We apologize for the tardiness of this post, it was due to unexpected delays. This post was from Saturday, July 18.

Today was another wonderful day where we had extensive free time and we were able to better bond with each other. The day started off with representatives from each of the five committees (Construction, Art and Design, Organization, Budget, and Event) and myself going with Carlos, the community member in charge of the CAP project, to buy the necessary supplies to complete the project as best and fast as we could.

The supplies we decided that we needed were separated into three different categories, the highest priority, second priority, and third priority. We went out to Asfer, a nearby hardware store, where we got a discount. Before we went there, we met up with Carlos who is a role model for many people in Constanza. He helps people who need it the most, and a lot of us in our delegation appreciate the work he does for the community. Once we arrived we went straight to business and told them the supplies we needed and they did their best to provide them to us at the lowest possible price. The cement and sand we needed for the basketball court was 11,000 pesos which was two thirds of our total budget. With the remaining amount of money, we bought tools we were going to need- a basketball, and paint to paint the surrounding benches as well as the wall on the opposite side of the hoop. I believe that was the proudest moment for our entire delegation.  It was not just that we went to the hardware store and got what we wanted. Instead, we planned out what each committee needed and in what priority. It was all carefully planned to not go over our budget and we met all our requirements and had a few hundred pesos left over.

While we were walking back, I started to feel dizzy; I slowed down and my shoulders started to feel very heavy. I told one of our great GG leaders, Christina,  and she did her best to get me back to the hostel so I could rest. Luckily, we all made it back safe and I told our other GG leader, Helene, and she gave me some pills and told me to sleep for a bit.

Later that day when I woke up, I felt extremely bad that I was El Lider Del Dia and was feeling the worst I had on the trip thus far. I did not feel good at all, but fortunately it was a free day and I did not have to do the intensive work that other leaders had done before. After a while, when I started to feel my normal self again, I and a group of others went out with the ambassadors to explore the city a bit more and do some shopping as well. With the ambassadors leading us, we went to some shops first to buy some souvenirs, and then the girls decided that they wanted their nails done. So, of course, since we are not able to leave in a group smaller than four, we had to follow them to the salon. Finding the salon was an adventure on its own, we visited four different salons around the city until we found one that had only a few people in it and was fairly cheap. When we arrived, the girls got their nails done and I decided to dye my hair brown. To my mother and father, my hair is not bad, everyone likes it better anyways.

Later that night, we were able to go to a basketball game that was only 75 cents for a ticket. Since we were American and stood out from the rest we got a lot of attention, for example, the cameraman put us on television. The day ended with one of our Global Glimpse ambassadors leaving us for the air force. He told us that he joined the air force because they said that the government would pay for his studies afterwards. Since we are the loving people we are, we threw cake at his face and said our goodbyes.

On this day, I felt loved, everyone was there to support me and help me feel better. I also realized what an awesome group of friends I was with, but I should have guessed that earlier since their 10th grade teachers nominated them for being such outstanding students. The most memorable moment and surprising was how everyone treated me. For example, if it was a normal group of students randomly selected from my school, they would not have been as caring. My favorite part of this trip has been getting to know the different personalities and bonding with others.

Being El Lider Del Dia was not the most difficult task in the world, but it was also not the easiest. There are a lot of little things that could make someone’s day that you are responsible for. Although I tried the best to do what I could, I knew at the same time that I could have done better.  I learned that I really wanted to be the leader and tried to take care of others when I could; I tried to get others to open up to me when they were feeling frustrated.

With everyday that passes, the closer as a group we become, at the same time however, we also know that this trip is not going to last forever and in less than a week from today, we will be home with our families.