We  started our day with a breakfast of eggs and ham and of course, gallo pinto. This gave us the energy we needed for a morning at school with local high school students. Half of us went to a private Catholic school. The other half of us went to a public school. It was exciting to know that our in-country leader, Denis, actually went to this school.

We have experienced how it is to be a Nica student. We saw how different education we compared to the United States. There was no discipline in class, it was really loud, and everyone just talked to each other. Very few students even paid attention to class. Students only attend classes for half of the day, which is crazy because they have 4-6 classes to go to during that time. The most shocking fact is that the students had to pay for the worksheets assigned by the teachers.

PE was so much fun compared to High School of Economics and Finance, where we have to sweat our butts out doing full workouts. Nica PE consisted of fun games and activities such as wheelbarrow races, piggyback ride races, and stretching.

The students were very friendly when we attended class with them. Many of us exchanged Instagram and Facebook information. We are excited to keep in contact with our new friends.

Two glimpsers were celebrities at the schools. At the Catholic school, Endrit quickly gained popularity with the girls, and Jazmine got the spotlight at the other school. Raymond was supposed to have a date after teaching English later in the day, but to the GGLs relief, she never showed. 🙂

Once classes let out, we came back to the hostel to eat lunch. Our Education seminar confirmed ideas we had about why there was such a relaxed atmosphere at the schools. Very few Nica students graduate from high school, and statistics showed that completing sixth grade was a huge achievement. This is sad because they don’t get to have a good education to have a good profession.

Glimpsers realized that we need to take our education seriously. Our schools provide many opportunities for us. Some of us even felt bad for taking advantage of our teachers or complaining about how much work we get.

Finally, we taught our second English classes. Today our classes were successful. We weren’t a mess like the first day of class. Jared really helped prepare us with tips from his experience with teaching English to native Spanish speakers and teaching Spanish at his school. Glimpsers got more students involved in class.

Personally we think being a teacher is really important because we are not just only teaching but caring about our students doing well to be successful in their lives.

Being the leaders of the day wasn’t as frightening as we thought it was going to be. Lizeth really enjoyed being a larger part of the group, and quickly got comfortable with speaking to the whole group. Elizabeth felt nervous at first, but then she enjoyed managing the group’s time and definitely got out of her comfort zone. We enjoyed to be the leaders of the day.

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