Before I start talking about the whole day, I would like to say that there is a cat by me as I am writing, and that is so cool! Now, let’s get on to the real reason why I am writing the blog right now.

Today was the last day to say goodbye to Leon, and it was really heartbreaking for many of us to say goodbye or even see you later. This morning, I woke up an hour earlier and just walked around the hostal, and reminisced about all of the memories spent there. I also rocked on the rocking chair for one last time, oh the bittersweet feeling of leaving Leon (not just Leon, but Nicaragua itself). I wish that I could have stayed for just a few more days to explore Leon more, but of course, there is always an ending. As I was just exploring and roaming around the hostal for one last time, I heard a loud boom (again). This sound as been waking our group up for a few days now, and it was very scary to hear because it woke up a few of the girls upstairs. After that booming sound, I started to go upstairs to wake up the girls (the ones that were not awaken from the loud booming sound), and as I woke each girl up they did not want to wake up. I gave each person 10 to 20 minutes more of sleep because I knew that today was going to be a hectic day, and I wanted everyone to get a little bit more rest.

After everyone got ready at 7:50 am, we went to go eat breakfast at our usual place, Quiero Mas. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, especially the little bananas. After we all finished our delicious breakfast, we went back to the hostel to pack our luggages. When everyone almost finished packing, we had one last closing seminar, which was a final reflection. I enjoyed it a lot; as a group, we started to see the better and brighter side of each other through our Big Love shout-out. The GG leaders also got to share theirs thoughts, and so did group. It got emotional for everyone as they shared their thoughts about each other. I will not lie–I started to cry as I spoke about my thoughts. I never had sisters and an older brother in my house, and with everyone on this trip, I felt like we have grown to be a big family in such little time. I have grown to love each and every one of my sisters and brother (David) on this trip by accepting their flaws and showing them that I truly love and care for each one.

Saying goodbye to Quiero Mas and Leon!

Saying goodbye to Quiero Mas and Leon!

When our seminar ended, it was truly our last goodbye to our hostel and to everyone that worked there. The hostel staff took very good care of everyone on our trip and their service was very nice. They never got irritated or mad at any of us if we made a mess or even if someone accidently locked their room with the key inside. The workers were very sweet and nice, and they were like family. They all took care of us in the morning, afternoon, and night. They were always there to help us out, and it was really hard to say goodbye to them today. As 12 pm hit, we started to head out in our bus to eat our very last meal at Quiero Mas.

As we all shared one last meal there, there was many laughters spread out throughout the restaurant. Then as our lunch came to an end, I presented a gift to Don Luis (the owner of Quiero Mas) on the behalf of Global Glimpse and our group. He had a very big smile, and he was very happy to hear that the food that was fed to us made us happy (especially the chicken). After we finished saying our last goodbyes to Quiero Mas as well, we took a picture one last time in front of the restaurant. Then we started to head out to Managua.

As we started to head out to Managua, Judith (aka Juju) announced that we would be watching Frozen for the whole ride! When we all were enjoying the movie, the amazing leaders came around with snacks for us, and it made me feel so happy to have something to fill up my tummy as I watch the movie. The amazing part was that as we arrived at our hostel in Managua, Frozen ended right as our bus arrived!

As we all exited the bus, we had to split up our group so that we know who is rooming with whom. As we got that situated, we just hung out in our rooms and went into David’s room (with his permission of course) to watch the World Cup, Argentina vs Mexico. Of course, Mexico won that–woot woot woot! (I really like Mexico’s team.) As we were watching the game, everyone was planning out Jenny’s (one of the sisters) birthday surprise, since her birthday is tomorrow (June 24)! We all planned it out well and got things finished quickly, so that tonight we can all just stay up to talk.

Around 6 pm, we started to head out to dinner, and we got CHICKEN (ohh yes!). We all enjoyed it very much, and we all goofed off a lot more. We were also very loud in the restaurant, but I guess it was fine because it is our last full day here in Nicaragua. As we all finished dinner, we had our nightly meeting there,` and it was all positive feedback for me, and just positive thoughts about the whole day, which made me very happy to hear even though today was a very crazy day. We all stuck in there because we all helped support and energize each other.

Lastly, I just want to say, thank you to the donors and of course to everyone’s parents. If it wasn’t for you guys, we all wouldn’t have gotten to experience something this amazing. This trip is very inspiring and spontaneous to me, and I wish that every got to experience what I got to experience within these 18 days.

– Valencia Letran

 

P.S. I am so happy to go home, but at the same time I am not. Oh this bittersweet feeling -.-