Visit to Oscar!

Lex
Lunes 19 th febrero

Today we met our PLAN sponsored child ,Oscar. First we drove for one hour to get to head office to meet our translator and film crew. When I saw the big camera I was scared, excited and very surprised all at the same time. First of all we went to visit Oscar's mum. She was really welcoming and gave us lots of hugs.
Next we went to the school and Oscar became a celebrity. We met him at the gates with hugs and handshakes. After that we walked around the classrooms. We talked to the children and looked at all the things PLAN had donated,especially to the new kindergarten.
Oscar's classroom only had one wall for the whiteboard and a roof. There were no tables but every student had a chair with a piece of wood on it as a mini table. I think these tables would be really hard to write on and where could you do art or science? I think they just used books.
Next we went to the 'mothers' house. Here they check on the pregnant ladies and then they wait here before they give birth. Lots of the mums live along-way away in outlying villages and so it's safer to bring them to this health centre.

We were given a PowerPoint presentation next by two children. They represented all of the villages children. They had been voted in by their peers and had to go to the mayor and tell the towns council what they wanted. They talked about the rights of children for example the right to play and to live without fear.
Next we went back to Oscars house. We played on his 3DS and PS3. I was surprised that his roof had holes in it but he had more DS games than me! Then his mum called us to the table for a meal that we had not expected. We had corn tortillas and a lump of meat that we had to try and eat with a spoon. It was impossible.
After that we gave Oscar and his family some presents. I had chosen an Air Hogs Vectron Wave, Chinese coin trick and a Rubiks cube. We had glass necklaces for his mum and sister. We showed him how to work the toys and then unfortunately we had to go back to our hotel. There were some tears as we said goodbye. It was a really memorable day.

Please consider sponsoring a child with PLAN. It really makes a huge difference to lives.Due to privacy rules we can't publish a photo of us with Oscar but we do have lots of photos for our own album.

http://www.plan-uk.org/?ns_campaign=Brand%20Product_Exact&ns_mchannel=ppc&ns_source=google&ns_linkname=planinternational&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=plan%20international&utm_content=u5CTQRaW%7Cgoogle%7C*Brand%20+%20Product_Exact%7CPlan%20International%7Cplan%20international%7CExact%7C24016159503%7Cg%7C&utm_campaign=*Brand%20+%20Product_Exact

Ometepe Island

Martes 22 Enero

Oscar

Ometepe Island is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. We had to get on a ferry to get here. A man carried our bags on his head. We had to curl up really small as there was not enough space to sit down properly. We watched The Three Stooges on the TV, it was really funny. The boat rocked a lot and the waves crashed against the boat. Dad got wet as the water came inside. I felt really sick . It was really hot and hard to breathe. I liked it when someone opened the door and the water came in because there was also some wind. It was really crowded and noisy. When we arrived the taxi didn't arrive so Dad organised a ride. The suitcases had to hang out of the boot. The road stopped after half an hour and then it was a dirt track to the hotel. The hotel is called La Omaja and I really like it. I have met some other children and we play on the swing.

Miercoles 23 Enero

Today we hiked a mountain. First we had to fill our tummies so we had enough energy for the hike. I had French toast for breakfast. We climbed into the pick up truck and started to bounce along the road when suddenly a scorpion jumped on mums hand. We couldn't find it so we went the rest of the way in the back of the truck. It was really bumpy but fun. We had to hike for an hour . It was really sweaty and dusty. The waterfall was freezing. I moaned like Mona Lisa! The waterfall was really high and I couldn't see the top. On the way back I felt a bit grumpy but then all of a sudden I saw a snake. It was negro y amarillo ( black and yellow) . When we got to the end of the trail our guide picked us some fresh mandarins. They were delicious.

Jueves 24 Enero

Today we went to Ojo de Agua. First we drove up the bumpy road. I was surprised by the people's houses. They were made of cardboard, straw and metal. Some had pigs in them.
After that we went in the crystal clear spring water. It is supposed to have healing powers and make you younger. Then we had lunch next to the beach. I have never seen sand on a lake beach. Then we went to visit the petroglyphs. 3000 years ago people carved pictures into rocks because they had no paper nor pencils. They carved pictures of mummies and babies, scorpions, monkeys and calendars.


