What a fun and exhausting day! Being Culture Day, our first full day in Leon was split in two parts, before and after lunch.
Before lunch we walked to the center of the city (only a few blocks away) to visit the Museo de Mitos y Leyendas (Museum of Myths and Legends). The museum is located in a former prison that was built to manage the overflow of prisoners during the dictatorship. The museum
blends paintings of prisoners behind depictions of popular Nicaraguan myths, legends, and popular national characters. Our tour guide was able to connect to us through our heat fatigue and everyone felt that they learned a lot. We were even able to walk on the prison walls surrounding the museum.
On our way back to lunch at our local comedor, the restaurant around the corner from our hostel that provides almost all of our daily meals, students were asked to speak to young and old native Nicaraguans in the Parque Central about their national culture and what they knew about the culture of the United States. It was amazing to watch our students interact in Spanish and let go of their fear of speaking in Spanish!
After lunch we put on our dancing shoes and learned some salsa moves. Everyone participated and again, challenged themselves to let go of their apprehension and opened themselves up to learning to dance!
Overall, today was an exhausting and special day for eve ryone. It’s amazing to watch how everyone was able to immediately bond and support each other to be positive global citizens in a new place. With some or our students experiencing their first flights, first time traveling without parents, first time traveling out of the country, and living 5 or 6 or 10 to a room, Dani and I, as well as our Program Coordinators Elisa and Brayan, are proud of all of the students in our group.
Stay tuned for the next post from our first student El Lider del Dia, Sofia, tomorrow!