Hola family and friends! It’s weird using the internet after so long. Today we woke up bright and early at 6:45. After breakfast at the hostel, we hopped onto a bus and headed to San Ramon (shoutout to Jasmine and Jai who are from San Ramon, CA!). Some of us are getting sick, so 4 people stayed back today. We arrived at Las Mujeres del Plomo at 8:30 and did a quick energizer before setting to work. My group finished the wood stain on the fences, tables, and benches, and then helped out the other groups, which were missing some members.

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I kept reminding everyone to take breaks and drink water. We worked hard all morning, but fell into a bit of slump around lunchtime. Nothing a quick energizer game can’t fix! After eating a packed lunch, most of the group went to watch a soccer game happening nearby: two local club teams were playing against each other. We set to work again after the game, with concrete goals in mind. Some of the community members painted alongside us, and they helped us keep smiles on our faces, providing support both physically and musically.

Everyone was so productive today! We painted all the walls inside the store, built a shelf, and completed a significant amount of the highway sign. Given that we were short a few hands, everybody was impressed with how much work we got done. The whole group is confident that we’ll be able to finish our Community Action Project (C.A.P.) by tomorrow afternoon! Our clean up turned into us painting each other’s faces, as you can see in the picture below. As always, our bus rides there and back were accompanied by tunes from DJ Denis.

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Back at the hostel, we greeted our sick friends, who had slept all day and were feeling much better. We prepared lesson plans for our second-to-last English tutoring classes tomorrow. After a traditional dinner of gallo pinto, chicken, and plantain chips, we had our nightly meeting and relaxed after a physically taxing day.

I can’t wait to finish our C.A.P. tomorrow and present it to the women of Las Mujeres del Plomo! They have been so helpful and involved throughout the whole process, and we are all passionate about helping them in every way we can.

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It’s hard to believe that we only have 3 full days left in Matagalpa. All of us have gotten so close and fallen in love with this city. We’re already planning our reunions back in the Bay 🙂

Much love,

Natasha

P.S. Mom, Dad, and Alisha – I can’t wait to tell you about all the amazing adventures I’ve had. Love you lots and see you soon!

VIVA MATAGALPA!!