Hello everyone! Its Maiya, your ELDD and blogger for the day. Today is business day here in Estelí, Nicaragua. We started the day by waking up at 6 am and eating a breakfast of tortilla chips, frijoles, and queso at the infamous Buffet Estelí. We then headed back to our temporary home at Hostel Tomabú for an energizer game of Never Have I Ever and an academic seminar lead by GG leader, Tim about global business, fair trade, and the Starbucks boycott.
IMG_2594We then headed to Casa de Alegria, a small tobacco and cigar company founded by a German man named Ralf who served up coffee and smoked one of his own cigars while talking to us about his business and answering our questions. We then got to watch cigar makers roll cigars before trying to do one ourselves. And trust me, its harder than it looks. IMG_2572  Before leaving, Ralf sold us some of his own coffee that we all loved by the pound for 120 Córdoba or about $6. We said goodbye then headed back to the hostel where we used our free time to search for prices for our CAP project, which you will be hearing more about very soon. We then went to lunch to again Buffet Estelí. We then headed to Café Centroamericano, a small coffee factory in Estelí. There we learned about coffee beans, how they are produced and even got to try some for ourselves. We also were able to by coffee there. IMG_2605Be prepare for the case of the jitters for the next couple of weeks when we get back! After that, we headed back to the hostel for more CAP prep which got pretty heated and there was lots of tension but no one died so all is well. While some split off to do English tutoring prep, most of us stayed doing CAP prep for another hour. We then headed to dinner where I made everyone sit at tables based on their favorite color. After finishing dinner, we headed back to the hostel for another our of CAP prep before starting our nightly meeting. I was very grateful for the many props from my fellow Glimpsers about sticking through the tough, stressful day. Although I apparently need to not wear my frustrations on my sleeve as much. Well thank you for joining me on the recap off our amazing day! Signing off for, well for forever.
– Maiya
Ps Much love to my mom and I’m happy to hear about Sea-moose and the rest of the kitties. Keep me posted! Hugs and sarcasm <3