Some more baseball, a lot of gallo pinto, and snorkeling off the coast.

As the resident “grown up” on the trip, Tom Lincoln filled in and completed the blog for the last few days. He modestly left out that he played in the double header and made some great catches in the outfield! Not too shabby Dr. Lincoln! - Jeff

Thursday June 3

Harking back to the night prior  to the group discussion of impressions made during the trip, I was impressed by guys chewing on the issues of voluntourism, and the opportunities that education can bring in the US and Nicaragua.

Filling in the doings of the last several days, Thursday’s main event was the double header with Big Corn and Little Corn teams. The team was raring to go with our final games and the support a few of the Big Corn guys ready to help out a player. Particular thanks to Hendel from Big Corn playing AE center field who brought a bag of mamoncillos and sugar mangos for the whole team which were much appreciated. Selah particularly conveyed on our thanks. Mamoncillo are the the perfect dugout treat, and should have a place in dugouts the world over, though the Big Corn kids had a great time with sunflower seeds brought by Brendan and Zach.

Game 1

Zach lead off pitching, to Ben catching. Brendan took over catching and Ethan took over pitching. Again the Nicaraguans dominated.

Ethan, Selah, and Doug depart to catch the plane back to Managua and the 1st two to the states who were missed for the rest of the trip, and we join up with Doug a couple days later.

Game 2

We had more Nicaraguan players join us including on the mound, and faced a younger team.

Zach recorded two hits, but we still ended up without a win.

After the 2 games, we really wanted to go to the beach, and the guys energy bounced back with volleyball and frisbee. Dinner on the beach.

Friday

Another great breakfast at Ike’s with gallo pinto, eggs and coconut bread, then we headed out to the reef in front of Ike’s on the north end of the island. We struggled with the waves and gear swimming out to the reef and didn’t see much before heading in. We headed out to watch FIFA futbol Brasil v Columbia. First stop for helados (ice cream) before the rest of the game at Fisher’s Cove. Rooting for Colombia but again disappointment so some of us nursed our wounds with more dessert from the fine Island Sweets Bakery before dinner at Comedaria Mari with lobster and other seafood. Lobster is a major export from Caribbean Nicaragua including Corn Island, with diminution of the stock but the season opened when we arrived on the island. Because of the cost, locals are not able to eat the regular catch but only the damaged.

Saturday

In the morning we set out for more snorkeling and Dan set out to spear lunch. This in the same waters off from Ike’s we found the better sites, and snorkelled among cliffs off coral, overhangs, multicolored fish for hours, before heading to the plane to Managua. We caught the end of the Belgium v Costa Rica world cup in the airport. Nicaraguans more on the the Costa Rican’s side. We unfortunately said bye to Ben who was heading back to the states later. Then the van to Laguna de Apoyo as the sun set.

Sunday, awoke to a view of the blue crater lake in the midst of jungle shrouded volcano rim. Took a drive up to the town of Catarina, passing many plant nurseries, and up on the rim overlooking all, then back to the Hostal Paradiso, with the rest of day with swimming, talking, eating, windsurfing, kayaking, hammocking, reading, ping ponging, wifi-ing, but Zach, Brendan and Sam never did figure out the name of the song that goes tip tip tip tip tip. Back to Managua tomorrow, to head back to MA after midnight.

-Tom

Thanks everyone for following!

Ben exchanging jerseys.

The milky way from above Ike's Place on the Corn Islands.

Big Corn Island!

Editor (Jeff’s) notes in italics.

Hola! Today we rose early at Oasis at around 3:30 am for our flight to the corn islands! Although this feels like ages ago, this morning was very tiresome. We got to the airport at around 6:30 for our 7:15 flight to the Islands. Most of us fell asleep on the plane rides so they went by very fast. When we took our taxis to our Hotel, we settled in quickly and went directly to the beach. Sadly, all of us got sun burnt today except Selah. After the beach trip, we came home and got ready for game 1 on the island. Sadly, we suffered a terrible 10-1 loss and even worse first inning where they scored 5 runs off of Plu-dogs (Pluta) inability to play defense…embarrassing. Even though we lost it was a lot of fun.

Today, I was blown away by the Corn Islands. The beach looks like it could be a computer wall paper. I am very excited to keep exploring the awesome corn islands.

Zach

Pluta sucked today at the game with about six (one) errors (error) all in the first inning where the other team scored 10 (five) runs. I had to pitch today and I didn't do that bad except the first inning, where I had one earned run. Then I shut down after that having one strike out. I am having a lot of fun here and Nicaragua and the Corn Islands is probably better then the main lands except for driving because it’s like Fast and Furious Corn Islands.

