Papel reciclado

Heathcliff Mural

It is pouring right now.  This is the first rain of the year.  It signals the beginning of winter.  It is really coming down, but I have to go back to the school in 20 minutes for a one-on-one with the teacher that came with us.  If I would have known how bad it was going to get, I would have just gone to the school.  Oh well.
Today was my second day in the Spanish school.  We started at 7:30 this morning, so it was a little longer.  The first 2 1/2 hours, Rosa and I spent talking about the education system here in Esteli.  She doesn't know much about how it compares to the rest of the country, but it was interesting.

A pretty red flower that I saw while walking.

So here they have three levels: preschool, elementary school, and college (which is like high school).  The preschool is generally for ages 3-5.  Elementary school starts at age 5 and goes for 7 years.  College is the next 5 years after that.  Most kids graduate at 16 or 17.  In order to graduate, depending on the school, they have to do service and also a large research project.  It seems like there are some good options for education here.  That surprised me because we just talked about this in Mexico, and education in Mexico is horrible.  The Mexican woman that I talked to told me that she worked in a school where there was no bathroom for the kids.  They had to go home during the day when they needed to use the bathroom!  She asked the principal why they didn't have a bathroom and she said that they didn't have money.  Later she found out from the board of education that they had given money enough to build 5 bathrooms!  But the principal bought herself a new car instead.

Another interesting mural, too bad it was graffitied, too.

But that's Mexico.  Here in Nicaragua seems a little better.  They also have three different types of schools: private, public, and subsidized.  The subsidized schools rely on a little money from the government and the rest from dues that the parents pay.  They nice thing about the colegio (which in this case is both the primary and secondary schools in one school) where Rosa works in the afternoon is that the amount that parents pay depends on how much they can afford.  And the parents decide how much they can afford.  But it is generally between 50 and 150 Cordobas per child per month.  Those who can afford more make up for those who can't afford it.  And if a family falls on hard times, they have fundraisers to help raise the money to support that kid.  It seems like they are a little more concerned about their childrens' education here, even though I understand there is a high level of illiteracy.  The government recently has been doing programs to educate the farmers and anyone who cannot read, well, at least to teach them how to read, with the idea of 100% literacy.  It will be interesting to see if they can succeed at that.

The women environmentalists - previously engaged in
composting, now engaged in recycling paper.

Apparently the subsidized schools are better than the private schools.  That surprised me.  I wonder why that is.
After class, and after lunch, we had an excursion with the school to see an environmental project.  They recycle paper at this place.  It started off as a place to compost, but because of the smell, the neighbors weren't very happy, and they decided to recycle paper instead.  It's pretty interesting.  They make the paper into things to sell.  What they sell pays for the cost of running the place, and if there is anything left, it is split among the workers.
On our way back, we walked down the market street.  One of my colleagues was given two little crickets made from palm fronds.  She gave one to me.  It's pretty cute.
Well, I suppose I may be getting soaked soon.  I have to leave in about 5 minutes and it is still raining . . .

One of the founders of the Women Environmentalists.

Me in front of the mural showing the founding of the site.

A really nice house in a poor neighborhood.  Here the
wealthy live next to the poor.

More sights of Esteli.

The cricket I was given in the market.