Exciting Happenings in Small Town Nicaragua

I wanted to share a couple fun things that happened lately. 

 

The crowd that gathered to see the helicopter.

About two weeks ago a helicopter came to town! As the soccer season was winding down I decided to go watch the semi-finals and cheer on my team (I haven´t been as enthusiastic lately about actually playing, but I´m all about being supportive). It just so happens that the only helicopter landing area is the soccer field.
This helicopter came to drop off someone from town to see their family for 2 hours and then they were off to the states. The rumor is that they were on active military duty.  So the helicopter came in to land and everyone had to clear the field. It was quite the spectacle. The police and people from the mayor´s office were there to assist with the landing. The kids were all captivated, and we all got covered in dust as it landed and took back off again. I´m glad I happened to have my camera, and my team ended up winning! 

Watching the soccer game.

This beautiful alter was in my friend´s house for the purisima.
She held prayer services here for the days leading up to the 7th.

Another cool thing has been experiencing the Nicaraguan holidays of December. The most exciting one is “La Purisima,” the holiday that celebrates the Virgin Mary. Really the entire month of December is about the Virgin Mary, but especially the first week. Every day from December 1^st to December 7^th there are prayer rituals for the Virgin, and on the night of the 7^th people yell and sing for the Virgin to receive candy. The town makes several alters to honor her, and it´s almost like Halloween in the sense that you walk around at night alter to alter to beg for candy and other treats.

The Alter for the Virgin in front of my health center