Ben

Today’s Box Score (Don’t listen to Ben)

Lincoln  0-3 BB, caught a great game

Crisfulli  0-4   decent at bats, he just can’t find that first one!

Pluta      1-3 BB, RBI  (seems like I contribute to the offense, with our only RBI!!)

Roach    0-2

Dalomba 1-3  BB

Young      1-3 BB, nice single up the middle off a good pitcher

Bruscoe    0-2, 2 BB (I’m never going to hear the end of how Ben should be leading off)

Taylor       0-3

Garth       1-4, R

New porch, native dances, and the USA v. Belgium match

Buenos Noches!

After going to bed early the previous night, I was ready for a full day of work at the school. We got to the site around 8:30 and started making cement for the new porch. It was the first day of work when the kids were in school, so we were able to meet new children, and say hi to the kids we met the previous day. At around 12:00, the teachers of the Nicaraguan school gathered everyone together and the children performed native dances for us. They gave us certificates of gratitude for the work we had done, and we said our final goodbyes to the children. After eating lunch and working for an hour more, we went back to the hostel to take quick showers so we could catch the USA World Cup game. Of course, everyone was disappointed with the loss, but no one was more disappointed than Zach who may have shed a tear or two after the final whistle was blown. We had time to spare between the game and dinner, so some of us went to get shaves and haircuts down the street. Now we are back at the hostel so we can pack up our bags for the Corn Islands and change for dinner. As much fun working is, everyone is excited to relax on the beach for the next few days.

As everyone else has said, this trip has exceeded our expectations. Every single person I have met on this trip has been so nice. Everyone has thanked us, but I feel like we should be the ones thanking them. The ball players have allowed us to play baseball in their stadium and face better pitching than we face back home. The people we work with have allowed us to practice our spanish, and experience what it is like to work hard and build a connection with the people around us. Personally, I want to thank the children. It’s been an eye opening experience to see the differences and similarities between the children here and back home. The children are not greedy, and they take every opportunity they can get to try something new. They want to learn rather than sit around. The biggest difference I learned today is that while in the U.S., there is never an abundance of schools, in Nicaragua, there are not enough schools for all the children the want to learn. I just want to thank everyone who I have met during this trip, and I’m excited for the new experiences I will have on the Islands.

-Ethan

Another day of volunteering and baseball

Mucho gusto!

Another full day today. We started off the day again with a half day of work at the job site laying the foundation for the new classroom. We all contributed in different ways; some of us mixed concrete while others met some local children and opened coconuts for them and taught them a little bit of english. After work, we went straight to the field to play the Nicaraguan Baseball Academy. This team was much more organized, sharper, and intense. They rarely lose, so it wasn’t a surprise that they beat us 10-0. After the game we went to Papa John’s again, and every player on the team thanked us individually for the opportunity to have a cross cultural friendly game and meal. Our silence on the car ride home and laid back attitude that everyone had after dinner is indicative of how hard the Academy worked us!

This trip has exceeded every expectation I have had. The quality of baseball, the experience of volunteering, and the overall excitement of traveling to this country have been more intense and gratifying than I could have possibly imagined. It has been an opportunity to expand and develop my spanish skills leagues beyond what I could have done back home and connect with people who have grown up in extremely different circumstances. I wouldn’t change a single thing about this trip. Every moment is intense and fulfilling, and every person here is integral to my experience.

Hasta Luego,

-Sam

Here’s the box score from the bloodbath that was today’s game:

Lincoln     0-3    caught three runners stealing from behind the plate

Crisafulli   0-2 BB  repeatedly called Brendan “cockroach” while he pitched

Roach      0-3       5.1 IP, 6R, 4K, 4BB

Dalomba  0-2 BB   

Young       0-3    played SS and made a great relay from center to cut a runner down at the plate

Pluta         2-2    

(Ramirez)  0-1   we were losing and were able to get our Nicaraguan amigo Roger in the game

Taylor        0-3   I won’t mention the brutal E-7. Oops.

Rigby         0-2  HBP   1.1 IP, 4R, 2K, 1BB

Urbina        0-3  

Some of the children in El Coco.

Amped and The Nicaraguan Baseball Academy.

Signing the game ball for The Nicaraguan Baseball Academy.

Another Work Day and Game 1 - Amped vs. Academia de Beisbol Managua

Hola!

