Hi everyone! As today’s Leader of the Day I woke everyone up for a lovely breakfast on the patio. After chatting and enjoying the beautiful, cool morning view we went inside to hear our Politics Seminar. Our GG Leaders had us read an article about Nicaragua’s current President Daniel Ortega that opened my, and the rest of the group’s, eyes about the cruel way in which he politically suppresses yet appeases the Nicaraguan people.

Doña Sonia and our wonderful GG Program Coordinators Chelsea and Dennis.

Doña Sonia and our wonderful GG Program Coordinators Chelsea and Dennis.

Later on, we rode the bus through the tightly packed, bustling Nicaraguan city streets to El Calvario, a point overlooking the city of Matagalpa. Doña Sonia, a participant in the revolution, spoke to us about her plight. I, and many of my other friends, were emotionally moved. Even though not all of us could verbally communicate with her directly, we all connected with her story of being in between “a rock and a hard place” as she ran away from her home, abandoning all she knew, because the National Guard was persecuting her. Her ideas for the future of Nicaragua, her participation in the community, and the concept of constant love in her life was truly inspiring for all of us to hear. And of course, we got to take in the amazing (windy!) view of the city and snap lots of pictures!

Group picture taking in the great view of Matagalpa.

Group picture taking in the great view of Matagalpa.

 

Awaiting the speech by Doña Sonia.

Awaiting the speech by Doña Sonia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the hostel I got to lead the group in a political activity! We made a list of “what we want in our USA” and “what we do not want in our USA”. It was really interesting to discuss what we all thought and how we got to those thoughts. We really grew as a familia in that we discussed back and forth about what we all want for the future.

After that, we got to learn about our CAP! Our CAP, Community Action Project, is with Los Pipitos. They are a non-profit organization that works with disabled children in Matagalpa; there will for sure be more details to come on future blog posts about our progress in developing, designing, and delivering our CAP.

Hand-in-hand walking to tutoring

Hand-in-hand walking to tutoring

The most notable event of our evening was English tutoring! This was our first night and we were all very jittery but excited. We all walked hand-in-hand with our buddies, and prepared for the challenge. Some classes, like my own, were more challenging than others. However, we all came back to the hostel laughing and sharing stories about our students, our struggles, and our accomplishments. We definitely will be more prepared for next time, and understand how HARD it is to teach!

Our day was jam-packed but the energy was constant. We all experienced a lot of emotions: sadness, happiness, despair, glee and fright. In reflection we always bring up how we are growing together as a family (after all, we did share a “family size” box of Oreos) and I felt that growth today. I, and the rest of my fellow Glimpsers, cannot wait to see what the city of Matagalpa brings for us to discover and question on our journey tomorrow.

Feeling accomplished as the first ELLD student!

Feeling accomplished as the first ELLD student!