Hello everyone!! My name is Brittany Nguyen, and I, along with Wendy, were the Leaders of the Day. I am from San Jose, California, and attend Andrew P. Hill High School.

Today was a long, hardworking day. Wendy and I woke our fellow Glimpsers up at 7:00 AM. Since we both had to wake everyone else up, I slept over in Wendy’s room (However, she ended up leaving in the middle of the night to another room because she couldn’t handle the tight space). After breakfast at Alfredito’s a group of Glimpsers went to the market and bakery to buy finalized items for our CAP (trash bags, gloves, and baked pastries), while others went to the internet cafe. Unfortunately, we did not find gloves, so we had to do our trash clean-up with our bare hands. When everyone arrived back at the Hostal, we met up with the girls from Sonati (Ingrid and Belkin) to travel to Institutio de Santa Cruz to finish our CAP.

Glimpsers working on the mural.

Glimpsers working on the mural.

Kevin, Jazmin and Brit'ne working on the mural.

Kevin, Jazmin and Brit’ne working on the mural.

When we arrived at 10AM, we started working immediately. Like yesterday, we attracted a crowd of students, eagerly wanting to help. At around 11:30, we took a short lunch break (fried chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, a slice of bread, and rice, yummm) and then began working again consistently from noon to around 4:15.

From 12:00 to 1:00, I, along with four other Glimpsers, led a school-wide trash pickup with the students of Institutio de Santa Cruz. My group cleaned the area where the students play volleyball. Afterwards, we handed out cookies and pastries to those who helped with the clean-up and then continued working on the mural. It was a pleasure being able to work with the Nicaraguan students and to see how interested they were in making their school a healthier environment.

Students helping with the trash clean up

Students helping with the trash clean up

Students helping with the trash clean up

Students helping with the trash clean up

Santa Cruz students helping with the mural

Santa Cruz students helping with the mural

At one point during the mural work, I was able to join in a friendly match of soccer with a fellow Glimpser, Miguel. It was a little odd at first because I was used to playing with just girls and people I know. Also, I was the only girl in the match. However, it turned out to be fun. After that, I spent most of my time putting cement around the bottle caps that spelled out “GLOBAL GLIMPSE.” By 4:15, we were completely done with our CAP. We placed the painted trashcans around the school, picked up trash, and left a mural behind that would hopefully inspire the students to become better global citizens and keep their school clean.

Finished Mural! It says "Maintain beauty, throw away your trash"

Finished Mural! It says “Maintain beauty, throw away your trash”

At the end of the day, everyone was messy and tired, but we all felt accomplished. I, personally, had tons of varnish and chalk on my arms and hands, with a little bit of oil-based paint. My fingers have never been so wrinkly and dry. I believe that not only did we inspire the students there, but they also inspired us. Seeing them elated fills me with glee.

As Leader of the Day, I felt a sense of familiarity washing over me throughout the day; it reminded me of my past duties as class president and being an officer for a few clubs. I had to remind our group to stay hydrated, split them into groups, and make sure everyone was feeling alright. It was a learning experience and with the overwhelming support of Wendy, the GG Leaders, and the GG coordinators, I felt the burst of confidence rushing the whole day. Overall, I am proud of my fellow Glimpsers as well as everyone who participated in our CAP activities.

Honestly, I am now just really excited for what the next few days have in store for us (Free Day tomorrow, Fun Day on Friday, and our last night out on Saturday)!!

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us 🙂 Shout out to my friends and family back home; love and miss you all!