{"id":10198,"date":"2020-05-11T10:26:10","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T14:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?page_id=10198"},"modified":"2020-05-13T12:07:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T16:07:03","slug":"nicaragua-learning-home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/nicaragua-learning-home","title":{"rendered":"Nicaragua: Learning at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Get creative<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Organize your art supplies and get to crafting. Consider painting the biggest lake in Central America,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0O_JtIW4qn0\">Lake Nicaragua,<\/a>\u00a0or some of Nicaragua\u2019s volcanos or volcanic islands. Try writing a poem, as the country is known for its many <a href=\"https:\/\/revista.drclas.harvard.edu\/book\/nicaragua-land-poets\">poets<\/a>. Put on your hiking shoes, dance through the Miraflor rainforest, and gaze at the beautiful vistas and orchids. Imagine yourself in the crystal clear blue waters around the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-je29QsqUVE\">Corn Islands!<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Pick a film <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for Nicaragua include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>La Yuma (2009)<\/li>\n<li>Sandino (1990)<\/li>\n<li>Walker (1987)*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>*Rated R (may not be suitable for all students)<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Learn some history<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Dive deep into the history of specific sites you\u2019ll visit on tour. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldatlas.com\/articles\/leon-viejo-ruins-nicaragua.html\">ruins of Leon<\/a> (which date back 500 years) or visit colonial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TOOzCXyHaHE\">Granada<\/a>, the oldest city on the continent. Then, learn about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/nicaraguan-revolution-4777782\">Nicaraguan Revolution<\/a> and fighting between the Contras and the Sandinistas.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Choose a book<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War<\/em> by Gioconda Belli<\/li>\n<li><em>Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey <\/em>by Salman Rushdie<\/li>\n<li><em>Stories and Poems\/Cuentos y Poes\u00edas: A Dual-Language Book <\/em>by Rub\u00e9n Dario<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Fill up your plate<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Arrange a potluck and encourage your friends to bring a traditional dish from your destination.\u00a0Know a chef? Hold a virtual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hDgWsSRd1Ig\">cooking class<\/a> with your travel group, or support a local restaurant that offers delivery\/take-out of your destination\u2019s cuisine. Try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y7DU_G-TN0w\">nacatamales<\/a> (cornflower dumplings boiled in plantain leaves stuffed with vegetables) or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seriouseats.com\/recipes\/2012\/05\/gallopinto-nicaraguan-rice-and-beans-recipe.html\">gallo pinto<\/a> (red beans, white rice, and diced onions) for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Learn the language<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Call up a friend or set up a group video chat and practice your language skills. It helps to make flashcards with <a href=\"https:\/\/theculturetrip.com\/central-america\/nicaragua\/articles\/nicaraguan-words-and-phrases-you-need-to-know\/\">common sayings<\/a> to use on the phone or throughout your travels (think about ordering at restaurants, buying souvenirs, and chatting with locals).<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Did you know?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Nicaragua has 23 volcanos, 19 of which are active.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Meet Your Partner in Travel <\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Nicaragua.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-10199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Nicaragua-200x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Marya spent a week in Nicaragua in 1990 learning about the environment, development, and human rights issues that were facing the country and its people. She had a wonderful experience tasting new dishes, speaking with locals and politicians, and exploring beautiful Lake Nicaragua. Marya is looking forward to a return trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get creative Organize your art supplies and get to crafting. Consider painting the biggest lake in Central America,\u00a0Lake Nicaragua,\u00a0or some of Nicaragua\u2019s volcanos or volcanic islands. Try writing a poem, as the country is known for its many poets. Put on your hiking shoes, dance through the Miraflor rainforest, and gaze at the beautiful vistas <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/nicaragua-learning-home\">Read More &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10210,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10198","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10198"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10260,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10198\/revisions\/10260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}