Hey everyone! I’m Roo Joaquin, and I’m currently an incoming senior at Irvington High School in Fremont, California. I dig photography, and the beautiful city of Esteli has opened up an awesome environment for preserving its culture, sights, and people through the lens of a camera. For a majority of our delegation’s stay, I was generally the quiet one in the group for most seminars and discussions, so the thought of being El Lider del Dia (Leader of the Day) was pretty nerve-wracking. Thankfully, through the support of my Global Glimpse leaders and the cooperation of my peers, the activities of the day went smoothly.

Right after breakfast, we headed out to Central Park to meet a few members of the other delegation staying in Esteli. Kristi was super stoked to finally be reunited with her best friend Tara! We also got some of them to join our teams for a scavenger hunt, where we raced around the city to take pictures of us climbing trees or posing in front of cool murals or statues. For the scavenger hunt, Glimpsers pushed themselves to practice their Spanish in order to start awesome games with the local kids or teach them how to breakdance. It was a challenge to find bakeries that sold rosquillas or passion fruits that didn’t look like potatoes, but everyone had rad time completing the scavenger hunt and bonding with the other delegation. The winning team (shoutout to Spencer, Alysia, and Estefania!) was treated to ice cream by our GG leader Erin! After a quick lunch back at the hostel, groups of Glimpsers set out to finish some last-minute shopping for themselves and their friends and family back at home. It was a bit difficult for some people to find what they were looking for, since a majority of the artisan shops and street vendors were closed for the anniversary of the revolution. Even though cafes and shops were closed left and right in every corner, the city was alive with celebration and streets were filled with the crackles and pops of fireworks and pretty chill party music. It was great to see Esteli beam with pride for their liberation from the Somoza dictatorship several decades ago. While we didn’t get to see the locals make their way to the parade in Managua, the energy in the city was bursting with festivity. Some of the Glimpsers even had an engaging conversation at the park with a man who lived through the revolution when he was only six years old. Reflecting on what we’ve learned about Nicaraguan history, and how the FSLN party overthrew the Somoza family after 43 years of dictatorship, seeing everyone celebrating helped us Glimpsers feel the same sense of pride.

Even after a long day running around Esteli, all the Glimpsers were pumped with good energy all throughout dinner and our nightly meeting. While some plans to go shopping or hang out at cafes didn’t pan out as we hoped, I was really proud of how our little family was totally okay with going with the flow and changing some plans. Overall, today was a perfect opportunity to burn some energy and spread some good vibes before settling down and getting ready for some self-reflection in our last days in Estelí.                  `-As much as we’re loving our GG family here in Nicaragua, we’re missing you guys back at home! See you guys soon!!

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