"The road to success is always under construction."

Where do I begin? Only about twenty-four hours ago I boarded a plane that would take me to a place I had never been before, a place I only could fantasize about until now. We landed in Managua, Nicaragua, a short hour and a half drive away from our final destination. As soon as I stepped off the plane, precipitation fell heavily on my skin. On our van ride to Hotel Hamacas (where we're staying) our drivers played music, and the song "Barbie Girl" came on. Considering the fact that that song just happened to be the theme song of my fourth and fifth grade experience, everyone willingly sang along. We talked about weird dreams and moments, we laughed, we slept, until about 12:00pm when we reached Hotel Hamacas- our home away from home. Needless to say I couldn't sleep- the anticipation for tomorrow was keeping me up.
I woke to birds calling and a delicious breakfast. We all climbed back into the van by 7:00am and were off to clean the classrooms at Escuela Especial Sor Maria Romero. On our drive to the school, I saw a very big, very old church. The paint on its colassel walls was chipping, only two people sat in the foyer, it was as if this amazing building was stained by time. But just across the street sat a brand new, colorfully painted, crowded playground. Once we got to the school, we were introduced to the principle, Juana, and the staff and translators. We were each assigned something to clean; Nathaniel and I were assigned the preschool classroom. For the next four hours (until lunch) we scrubbed mats with sponges, completely ridding them of grime and dirt. While we worked, music blasted from the school's radio, making it that much easier to smile. We finished lunch, and assembled the mats back in the preschool classroom, our work finally done. When we returned to the hotel, we were told to grab a trash bag, water, and a notebook- we were going on a walk. When we reached the beach, an amazing sight greeted us. Wind gently pushed white-crested waves to the shore, land stretched around the enormous lake, and across the water- two giant volcanoes. The volcanoes loomed eerily in the haze, a beautiful scene. Thinking we were to pick up trash, we readied our trash bags, but were told they were to be used to sit on as we planned our blogs.
When we had first come to the school, it was pretty dirty. But when I looked at all we had done in six hours... it still amazes me how much work we got done. I can relate our cleaning to the church and the park. The school was in need of cleaning, just as the church was. But when we finished, it was as clean and presentable as the park. The same place- two indentities. It's an amazing feeling to know that you're a part of the decision of which identity the school follows. It's amazing to experience an entirely different culture. To see things that are so alienated to us- but are the things that people wake up to in the morning. After working today, I'll be honest, I am exhausted. My back hurts. It's hot. I have sunburn on my shoulders. I'm tired. My hands ache. But I really don't mind, the opposite actually. I love working so hard that you know it'll be easy to sleep tonight. Working so hard that you hurt all over- but know you'll sleep it off. Tomorrow, Max and I will be working in Yahoska's classroom, and I am willing to go through all the ache it takes to change these kids' lives for the better.

"The road to success is always under construction." -Unknown