Viernes 25 Enero

Lex

Today we were really excited as we were going on a fishing trip. I had fished once before and knew what to do. When we reached the dock the boat was not there but we noticed another dock so me and mum walked to the other one just in case. When we got there we could see our boat back on the other dock, it had arrived while we were gone! We shouted across the bay and it really echoed our voices. When we eventually left the dock we had already cast our lines and were gently cruising along. When we reached Monkey Island we cast our lines again and waited. I was the first one to get a bite. It was a big fish but I didn't catch it. Unfortunately it took the lure and the next two as well. Next I tried proper fish as bait and it lasted the rest of the trip. I think I caught about three fish but they all got stuck in the rocks. I let the man have a go with my rod but he lost the bait. At the last moment our anchor got stuck in the rocks so we had to cut it off and attach a float and leave it there. After that we unfortunately had to go back to the dock but I really wanted to stay. I absolutely loved every little minute of this day.

Chocolate!

Oscar
Today we went to the rainforest to learn about chocolate. We had to cross a massive bridge. It was nearly as long as our garden.
First we tried some chocolate beans. After that we ground some beans and ate them. Eventually we made a drink. Next we had melted chocolate on a spoon and I had five spoonfuls. Finally we had milk and dark chocolate. I preferred the dark chocolate because the milk chocolate was crunchy.

Lex
The first recorded use of chocolate was in 1100BC.

Chocolate comes from cacao trees that grow naturally in a band 20 degrees north and south of the equator. The trees also need around 2000 mm of rain every year. They live in temperature zones of 21 - 32 degrees.

The Aztecs used cacao beans as their currency. A slave would have been 100 beans.

Cacao was so valued that it was offered to the Gods as a drink and only used by the nobles in society in golden goblets. When the Spanish came to America they were offered this cacao drink as a greeting. The Europeans did not like the bitter taste and offended the Aztecs causing the start of much trouble.

Later on the Spanish adjusted the drink using their own ingredients. They added milk and sugar to make it a sweeter drink.

Chocolate making is a complicated process. First the beans are grown then picked. The pods were not as I expected. They were oval shaped, brown , yellow or red and slightly smaller than a rugby ball. The indigenous people used their heads to open the pods.

Inside the pods were rows of beans coated in a white slimy substance. We tried the slime and it was horrible. Mum and Dad however thought it was sweet and delicious. In the past the saliva was used to start the fermentation process. This took seven days. Next the beans were dried, then cleaned then roasted. After roasting the shells were removed to reveal the cacao nibs. The nibs smelt like a delicious mixture of coffee and chocolate.

Next the nibs were ground using volcanic stones. (Oscar helped with this process using modern technology). Hot water was added to these nibs to create a hot chocolate drink. The Aztecs added various flavours including, chilli pepper, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. I tried all of these and particularly liked the vanilla. ( I saw a vanilla pod growing naturally on a tree in my hotel garden today)

Finally we tried melted chocolate nibs . This was really thick and like melted cooking chocolate. We put this into moulds and then we had recognisable solid chocolate. We made two types, milk and dark. The powdered milk gave the milk chocolate a sand paper texture.

We all felt really energetic and happy after eating the chocolate and the man told us that it was the chemicals that it contains. There was some caffeine and other substances that were affecting our bodies. Some studies have shown that chocolate can help to reduce high blood pressure. These chemicals are also toxic to some animals including dogs.

According to the guide the best chocolate is dark and with a high percentage of cacao. Personally I still prefer Dairy Milk!

First (of many! ) malaria pills.

We have to take malaria tablets so we don't get really sick on our trip. If we get bitten by a mosquito that carries the disease this should stop us getting malaria.

The tablets were big and white and we had to swallow them. I sat with Flipper and Clever Bear who were going to help me.

First try.....





 

Second attempt we tried banana, third time we tried chocolate and fourth time we tried jam!

It was pretty funny really as every time we gagged into the toilet mum had to try and fish out the tablet to see if we had swallowed it. The first time we had forgotten to flush it!