(7/30/17 2:45 ET Updated with photos) Today was “living like a local day,” which meant we had to live in extreme poverty; for context, this is considered roughly the equivalent of $2.00 per day. For us, this meant no electricity, no running water, and simple meals all day and the previous night. We had to shower either last night or this morning in the dark and with only buckets of water. For breakfast we ate pan con chocolate (bread with hot chocolate).

After breakfast, we traveled to a small community in the mountains, Cañada de las Palmas, where we were joined with some special guests from some Global Glimpse partnerships to spend the morning living and working alongside six different residents of the community and their families.  As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed by heartwarming hugs and beautiful smiles. Soon after, we trekked to our locations, some of which were a 10-15 minute walk up a steep hillside. Once at our homes, we essentially became part of our host family–cooking, sweeping, washing dishes and/or clothes, and even weeding the field. It was tough work and some of us have physical evidence to prove it (Mitch, if you are reading this, hope you are okay! :P).

For lunch, one family and their surrogate members for the day made arroz con salchicha (rice and pork) and an ensalada (salad) made of avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  After lunch, we danced and celebrated with the members of the community.  Jose Victoriano, the president of the community association, thanked us for visiting and helping the community for the day and with our impending CAP project.  We showed our gratitude with a Global Glimpse certificate for each host family. Following the conclusion of the ceremony, we interviewed with leaders of the community to discuss what issues we can help to fix for our CAP project. Soon after, the rain subsided and we had an idea for our project (stay tuned! more to come!) so we congregated in the streets and played with the children as some taught us a game called la placa–roughly a combination of cricket, baseball, and tag.

Time passed quickly and we returned to our hotel for some reflection time, then reunited with our special guests in the Global Glimpse headquarters to discuss the experiences we had throughout the day.  We realized that the community members did not have a lot, as compared to us, but everything they owned was appreciated and used to its fullest potential. The community treated each other as if they were family by taking care of one another and truly loving each other. This bond initiated a realization in all of us–the community was one, unified entity, while in Chicago and San Francisco, we do not have that same connection.  We are so focused on material possessions that we do not always appreciate the unique and wonderful people around us. Our experiences today have taught us to appreciate all that we have, and to build stronger relationships with the people around us. It was truly a powerful and humbling experience.