Schools in El Chonco

     Hello! I'm Olivia Alligood. We are more than halfway through our trip and I am just now introducing myself. Before I begin to share what we did on Friday, I will share a little about why I am here. I love traveling and I believe that one day I will be a missionary. I have a minor in Spanish so I was on board as soon as I heard about this trip. I put the whole trip in the Lord's hands and he was faithful in every step of the way. I am here because I love kids and I love sharing what I have learned with others, especially those that might not have the same resources as I have. Being here in Nicaragua has been incredible. I love the children and the people of Nicaragua. I am looking forward to teaching in the schools this week.
    On Friday, we spent part of the day in El Chonco. This was the first time we were in the classrooms and it was an awesome experience. We saw a lot of different ways of teaching and some really cool ideas that surprised us. I cannot speak for everyone's class because I was only in one class but we were able to talk about what we saw. In the PreK class I was in, the teacher had the students glue on pieces of paper on an "e". I really liked how she reviewed with the students every time there was down time. She had the students repeat the name of the vowel a lot. They went on break for about 30 minutes after they were finished. When we came back from the break, she drew an "e" on the ground with chalk. She had the students "walk" on the "e". The students loved doing this. After they had the chance to walk on the big "e", the student drew their own e's on the ground with chalk. After that it was time for lunch and the students were done with school. The funniest thing that I heard that day was when the teacher was going over the rules for break time with the students. One of the rules was that they could not go home. Only in Nicaragua would that be a rule.
      We ate enchiladas at the feeding center in El Chonco and hung out with the kids until we had to leave. Once we were back at Amigos, we changed into bathing suits and headed to the beach. The beach was a private beach owned by an American women. She moved down here a couple of years ago after her husband died. She bought a ranch right on the beach and has since then opened up a free clinic for the Nicaraguans. The beach was a wonderful way to end the week. It was very relaxing and we were able to watch a gorgeous sunset. This week was a great and exciting week. I have learned so much already and I cannot wait to teach this week.