The first day of our Community Action Project (C.A.P.) started off with a BANG! After waking up later than usual, our delegation had enormous amount of energy, which we channeled by starting our indoor and outdoor murals at the AVODEC headquarters. Since everyone had different opinions about how to initiate the project, there was a lot of chaos in the beginning but all of us eventually started on the right foot. The worst part about the morning was trying to find a paint shop that sells water-based paint! Luckily, that was all sorted out and a new adventure began.

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First, we separated into three groups: construction, outdoor mural, and indoor mural. The construction people worked on placing support beams for a new building. The outdoor mural group worked on trying to paint the intricate details that make up Nicaraguan culture such as the Ceramica Negra and the coffee industry. I was on the indoor mural group and the challenge that we faced was the amount of painting we had to do because there was so much square feet to cover. This was made more difficult since there were only two ladders and both the indoor and outdoor groups wanted them. Funny story; at first there was only one ladder but we needed two so the leader of AVODEC told the construction guys to make a makeshift ladder out of wood, which we later dubbed the “Sketchy Ladder.”

The Sketchy Ladder is on the left.

The Sketchy Ladder is on the left.

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What surprised me most today was the disorganization that took place. Since this is a program that brings leaders to Nicaragua, there were just way too many egos in one room and that meant that there were too many ideas and directions that people wanted to go. Had we agreed to work together and communicate together from the beginning, we probably would have gotten a lot more done today.

Judging by the rough morning, I am most surprised with how much we got done in the six hours of work we were given today. We finished most of the outdoor mural and about half of the indoor one. When we did stop arguing about how to start painting, our teamwork shined through and our efficiency went through the roof. I am proud of our work and dedication to our C.A.P.

Being the Leader of the Day was extremely tough for me. I felt soft-spoken and I was worried to raise my voice because I did not want everyone to feel any animosity toward me by the end of the day. Unfortunately, I think I became too lax and as a result, this hurt the group since I was not able to control the group when the situation called for it. I learned that I should not be afraid to be more assertive when I need to. This definitely will help me in the future.

With the end of this long and tiring day, I would like to say good day and good night. The completion of our project tomorrow will be amazing. Be proud of your son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, or friend because we are on our way to make change.