Day 1 ~Off to Nicaragua

Stepping Out Across The World

Chacraseca and Nuevo Amanecer, Nicaragua 2009

We spent a week in Nicaragua serving by working on a family house, building latrines, buying the property for the school of San Ramón, and renovating San Ramón School and having the most rewarding time with the "suciecitos" team. The whole group broke up into three teams; ours was named the suciecitos by Evan because of how dirty we had become. It made us feel good to serve others, learn Nicaraguan cultures and make new friends. I cannot wait to go back and see my friends.
~Rosie McArthur (~Mamita)

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

~Mahatma Gandhi

Saturday, March 7, 2009 - The trip begins

32 JMU community members left for Nicaragua early Saturday morning, March 7, 2009, at 6:30 a.m., from JMU's Blue Ridge Hall on the charter bus to D.C!

We had a laugh when Samantha said this is just like any spring break trip in that we get one, maybe two, showers and live out of a backpack. We flew out of Reagan International, with a layover in Miami, and arrived to Managua around 10 p.m. While everyone was getting the suitcases, I went straight out to start the paperwork for the rental vehicles (four pickup trucks). After everyone got his or her suitcases, we left the airport around 11:15 p.m.; it took us over an hour to "caravan" out to Chacraseca.

We loaded up 1 truck with all the 60 suitcases and the group spread out over the rest. I was one of the drivers, and as soon as we started the drive, I remembered last year when I drove in Nicaragua. I needed to watch out for all those holes, ditches, bumps - you name it - and of course other drivers adding up to the whole craziness of driving in Nicaragua. We had a long day!

As soon as we arrived to Chacraseca, I was so happy to see my friends again. We quickly got our stuff organized, set up cots, and got to bed in order to start our early day in the morning. Some of us got up at 5ish in the morning and saw the others still sleeping peacefully out in the yard. The roosters and all the other animals were making all kind of noises.