Finally… a free day. The day we were all itching to have. It has finally came! At the beginning of the day, I wasn’t sure how leader of the day would turn out. Since no one was really going to be around I thought I wouldn’t have anyone to boss around! However, we actually had a very eventful day. We woke up at 8:30 am (which is actually pretty late for us) and had these amazing omelets.

Afterwards we got through our CAP (Community Action Project) Meeting. Now, let me tell you about that meeting. Those meetings are usually the most excruciating meetings. BUT… we got through it flawlessly! *round of applause*. We figured out a draft for the mural which everyone was not so excited about in the beginning. However, we got through it with high energy! Then, we went on a quick adventure to the park (and of course I’m always up for adventures).  Once we got there Jose, one of my fellow glimpsers, made a great suggestion. He brought up the idea that we should interview the parents at the park which was very helpful because instead of just assuming we knew what was good for the park, we got input from the families that actually use it. For example, today while creating the mural we came up with all these amazing ideas. One which was personally my favorite was the Nicaraguan flag with the symbol of recycling as the middle, and the little wizard of Esteli portrayed picking up garbage. But when we got to the park I realized that the people actually wanted bright colors, and animals in their park. We totally forgot the animals! One little girl felt particularly strongly about cows… there were no cows in our mural *cue dramatic music*. We not only realized we needed to get this girl a picture of a cow painted somewhere on that wall ASAP, but gained a lot of valuable feedback from the community. Which made me feel better, because now I feel like the community is getting what it wants. Like the saying goes, give the people what the people want. (hahaha I just made that up- good one, right?)

Anyways while at the park today we noticed new things we didn’t notice the first time we visited. For example, the three little trash cans that seem to be failed attempts at recycling.  After the Parque de Infantiles adventure, we broke off into separate groups. Some of us went to play basketball, some of us just walked around for three hours, and me, I got the most amazing fruit smoothie I’ve ever had from Siembras y Cosechas. (And it was only two us dollars! Talk about winning!). After that some of us headed back to the hostel, and did some very fulfilling hand washing of clothes (It was all voluntary, too!). Jose apparently took a very… rejuvenating nap as well.

Later on, we had one of our famous dance parties which occasionally happens. Let me tell you, I was in desperate need of that dance party. It’s one of the few times where we have free time at night and we can dance under the stars to Kevin’s classic Tipicos (Merengue music). After our little party, we had time to prepare for our English classes, and then have some AMAZING Chinese rice or “cookout rice” like Ashley calls it (thank you chef!). Finally, we had our daily nightly meeting. I did my fabulous Single Ladies routine, and passed the torch to Ashley and Maria as they will be tomorrows Liders Del Dia. Now, I’m sitting here writing this blog. Now, I bid all you kind sirs and madam’s farewell.

photo 1 photo 2 (1)