¡Hola desde Managua, lectores! Me llamo Sarah, y estoy escribiendo de nuestro primer día completa.

Hello from Managua, readers! My name is Sarah, and I am writing for our first full day here. I am a newly minted UMD iSchool graduate who specialized in school library media; I've worked in a number of different library settings over the past four years.

We started the day bright and early with a trip to the Palacio Nacional, an important site in Nicaraguan history that also houses the Museo Nacional de Nicaragua and the Biblioteca Nacional Rubén Darío, named for the country’s most prized man of letters.

(Front of the Palacio Nacional)

(A stunning fresco inspired by the works of Rubén Darío)

Several bibliotecarios (librarians) were gracious enough to lead us through Nicaragua’s national library and answer our quintessentially librarian-esque questions about acquisition, cataloging, and preservation, to name a few. It is obvious that these ladies and gentlemen take great pride in their collections and in sharing their knowledge with us. Many thanks to Tim, our interpreter, who – in exchange for vicariously learning far more about library policy than he could have anticipated – provided us with a synopsis of the current political climate and its possible effects on daily life in Nicaragua.

Following our tours and a very satisfying lunch at Ruta Maya…

… we headed to the Biblioteca Rosa in Tipitapa where a large gathering of incredibly excited niños (children) awaited our arrival. We read aloud several books to them and helped them create a few different crafts, including bookmarks, small storybooks, and paper snowflakes to go along with Ezra Jack Keats’ Un Dia de Nieve (bonus points for any lectores who recognize that title).

(The back of mi cabeza as I read to los niños)

(The side of Kelsey's cabeza as she reads to los niños)

Including this one, there are only a few public lending libraries in the whole country, and these children have shown such great respect and enthusiasm for the materials they borrow and for the bibliotecarios who work hard to make those materials available to them. There was much joy in our hours at Tipitapa, and I think it’s fair to speak for all of us and say how sad we were to have to say good-bye.

From Tipitapa, it was on to Frontera Books, a charming Spanish/English bookstore in Managua. We were kindly received by the owner, who offered a modest glimpse into her fascinating and inspiring experiences as an American expat in Nicaragua. She formally introduced us to Michael (he had spent time with us at Tipitapa), who has a long and equally inspiring history of implementing programs for sustainable change and growth throughout the country, including a current library construction project. We look forward to hearing more from him in the days to come.

Finally – just when you thought we couldn’t pack any more into one day – we had a marvelous dinner with members of ANIBIPA at La Cocina de Doña Haydee. Muchas gracias to the incomparable Jane Mirandette for arranging all of the above activities, being with us every step of the way, and making our experience comfortable, knowledgeable, and enjoyable. We will owe her thanks every day and for many more things, but for now we leave these simple thanks at the end of one excellent day.

And muchas gracias to you, friends and family, for checking in on our progress and for your love and support while we are abroad.