Hey! My name is Thomas Martinez and I was the leader for day 3 of our trip. I really wanted to get to be the first leader so I woke up an hour early in order to get the first sign up. My experience was insanely awesome.
Today we got to listen to 2 people speak on their roles in the revolution and why they believe what they believe. We had to dress professional out of respect for the speakers. I happened to forget my clothes in the dryer at home so I did not have a button up shirt so I borrowed one from my super awesome friend Teddy. Shout out to Teddy!!! Our first speaker was a man named Leopoldo Villallta. Villallta is a journalist that criticizes the government. Our second guest speaker was a woman named Sonia Hernandez, she is a air force veteran who fought in the revolution. After all that we went to a place called Cerro El Calvario which is a main point in the revolution where you can see the whole city. It was really windy there. Then we went home and had a night meeting about the upcoming day.
Today me and my peers learned that kids back in the day in Nicaragua had it very hard because of the laws that the government had. We also learned what people did to fight the government and make things the way they want. For example, Sonia trained in the mountains for years and had to witness friends being shot and killed by the National Guard.
Being leader was a great experience for me, especially because I was the first student leader. I got to wake everyone up in a crazy way too. I had to keep track of everyone and deliver important information regarding the agenda. Through this whole experience I learned that I am a natural speaker and would have done a better job if I was more prepared. One problem I had was keeping track of time because I didn’t have a watch so I was constantly asking people for the time.
I am very proud of you Thomas, as well as everyone in the group. This must be an amazing experience for you all. We all look forward to reading about each day’s adventure.
Sorry you left your clothes in the dryer Thomas, however, let’s hope you learned a big lesson on making sure you prepare for trips well in advance. Lol. We love and miss you.
Love Auntie and Samantha
Thanks for an awesome post Thomas! I LOVE that you guys are learning so many new things: government, Revolution, jewelry making, tamale making and dance lessons!! I hope you all are taking advantage of all these new experiences. (P.s. Thanks for the special photo of Ryan)
From priscilla (grandma of thomas)
It was so good to hear from you!! What a wonderful experience for all of you. We look forward to hearing each daily update to hear your exciting news. Have a great chance of a lifetime. Take lots of pictures. What a lucky group!
Get down Thomas! We are proud of u for wanting to be the first leader, especially because it meant u had to do some writing. I bet u really enjoyed listening to the air force veteran speak, pretty cool.
Your dress clothes are nicely hanging in your closet. I guess Sophia & I really DID know what we were talking about when we warned u about waiting until the day of the trip to pack. Oh and sorry about the watch. I swear we used to tell time using the sun!
Great blog – it makes it much easier on us to hear about each day.
P.S. Dad can’t wait to check out to try out your new guitar. And Uncle Bob was stoked that u tuned it by ear.
We all love and miss u…. even your brother misses u (and not just cuz he has to go to country waffles with dad either)
Thanks Thomas for sharing your lovely day with us. The city view is beautiful and so does everyone’s smile in the picture. More pictures please! We know you all having fun there and we love to see it, the more the better!
Just wondering if any of u know what the blue building is in the top right photo? Also, grandma was disappointed you didn’t mention what u guys ate today
… she enjoyed reading about it. And one more thing, thank u to Teddy for loaning the shirt. That was extremely generous of him.
Hi Thomas,
I’m your mom’s co-worker. You are a talented writer. I’m so proud of you! This is such an awesome experience. It’s is profoundly important to accept responsibility and learn from your mistakes. Proper preparation will put you in a place of success. Be safe and continue to enjoy!
this is julia’s mom. I am very happy that you had a wonderful time!!!
When i read your post, i was touched by your devotion and eagerness to serve local people.
Hope all of you keep pushing and having great days there.
Wow! It is great to hear that you all are having lots of fun. You guys must have had lots of fun talking to Sonia and learning about the history of Nicaragua. We hope you guys have lots of fun on the trip!
love Mom and Aryan
Love all the pictures! Glad you guys are enjoying the trip so far!