Hola!!!! Lan-Anh here as the second to last Leader Del Día *sobs*
Since I’m typing this blog post during our last official night in Estelí, Nicaragua, by the time you read this post, we’ll probably be back home and in your arms or at least on our way home. GOSH, I was told to write this post from the heart, and I’m already becoming a sentimental mess, so I’ll first start with a recap of today’s activities. The wakeup call was at 7:00am, later than most days (thank god). We then walked to Buffet Estelí at around 8:05am for breakfast which was a delicious combination of (guess what) GALLO PINTO and some eggs with a tortilla on the side. Yummmm. Following breakfast, we walked back to the hostel to start our final reflection seminar. I was actually supposed to lead an energizer to hype everyone up for some reflecting, but found that just telling them that there would be free time all afternoon if they finished the reflective activities before lunch did the job. For the first activity, we were tasked to make a poster describing the five most memorable moments, what we have learned about ourselves during our GG journey, what we have learned about leadership, as well as a person whom had inspired us the most. We all worked hard on our posters while listening to some tunes, including the occasional country song (shout out to Cammie for her speaker and iPod). By the time we were all done, the once blank sheets of paper were presented as canvases of our individual journeys. While listening to the others share their posters, I realized how different our perspectives are. 22 Glimpsers had experienced the same journey, but the outcome was 22 different interpretations. Each Glimpser was touched by different moments, found their inspiration in different people, etc.
Finally, we finished our final reflection seminar by filling out some surveys and writing the final drafts of our letters to the supporters of Global Glimpse. We then headed out for lunch at noon (at Buffet Estelí) where we had a nutritious meal consisting of steamed vegetables (I eat squash now, mom, are you proud of me?), rice, and our choice of either beef or chicken. Once we finished lunch, we went back to the hostel for five more hours of reflection. JUST KIDDING! Since everyone did such an amazing job during our morning reflection, we finished it all and had free time for the rest of the afternoon. I’m not sure what everyone else did, but I’m sure they had fun. Personally, with a group of friends, I got a haircut in Nicaragua as well as my nails done. (Don’t freak out, mom, it’s not that drastic, I promise .) After free time, we went to English tutoring where we taught our last English lesson to our students as well as wrote a summary of what we taught them for when the next delegation takes over. Our last session ended far too soon with pictures being taken, tearful goodbyes, as well as the biggest unity clap Global Glimpse has ever seen.
Dinner was an elegant affair at our favorite restaurant, Coffee and Cocktails. When the majority of us had finished eating and we heard some music come on from the event going on next door, in true GG fashion, a lot of us proceeded to dance, albeit the boys quite reluctantly. Work it, Paulette!! The night finished with another nightly meeting as per GG tradition where I passed the torch to Daisy who will be our LDD for our journey home. We all miss you (family and friends) a lot, and we’ll be home real soon!
Memoriam Poem (Idk if I’m allowed to do this, but Imma do it anyway.)
Cammie, my roommate, my amazing friend
Tyler, I respect, for starting a vegetarian trend
Buna, with your admirable Oakland pride,
Helen, with your sweet smile and sensitive side
Kam, with your sass, never fail to speak your mind
Paulette, who’s so tough, but also oh so kind
Maricela with your cute laugh, the bell-like sound
In Jason, a goat impressionist I found
Sarb, always trying new things, being veggie
Bernardo, when rapping to his jam, always ready
Brendan, who’s sweet, supporting our group
Devin, with his smize and his humor, oh shoot
I broke the rhyme.
Kelsey, who got sick, but bounced right back
Jackie, who loves people, that’s a fact
Adriana, with her gorgeous hair and smile
Sidney, with her carefree ‘tude and style
Liz, always smooth when talking with the locals
Cindy, damn girl, you got some moves and vocals
Sammy, always smiling with those shiny teeth
Elisa, a writer, though her pen name unknown
Me, a brand new perspective I was shown,
Finally, Daisy with her pictures, also taking us home.
Oh wait, Tania with her motherly love and smile
Erik, always keeping us out of trouble with style
Brendan, always checking up on our health
And Fredo who plays speed with such skill and stealth.
In Global Glimpse, a new family was made.
These memories and love will never ever fade.
Lan-Anh! Tyler tells me I can’t write LOL, but I was LOLing a lot at your post! Thanks for capturing so much of your second to last day. Safe journeys everyone!
—Jenne, Tyler’s ‘rent
[T-man, I can hardly wait to see you really, really, really late tonight!!!]
Yeeees!!! My little rapper! Ahora si te doy chance de poner la de “be humble”. Pero SOLO porque te extrañé mucho!!! Ni te emociones, que la canción sigue sin gustarme, jajaja!!!
…contando las horas mi buen. Nos vemos hoy en la noche. Te amo mucho! 🙂
So touching! I want to cry!
Have a safe flight home! See you all in 12 hours!
Heart felt thank you to Global Glimpse!
Ellen ( Daisy’s mom)
So glad all of you embraced and enjoyed this adventure and spiritual journey. And made friends to boot.
LA, Mom’s beaming with pride. She’s been counting the days until your return (and I helped…shushhhh). Can’t wait to see you.
Great poem, great achievement, great team!
Erik here, you’re ‘leader with style’. I liked that one Lan, even if you wrote it only to make it rhyme! Great tribute to everyone, and all written with sense of humour! I’m at the beach now, completely relaxing until the next delegation comes. Will be hard for them to be as cool as you were 🙂 You are all wonderfull, wish you all the best, and whenever I’m in need of inspiration I’ll think of you 🙂