Before Nicaragua

I can't believe the time has finally come, I'm going to Nicaragua. In four days I will be arriving into a foreign land and I currently have only ever seen pictures of Nicaragua. A little backstory, I am part of the MAT program at Westminster College. Since I am part of this program, I get to travel to a country I may not have otherwise ever visited. My options were Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. I chose Nicaragua because I thought, "I have to get my passport for this trip, I might as well make it worth it." So I decided to go the furthest away from the United States. This past week I have been immersed in pre-trip classes about Nicaragua. I have become fascinated by this beautiful country. I have learned a great deal about the country regarding politics, economics, education, and the list goes on. I am bewildered at the fact that I have not learned anything about Nicaragua in my history classes. From the Sandinista Movement, to Somoza, to the Contras in Nicaragua, I am astonished this is the first time I am hearing anything about this. After all, I am a 23-year-old woman who is pretty educated, or so I thought, I should know a little more about what's going on in other countries. I can hardly wait for Tuesday to come. The past two nights I have had dreams about Nicaragua, is that a bad thing??? Our itinerary will be jam packed full of various activities and meetings we will be attending. We will visit Fe y Alegeria, NicaHope, various schools, Managua, Esteli, possibly Sunday Mass, swim at a volcano, possibly a baseball game, and the list goes on. You would think we were going to be there longer than a week. Well that is all for now, I will keep you updated on my personal blog, but you should also check out the group blog as well. Here is the class blog address: www.matnica2013.wordpress.com I look forward to this enriching experience and I will update with how things went for the day and I will include tons of pictures as well. Have a great night until the next blog post. Whitney