Teenagers in the United States today are more involved in and concerned with trivial things like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and SnapChat. But what are the teens and young adults of Nicaragua interested in? Social media? Pass. Today was a true eye opener for me. The passion, commitment, and dedication that these students have for their rights and education is truly astounding. We started off the morning with The Great One (me) having to wake everyone up and get them to the comedor by 8:00 AM. No matter how hungry I was, waking up that early was a mission. After the serving of rice and beans that we all know and love, we had a politics seminar that gave us new insight into what the government is like here, whether it is corrupt or not, and the significance of the student population.
Cuun is the name. It’s the place where the students are all involved one way or another with politics and their government. During our time there, we were amazed by the presentation and the footage that they showed us. Well, at least I was. I was also very entranced and at peace…but that was probably because of the air conditioning. After that, we began our long and strenuous 10 minute walk back to the hostel to prepare for the “Shadow A High School Student” activity.
With the high school students
At first it was very tough and uncomfortable, with the heat, the language barriers, and the math. What was unexpected was that I met a student there by the name of Onell. Not only was he a really good translator, he was born and raised in the United States and was a great person to talk to. After the event, even though the heat was getting to be unbearable, the fact that we got to make new friends made it all worth the while.
After dinner comes the English tutoring classes. I realized that dancing makes the students all the more eager to learn. I don’t know how many times I’ve made a fool out of myself on this trip, but the reactions of the students, the GG leaders, and my fellow Glimpsers has made it all worth the while… 😀
Love,
The King and your friend, David Paul Nguyen