Quinceañera Norma

This past weekend some of the program directors celebrated a fiesta de quinceañera with one of the girls, Norma, that lives in the community.  For those of you that do not know, turning fifteen in Nicaragua and in most Latin American countries is a very big deal.  It is distinct from any other birthday because it marks the transition from childhood into adulthood for a young girl.  Quinceañera is the name of the girl who is turning fifteen, and the fiesta de quinceañera is the name of the actual party.  So on Saturday night program directors Carly, Steph, Luke, and myself headed into the community to celebrate.  Upon arriving we were immediately asked to sit down and were served dinner, which consisted of a rice dish, a roll, and soda.   After we ate the rest of the evening then followed a similar pattern to that of a wedding: a father-daughter dance, lots of chatting with surrounding neighbors and friends, many pictures of Norma in her beautiful dress, a cake-cutting ceremony, and lots of dancing. Norma's house and the surrounding area was completely transformed for the party, with pink balloons and streamers everywhere and a DJ playing music.  All of her family and friends were also extremely involved, acting as either hostesses or helping serve food, which made it really special and fun to see.  It was such a beautiful party and a privilege to be able to celebrate with her, and we all ended up having a really good time and were thankful to be able to go. Below are some pictures from the fiesta.  

Norma after her mass service at the church.

Luke, Steph, Carly, Norma, Megan and Tressa.

Norma in front of her cake.