Hi everyone! Today is the final day of our journey and we were the last two leaders of the day were us, Bianca and Amy.

We started off our day with our last wakeup call at our hostel. We made sure to use one of the bird whistles to wake everyone up in the most memorable way possible. 🙂 We had our last breakfast at Abya Yala and we really enjoyed it because it was the classic rice and beans that we love. We gave the owners of Abya Yala a little gift and took a picture with them. After that we had a little energizer and we played “WA!”, which was one of the games we played near the beginning of the trip with all the program coordinators and the behind the scenes GG team.

Probably the most meaningful part of the day was the Self-Reflection seminar. Every day here in Matagalpa, we have a full schedule that is packed with activities to keep us busy, so there isn’t that much time for us to reflect on what we learned. We do a little bit of reflection during nightly meetings but this seminar gave us a chance to reflect on the whooooole trip. The first part of the seminar began with us making a journey map that listed our five most significant events, what we learned about ourselves, what we learned about being leaders and who inspired us the most. One of the most significant events everyone has had was finishing the CAP. As leaders, we both agree that finishing the project gave us a sense of relief but also accomplishment and fulfillment. The second part of the seminar was listing things we’d STOP, START, and CONTINUE doing. Nearly everyone agreed upon things that will make each of us more appreciative and responsible leaders. The last part of the seminar was BIG LOVE! This was the looooongest big love we’ve done. We wrote our names on a paper and passed it around so everyone could tell one another a strength he or she showed, a joke, or some kind words. Everyone was really kind with their words and we were able to give big love to the people who made the trip meaningful for us.

We had lunch at a nice restaurant and it was a a delicious meal to end our stay in Matagalpa. After lunch, most of us used free time to do some last minute souvenir shopping and packing. Since today was the day we left our hostel, everyone had to make sure they were packed and ready. By 3:30, we said our goodbyes to the ladies of the hostel and hopped onto the bus for a two-hour ride back to Managua.

In Managua, we dropped off our stuff at our “new and improved” hostel and hopped back on to the bus for dinner at the mall. Dinner was great especially since everyone had a chance to eat whatever we wanted to at the food court. After dinner, we finished with our last nightly meeting and at the end, our GG program coordinators, Skarleth and Maria, presented our GG leaders with a little gift. Funnily enough, we also planned and threw a little surprise for Skarleth and Maria with I ♥ NY T-Shirts, a pen, and we all shared a cake!

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Now we’re back at the hostel and getting ready for bedtime.

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From the day we recieved our nominations, to the day we received our acceptances, to the day we landed and to now, our last day, we have learned so much. This journey was an experience we will carry back to New York. This journey taught us how to be a more appreciative person. This experience has shown us how one person or a team can make a change.

Thank you Global Glimpse, GG coordinators and leaders, and donors for this amazing opportunity.

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Sincerely,

Bianca & Amy