Today was a day to remember. We had our first baseball game after a half day of work against played the Academia de Béisbol Nicaragüense, who had a player who got drafted by the dominican Dodgers program. Overall the day was pretty nice, some of us had to wake up early to make breakfast for everyone. Wake up was earlier than usual, at 7:00 AM. We ended up getting to our work area at around 8:00 AM, and worked until 12:00 PM. After this, we went to our first game, where we had a lot of fun playing baseball together. To continue our night we went to Papa Johns with the opposing team for dinner. After this, we took a 30 minute car ride where we successfully made Master Jeff Pluta puke at the end of it because of how loud and obnoxious we were being. Now we plan on going swimming, so I am going to wrap this up as soon as possible!

This trip has been pretty indescribable, I am pretty sure that all of us had different expectations when coming to Nicaragua, and in the end we were all blown away by the way that this is turning out. Already after the first few days I know that I would come back again, maybe even taking people from my school. The past two days have made me really think about some of the things that we take advantage of in the United States. One last thing to add in is that I feel like the group of guys that are here all work well together, and share a sense of humor. We might bother the adults, but we sure do have a fun time doing it, and of course everyone laughs in the end, usually.  (editor’s note from Jeff: these kids are AWESOME!)

-Selah Dalomba

Here’s the details from today’s game against the Academia de Beisbol Managua!

We lost 8 to 4, but played a tight game through 4. Selah started on the hill and cruised before giving way to Jeff “walk machine” Pluta who proceeded to walk the bases loaded. Zach and Ethan finished up, but walks were the death of our bullpen today.

Bruscoe: 1-2 , BB, R  and he HUNG PLUTA OUT TO DRY on a botched squeeze that he didn’t even offer at… c’mon Ben!!!

Crisafulli: 0-3 with 1.1 IP, 3K, R

Roach: 3-3 , 2B, R, 2 RBI

Dalomba: 0-3, 4IP, 8K, 2H, 3BB, 1R **don’t be deceived, they couldn’t touch him**

Young: 0-3, ROE, 1.2IP 2K, nice play at short that a kid juuuuust beat out.

Lincoln: 2-3, 2B  RBI. came in and did a nice job catching to relieve Roach

Pluta: 2-3, 2B RBI  0.0IP, 3BB  OUCH!

Taylor: 0-2, BB

Cruz: 1-3, ROE, R

Play ball.

Post-game American pride.

Arrival, volunteering, monkeys, and more!

Today we traveled from a hotel in Managua to the oasis hostel in Granada. From there we got settled in and went out for a bite to eat at the Grill House. Afterward we went out on Lake Nicaragua, which contains 365 islands, which we learned were typically privately owned island. One family owns three separate islands including one that’s value is 3 million dollars for 17 bedrooms and its own private gym. Islands were extremely cheap for our standards. One island was called the Monkey Island for a very self-explanatory reason, it contained monkeys. We even had the pleasure of welcoming a mother with her baby. It was very difficult to shoo the monkey off the boat, due to her entertainment with our backpacks and looking for our food. It wasn’t until another boat came up and took the monkeys off of our hands. As we returned home and the day came to an end we ate our dinner at a restaurant.

The country is unlike anything seen in the U.S. Its appearance is much like Mexico but also different in others. There are stray dogs everywhere and they seem to be at every turn off the city. The city is always busy, even in its sounds. Loud music is heard everywhere and on the side of every street vendors trying to sell you their product. Even though few people own cars. those who do always seem to be rushing to get somewhere. Having a blast check back tomorrow to see how we play in our first Nicaraguan baseball game.

- Brendan

Yesterday, 4 of us played a quick game of 4 v 4 soccer outdoors vs local Nicaraguan high schoolers, very cool experience. Sadly, they beat us 5-2.
-Zach



Some photos from the trip so far...

The crew

Believe it or not this isn't Ben, it's Lucy the monkey.

Putting in work at El Coco today.

Mixing up cement Nicaraguan style.

Before we leave for Nica!

Question: What are you expecting, looking forward to, nervous about, or wondering about before you leave for Nicaragua?

I am expecting to be eaten by a Tiger. 

I am looking forward to meeting new people and trying new foods. 

I am nervous that a tiger might eat me. 

I am wondering how many tigers are in Nicaragua. 

-Benny

I am very excited to leave for my trip to Nicaragua! I am less worried about the tigers and more worried about getting through the foreign airports. I am excited to start building the school and working with new people. Once our work is done in Granada, it will be great to relax on the Corn Islands! Overall I just want to get there!

-Zach