but nonetheless still beautiful. Our final visit for our time in this area of León was the Revolutionary Museum; here we were lead by a tour guide who educated us on not only the history of the revolution, but a lot of history about Nicaragua on its own that was eye opening to all of us.

We went to visit the Plaza de Paz or The Plaza of Peace.  Plaza de Paz is a community started by two nuns.  The goal was to help bring the locals out of poverty.  There were many different places to reflect and meditate within the community, including a meditation forest, a meditation room, and a labyrinth.  Some students walked the labyrinth and reflected on their experiences.

 Then went to Chacraseca where Fairfield University had gone to after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 to help build houses for families who lost their houses in the hurricane. Met one of the families. They are one of the poorest families and have a small territory where they have limited trees to gather the firewood that they sell to stay alive. It was an eye opening experience. They had 3 tiny houses the size of a dorm room for 3 families each. They had 9 families living in 3 houses. It was an unreal sight.

After a long day of touring around León, we finally made it back to our hotel in Managua. Once we got back and ate a delicious meal we all got together and reflected on the weekend. We discussed the life that we live and how it is different from the people who live in Chacraseca and take loans from Nitlapan . One of the main topics we discussed is how we are helping the people who are living in these conditions by coming up with software and process for collecting the information they need. It has been so rewarding working and trying to contribute to reducing the interest rates and helping with small businesses.

~ Becca, Gina & Katie