My day volunteering at Escuela Emprendedora

My name is Will, I’m one of the four English teaching volunteers working with Opportunity International Nicaragua at Escuela Emprendedora. I’ve been living in Granada since August and it’s been nothing short of a wonderful experience. From Nicaraguan celebrations like Dia de La Independencia and agüizotes to traveling to Managua for a soccer game and weekend day trips, every day here is a little different from the previous. Here’s a sneak peak at one of them at school.  

The first thing to know about my days is that they start early: I’m typically out the door heading for the bus by 6:00 a.m. I live with the three other volunteers in Granada, one of the oldest cities in Central America on the shores of Lago Cocibolca, the biggest lake in Central America. The city is known for its Spanish-style architecture, rows of colorfully painted houses and neoclassical churches. This helps make the 10-minute walk to the bus station one of my favorite parts of the day, plus the mid-day bustling city streets are a little bit quieter and cooler at this hour.

On this day, I hop on the bus and sit next to Jose, another volunteer, for our daily 25-minute journey outside Granada to another city called Diriomo where Emprendedora is located. Our ride is a retrofitted school bus with customized red decals and a rack on top to carry items that can’t fit inside the bus, most commonly bikes (although once I saw a pair of Nicaraguans struggling to heave a door up there). There isn’t a capacity limit I’m aware of, so the aisle typically fills up with people standing. I usually pass the time studying Spanish, listening to a podcast or watching the houses, farms and forests passing by outside my window. I pay my 15-cordoba fare to the colectador, which is around 45 cents, and get off in Diriomo with the other volunteers and a few other staff and students. We have another 10-minute walk to get to the school, so we won’t reach our final destination until 6:50 a.m.

The school itself is a group of buildings connected by a network of walking paths. Each grade at the school, 7th through 11th, has its own two classrooms. There’s also a staff building, a library with an English room and a comedor that serves both as a lunch area and one for events or celebrations. The school’s campus sprawls much further than these buildings’ footprints — there’s also the campo with a soccer field and volleyball court, and an agricultural area with open fields and greenhouses.

We are greeted by Don Justo, the school’s groundskeeper and handyman who lives in a cottage at the school. He’s usually cracking a joke or pulling your leg with a Spanish riddle — he’s a fan favorite. Today is a little quieter because the 11th graders' last day of class was earlier this week. They will be reporting to their individual internships for the final month of the year before graduating. The whole school celebrated their departure by lining up and bidding farewell with signs, music, hugs and a few tears. Although I’ve only been at the school since August (normally volunteers arrive in June or July), I’ve been able to build strong relationships with many of these students and I’m sad to see them go. It’s a great pleasure to be part of one of the biggest moments of these students’ young lives. Celebrations like these are just a part of life here.

Class starts after 10-minute student devotionals with their homeroom teacher. Then I’m on my way to the 9A classroom with Profe Walter, one of the English teachers, and Finn, another volunteer. The three of us typically work together with the older students in grades 9 and 10. Some days we split the classroom into two or three small groups and take them out of the classroom to lead activities or lessons separately, but today we all stay in the classroom together. Lately, the students have been practicing public speaking about topics like vacations, holidays, likes and dislikes, family and more. We also commonly do listening and writing exercises. Each day has a different schedule, but I’ll always see at least one class from every grade.

Classes are broken up by two breaks: recess and lunch. At recess, the other volunteers and I prepare for the following classes, visit with other teachers or play sports like volleyball or soccer in the campo. This is also a great time to get to know students better outside of the classroom. Lunch is always served at the comedor by Dona Adelayda for 50 cordobas, which is usually a mix of rice, beans, tajadas and different kinds of meat. It’s always delicious, but today I brought my own food and sit with a group of staff, students and volunteers.

After the last class ends at 3 p.m., I leave with a wave of students to catch the 3:15 p.m. bus back to Granada. The walk to the bus and riding the bus are other good opportunities to chat with students one-on-one who are traveling in the same direction. Once I’m back in Granada, I have Spanish classes from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a school called Spanish Dale. The program paid for four-hour-long classes Monday through Friday for my first three weeks in Nicaragua, but I wanted to continue improving my Spanish so I’m continuing class for four hours a week. Working one-on-one with a native Nicaraguan has really improved my Spanish and it’s also a great opportunity to learn more about the local culture and get ideas on foods to try or places to visit. When I don’t have class after school I fill my evening with things like walking down to the lake, exercising, reading or hanging out with friends. But today I make myself dinner and turn in early for the following day to come!