Greetings!

Everyone pretty much agreed that their favourite part of the program was the time that they spent at Proyecto Asis, an animal rescue centre near the Arenal Volcano. Students fed the animals, cleaned their cages and helped to prepare a new enclosure for the incoming cayman (a reptile related to crocodiles and alligators). Everyone got a chance to meet the guests of honour - baby white-faced monkeys, sloths, kinkajous, a peccary, spider monkeys and leaf-cutter ants! Students also went treetop ziplining in the rainforest near Asis.

This was the first Blyth community service group to travel to Nicaragua, and the reaction from our community partners was great! The group spent most of their time in the beautiful seaside town of San Juan del Sur, where they worked with NicaCan, building water filters for rural communities, and painting a local school and playground. Access to clean water and improved sanitation facilities remain a huge problem in rural Nicaragua and so this is a priority for both the local government and local NGOs. 

Of course, with the ocean so close by, the students couldn't keep away from swimming, sunning and surfing. The also got to go ziplining just outside of town, with some pretty amazing views! For many students though, their favourite day was their last. Working with Proyecto Mosaico and the Santa Emilia community of Granada, the students helped to raise awareness about the importance of keeping water sources clean. Everyone enjoyed playing with the local kids, and eating a traditional lunch with the community.

While every day was full of fun and excitement, and the program as a whole described unanimously as "life changing," there's no doubt that one day was even more special than the rest for this group - their day at Tashidingkha Middle Secondary School. The students spent most of their day practicing English with their Bhutanese peers, discussing the differences in their lives, but more importantly, discovering the similarities. They talked about school, boys, friends, family and food. The bonds of friendship began to form, future husbands were picked out, and when the day came to an end, no one wanted to leave. Even now, discussions continue around how, and when, they can return to Tashidingkha.

Our Bhutan group was very active! They visited dzongs, temples and monasteries, tried their hand at the national sport of archery, helped one group of farmers to plant potatoes and another group to build mud bricks for their house, taught English and math to primary students, helped to prepare the Royal Botanic Garden for spring planting and assisted high school students with a recycling project!