Being a leader is not as easy as it might seem. A leader has many responsibilities! Today, I definitely had to step out of my comfort zone which was a major challenge for me. Another challenge I had was taking care of not only myself, but twenty-one others as well. I made it through the day by using some of the strategies that our Global Glimpse leaders have used themselves. For example, I used this strategy when I had to get everyone’s attention by saying “If you hear me clap your hands once, if you hear me clap your hands twice.”
After our daily breakfast at Quiero Mas, our bus drove us to Polaris GEO Thermal Plant. From the presentation and tour we learned how the plant harnesses energy from Nicaragua’s two volcanoes for electricity. They use the heat and steam they get from the volcanoes by separating the water to turn it in to electricity. We later used our trip to reflect on our question of the day: “Should multinational companies have the rights to extract resources in countries like Nicaragua?” As a group, we agreed that it’s important to invest in sustainable resources.
I noticed the facilities at Polaris were much nicer than other facilities we’ve seen on our trip. The high powered air conditioners, running water, and other pieces of technology that we take for granted reminded me that even the poorest countries have wealthy and developed companies. In our seminar, we compared individual companies and multinational companies. Until today, I had never considered the effects I had by purchasing something from a company like McDonalds in comparison to a small Mom and Pop shop.
After we got back, everyone had about three hours to explore the city of Leon or stay back at the hostel to catch up on some much needed rest. Since today was the first time people could go out in groups of four and more without any GG leaders, it was my responsibility to get them back to the hostel in time. Basically, if any group had gotten back to the hostel late, everyone would’ve faced the consequences, and we would’ve had the rest of our free time taken away. The actions of One affect the privileges of Everyone.
The biggest concern I had was getting people to be somewhere on time. In the first half of the day, we were fifteen minutes behind schedule. This was especially concerning because we were going to a company to learn something new. One’s actions affect the whole group and our agendas/ plans we have through the day. I was having trouble remembering the schedule with so many things going on through my head so I decided to print the agenda on my hands. With that done, I was able to be ahead of schedule. I always warned everyone ten and 5 minutes before anything such as seminars, leaving the hostel, or meetings.
Today’s theme of the day was something I thought carefully about. In our group discussions, we talked about how we would choose to go to individual companies rather than the big and well known companies. In my opinion, it’s kind of a cycle. If everyone starts going to the individual company and they start making more than they need, they are just going to start multiplying in other areas. Once the owners multiply and make more money, they going to think about being bigger and once that happens they will become a big company like the other huge companies.
After this experience, I want to challenge myself when I get back to Boston. I want to be the captain of the volleyball and basketball team for school. In order to do that, I have to have leadership qualities and show my coach that I am capable of being a leader. I also want to be a good leader for my brother. He’s still in the stage of curiosity and as a sister, I should be there for him, take care of him, and support him as much as I can.
Honestly, being a leader of the day was a scary job but it gets a lot smoother once the day goes by. I had trouble in the first half of the day due to time and some miscommunication. The second half of the day which I consider after lunch went by a lot easier. I got the hang of being a leader of the day.