Hola! Saludos desde Granada!

All of us glimpsers started off our long day at 7AM with a familiar meal of corn flakes, toast,  jam, and bananas for breakfast. We traveled back to the hostel where we prepared and continued to discuss the loose ends of our community action project. After stressful and intense seminars, we finally were able to practice our pitch to the Hotel con Corazon. Excited yet anxious, we headed over to the hotel in hopes of approval.

Our presentation consisted of eight glimpsers who each talked about an aspect of our garden that is soon to be constructed. Although not all of the presenters were used to public speaking, we were able to take the risk and step outside of our comfort zones. Fortunately, we got very positive feedback from the head director, Marcela, and from the staff of Hotel con Corazon. While presenting, because we’ve experienced so much controversy during the last couple of  seminars, our hearts were lifted when we heard Marcela exclaim “Fantastic!”.  This is where each of us personally felt that our hard work had paid off and where we finally felt ready to start construction!

Walking back to the hostel took a big weight off of all our chests, and we were rewarded with a delicious lunch consisting of chachuzca (ridiculous delicious steak!), rice, pasta, salad, and plantains that satisfied our grumbling stomachs. We then revised our project based on the hotel’s feedback and we were able to start buying the actual supplies. As we were on a tight budget, we went to the hardware store and managed to buy the necessary materials needed for our garden. Because we were super excited to buy all materials right away, most of us got carried away adding more and more mountains of supplies to our shopping cart. As tension began to rise again due to the fact that we spent half of our budget on smaller things, glimpsers began to ask “Is this really necessary?” and “why do we need this?”. We decided to make a few sacrifices that made more adjustments to our project.

After all of this decision making, everyone was given three hours of free time to roam around the city of Granada (in groups of 4+). Although the city isn’t as big as it seems, we each still had our own adventures. On my adventure (Leah), I decided to walk around the city with a group of four. We refreshed ourselves with smoothies from a local shop (I got a mocha smoothie with bananas, yay!) and then continued to explore the central square, buying small knick-knacks and souvenirs. We then made our way past the square going through other small shops and thrift stores, and in the end, we ended up at the international internet cafe. I called my family and was able to talk with my dad for a few minutes, curing my homesickness briefly, (PS: I miss and love you all, family!!) and then I struggled with the slow internet in an attempt to contact friends (but I gave up). In the end, I made my way back to the hostel. Similar to Leah, my (Eli) free day consisted of a yummy and refreshing smoothie from La Cosecha Siembra where I was told it was a “must go to”place in Granada. I tried one of the smoothies named “Que Calor” to cool down  from the extreme humidity and heat. After tasting different shakes and smoothies from other glimpsers we were all extremely satisfied with the drinks leaving us craving for more. After, I was able to communicate with my loving family at the internet cafe who I dearly miss and love. The sound of their voice filled my heart with joy and I was nothing but happy and eager to share my experience I’ve had here with them.

At the end of our free time, we all met back at the hostel and planned our last lesson for English tutoring. We were once again rewarded with spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, and then we finished off our day with our regular nightly meeting back at the hostel. As much as we enjoyed being leaders, we were happy to pass the “torch” (lanyard) to our fellow glimpser Roxana, crowning her to be the next Leader del Dia! We hope all is well in the Bay Area (or New York) and buenas noches!

Much Love,

Eli  and Leah (Eliah del dia :D)