Viveros, viveros, viveros!

This week in the schools was spent making our tree nurseries and what a job it was! The kids worked really hard in all three schools, but now I understand possibly why the people here are not too found of planting. Digging the whole was the most difficult part in all three schools because the dirt here is so dry and well, just sucks for planting, that is in my region anyway. As you can see in the second to last picture, at this school the soil was pura piedras (pure rock). I was a little nervous at first being that honestly I have never planted anything in my life, but it was a great experience and a lot easier than I imagined. In the first two schools, we planted about 150 seeds and in the last rural school we only planted 25 because they only brought in a small amount of manure being that there are only 15 total in the entire country school.

Here the kids are mixing the manure with sand...

...and a little water.

The other half of the students are working on digging the hole (the second one that is...just behind the students is the first hole we dug which was apparently too close to the letrines because while digging we hit the tiles that had been burried that help in some way with the urine from the letrines???). Go girls, go!!

Here I am at the second school helping them to place the bags.

At the second school we had to enclose the vivero using stakes and a plant with thorns that grows nearby to protect it from animals such as gallinas and chanchos (chickens and pigs) that are commonly found running around freely.

This is the soil we had to dry to dig through at the third school. What a task!

Finally, we dug through the rock and here is the end product.

Just a little extra for you! Yesterday, I had a great trip to Managua, the capital. I had to go with a friend from Cuapa to help him with an application for a class he will be taking in the U.S. Instead of riding on a hot, crowded, bus blaring ranchera and regaeton, we rode in an air-conditioned car which takes almost an hour less. We pretty much hung out in the more fachenta parts of Mangua which is where a small population of Nicaraguans go in Managua who actually have dinero. We ended our trip with a visit to Price Smart. I think we have them in the U.S. as well, but it is basically the equivalent of Sams Club. It was a little weird being there at first because it reminded me so much of the U.S. but a nice little hop out of reality for a short moment. After a short bout of a lot of internal conflict, I finally broke down and bought a huge bag of crunch bars for 100 cordobas which here is an autrocious amount of money to spend on chocolate, but I figured that I had to have a reserve to last me until my dad comes to visit at the end of June at which time I can restock. And, it really is not that much money, $5.