Murciélagos

The room I started working in after the first day. . .
aka the kitchen.

I cannot believe how exhausted I am right now.  I didn't sleep very well last night because I was woken up by this tapping noise several times.  I thought it was a bird, but my professor told me it was probably a bat eating fruit.
So I am ready to go to bed now . . . More than ready.
Today was hard because of how tired I was.  I went to the market with my teacher, asked some questions about the cultivation of the food, and asked about the making of leather saddles.  It was interesting.

La escuela

Then we talked about the educational system a little more, but as it related to domestic violence.  She told me about how spousal and child abuse are pretty common here.  I asked her if they have any laws if educators notice abuse.  She said yeah, they have to do an investigation.  But if the mother defends the father, there isn't much they can do.  It rarely if ever happens that a child is taken out of the home of their parents.  She also told me about her brother's girl friend and how she abuses her (and his) kids.  It's really sad.  But it doesn't surprise me, especially considering that abuse is still common in the so-called developed world.
This afternoon we went on an excursion to a place called Cecalli where they do things with natural medicine.  It was interesting.  We left there for a place called La Casita.  They had some pretty cool wood puzzle shapes.  They had these dragon that actually would flap their wings!  It was awesome.  There was a beautiful garden, and good food.

The headmistress of our school and a woman who works
at Cecalli, explaining how they use the different plants
in natural medicine.

Well, I am really beat, so I'm going to get to bed.  Though I'm really annoyed that blogger is down.  Urgh...

A solar drying unit for fruits and seeds which
are then used in the natural medicine.

Cecalli also has a little museum.  It wasn't much, but they
have lot of artifacts from all over Nicaragua.  Some of
it relates to natural medicine, but not all.  It's all crammed
into a little room.  They have plans to build a larger museum,
but they don't have the money to do it yet.

A little bridge at La Casita.

The gardens at La Casita.