Nicaragua Day 4

Day 4! Today we lived off of $2 just like the average Nicaraguan. It was a real challenge as we had to manage money, making sure we didn’t go over our limit but still had enough to eat. We drank only water all day. 75 percent of people in Nicaragua only live off of the equivalent of 2 American dollars each day and now we have experienced the same thing. We couldn’t have pancakes this morning in the hostel, we didn’t have chicken at Ramona’s home for lunch and we ate pasta for dinner - with or without sauce and salad depending on how much money we had left. It was a truly humbling experience that showed us how fortunate we are to have a lot of the things we take for granted each day. We also got to interact with the 7th graders at the learning center with fun bilingual games and musical chairs. It was super fun and we all had some pretty good laughs at other people’s expenses! After having fun with the students we ate rice and beans at Ramona’s house, which was delicious as always. It was our last day of working today and we finally finished the tables for the learning center and began working on a special gift for Lilliam, the learning center teacher.  Selah, an Amherst HS senior and returning Amped volunteer left today - bye Selah! We ate at “la casa roja”, the Amped staff house, and had a big group discussion about the trip and the things we’ve seen so far. The conversation really opened our eyes to each others thoughts. We also learned some statistics on Nicaraguan education from the best teacher ever, Pluta. Overall, it was a really rewarding day. 

Editor’s note: Students also did not swim in the pool or use their phones today as part of their challenge. It was the first time Amped has ever done this exercise and I was impressed and a bit surprised how seriously each student took this. This group is amazingly flexible and so much fun to be around. Some of the insights from tonight’s discussion were incredible and reminded me how fortunate I was to work with these guys in at Smith Academy.