The starting point

My first week in Leon, Nicaragua has been great. The day after I arrived in Leon a President of the Rotoract Club,  Josecarlos, showed me around and explained what each place was. What caught my eye the most was the cathedral, Basilica Catedral de la Asuncion. It was built in 1747 and is being renovated. The paintings on the inside were recently renovated and tours for around seven dollars. After seeing the cathedral I went to buy a prepaid phone and went to the market. I had a drink called Cacao, which is similar to chocolate milk but thicker and it has a different kind of sweet taste. Regardless it is very good.

            The theater was also very pretty and it had colonial style architecture. While walking I saw a food truck with Mexican food, which I though was a little funny because I am Mexican. Josecarlos and I entered the hospital with a doctor that he knew. We went up to Pediatrics and I got to meet the head nurse and some of the Hospital Escuela Staff.  I saw many medical students getting instruction from their professors. I also got to see the playroom, which I was going to help renovate. There was a lot of dust that comes in from the chimney and covers the toys. There were broken wooden chairs and none of the fans in there work. There were many areas and there was maybe one with proper ventilation. The area that impacted me the most were the patients who suffered injuries from being burned. The room was very hot, like an oven and the air conditioner is broken beyond repair. I came back to the hospital later on during the day to assist a professor who gives classes to the children. When the lecturing is done the kids get to play games and sometimes other children also join. The professor leaves the children homework to do according to their grade level. This service has helped many students not fall behind on their schoolwork.

            The following morning I walked around to see how much I remembered the area. I went to the place where I had previously had Cacao and shopped for things that I needed. I found a place that seemed good to eat at and I had baked chicken, rice, beans, and mashed potatoes. When I went back to the hospital I took one of the patients to the Aola (schoolroom) to play. The other patient that was in the room with her was screaming really loud and she said it bothered her while she tried to sleep. I was happy to be able to distract her for some time. She loved to color. While we were coloring many other children wanted to color and play with the little toys we had. The professor had to make a note of each patient and their age, since she gives classes to kids 5-12 years old. Some of the patients knew some English so I also practiced that with them. The patient’s family members are usually very nice.

            Another one of the Rotaract members showed me around Leon and then we went to the hospital to meet with Dr. Jorge Alemán, which is the doctor in charge of volunteers. He introduced me to Doctors and more medical staff and we finalized more details about my volunteering. It is so much better to talk about things in person. That evening I attended a meeting with the Leon Rotarians and Rotoract Club. There were guests from Texas that were members of the Rotary International District 5010. The meeting was at a very nice hotel called El Convento. It has a beautiful garden and a fountain in the center.

            The first weekend in Leon, I went with the Rotarians to visit communities in which wells had been donated. Early in the morning we went to Hospital Escuela and I talked about the renovations of the playroom that the Rotoract Club and I were going to do in the playroom. I also helped translate between the Spanish and English speakers. At that moment I realized how great it is to be able to speak two languages, you can help people with it.  There was much positive feedback about the project I was helping out with. We then traveled by bus to surrounding communities in Leon. The people of the communities would come out, and they were very thankful for the wells. Many people could not do much before with their land, but thanks to the wells they were now able to live on the land. Some of the communities were homes to retired veterans. The children came out to say hello and get candy.

            When we left communities we went on the bus to Suyapa beach to eat lunch. The waves are very strong and the tide comes up very high on the beach. The restaurant is right along the beach. There are rocks that you can climb a little further in. The beach is greyish colored because of the surrounding volcanoes. The food was really good and it comes in portions big enough for two. The menus are in Spanish and English.

            The first week in Nicaragua I got to sight see and learn a little about the culture and the life style. It helped me learn about where I was going to be and about the community I was going to be serving.