Hey guys!
Alright so today was a pretty hectic day, but nothing starts off a day of hard work like a big plate of pancakes! Today was the day that we finally finished our CAP project! Finally being able to stand back and admire all the tasks we accomplished for the community felt so amazing. From being apart of this opportunity, we have all taken away a few things…

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Always keep in mind the reason behind the task. Throughout these past three days, it was a little easy to lose sight of what drove us to do the mural or the landscaping in the first place, when at the end of the day, it’s all for the kids and the teachers. We didn’t commit ourselves to the CAP project to be able to say, “Wow! I did a mural in Nicaragua!” We did it, because we aspire to create something beyond the physical. It is one thing to make a preschool look like a million bucks, but it’s another to inspire the young minds of the community to strive for happiness and success through the road of education.
Another thing we have all learned was that group projects can get pretty crazy, especially in groups involving seventeen people. From this, however, we have learned how to cooperate with one another in order to get the job done with ease. The secret to being successful in working as a team is kindness and hard work. With those comes respect, commitment and compassion.

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In all honesty, the thing that surprised me most today was seeing the street dog that is ALWAYS laying down by the lady making carne asada was actually standing tonight on our way back from tutoring.
As I gleamed at all my peers tonight as we all came to eat, I could only be proud of them and the work we have accomplished together. So, out of the love of in the moment, I could not help but make a toast! So we all raised our glasses of natural juice and shouted “salúd” to a day’s hard work.
After dinner, we all took a stroll to the school where we tutor and for some of us…the nightly tutoring session was a little interesting. For those who were tutoring the young kids of course…haha…everyone just remember that the word “test” in plural ends in an “-s” not “-es.”

We all love and miss you guys!! Although we are living it up here in the streets of Estelí, we are anxious to see you all again and eat hamburgers…and of course, cereal!!

“Peace out from Estelí 1A, later”
Sincerely, Briel Eckel 🙂