Hello, everyone !!! My name is Mariela and I am your last Global Glimpse leader.

Our day began by waking up early so that we can arrive in time. The airport that we were going to is 3 hours away from Esteli so we had to make sure that we would make it in time. Especially for Makayla who was going on a separate flight to Boston. Being the last leader on a day like this is a tremendous amount of responsibility. As the last leader, I had to make sure that everyone was awake and I had to make sure that everything was running in time. I couldn’t have done this with out the help of Shannon, John, Erik, Tanya, and Natasha and Chryston. Natasha was my roommate who helped me wake everyone up and Chryston was helping me in the airport. Since we had some free time most of the glimpsers decided to buy some souvenirs. This was the most stressful part of my day because I needed to make sure that everyone was ready to go on board. Despite all of the stress, I am so thankful for everyone that helped me and encourage me.

I am incredibly proud of my fellow glimpses. This trip has been a journey for all of us. During our time in Nicaragua, we all had to learn how to adapt to any given moment. (Especially when we were surprised with the events taking place in our schedule).

We were constantly pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, which took a lot of bravery. I noticed this when we were jumping off cliffs in the Somoto canyon.

As we embarked this journey, there were certain moments where we felt uncomfortable. But the thing is when one is feeling uncomfortable, it leaves us space to grow. This is what I saw in all of us by the end of the trip. We all matured in ways no one can understand.

As an individual, we must be proud and appreciative of this opportunity. Never forget that there were other students wishing to be in your place. Remember that not many students can say that they studied abroad during high school.

Never forget the dump, the view of the mountain, working and living in a local, our free days, our cap project, and all of the planning we did to tutor our students.

As you go home, please take the time to process everything that you saw. Also, make sure that you inform others about what you saw because if you don’t it’s like you never went on this trip.

By the end of this trip, I saw commitment, courage, and compassion in each and every one of you. These qualities helped us create an unbreakabke bond. I hope you all arrived safely and I am glad to have shared this experience with you!!