Hey friends and family, it’s Jackie and Adriana here to update you all once again on our very eventful trip.

Today, we had another 6 a.m. wakeup call to get everyone ready for our first CAP Day (Community Action Project). Afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at our usual place, Buffet Estelí, which consisted of some yummy beans with sour cream, cheese, avocado, and a tortilla on the side.

The first step in our CAP itinerary was to start shopping for the materials to turn our project into a reality. We traveled from store to store in search of everything we needed. Wood for bookshelves and benches; plants, seeds, tiles, and fencing for our garden; paint, shovels, rakes, hammers, garbage cans, a wheelbarrow, gloves, hooks, and cinder blocks (60 of them) were also on the list. Like every other day, we had a jammed packed agenda, but this shopping adventure took much longer than we anticipated, resulting in us traveling on the bus from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Glimpser group took it all in stride nonetheless. We shared amazing stories and laughs, as well as sang along to some music provided to us by Devin and Alfredo.

After the shopping, we departed to La Montañita to drop off all of our materials and look over the garden, classrooms and playground to determine how much work we have to do over the next two days. As we were waiting for the school gates to open, we played some group games that were more challenging than usual. We dropped off lunch to the locals at La Montañita and got back onto the bus once again to go to English tutoring. Many students were absent today due to school testing but that didn’t stop some Glimpsers from being productive. While a couple of kids stayed to tutor, others snuck back to Hostel Tomabú to decorate the common area for Devin’s 17th birthday! We all met at Coffee and Cocktails for dinner where we enjoyed chicken, beef and lots of French fries. We made our way back to Hostel Tomabú where we surprised Devin with balloons and a smiley face emoji piñata!

After the hilarious destruction of the piñata, we enjoyed Nicaraguan candy. The nightly routine continued where we passed the torch to the new LDD’s Liz and Sidney. We learned a riddle and the Russian alphabet during the secret talent tradition, and then we sang happy birthday to Devin while enjoying some delicious cake and ice cream. A food fight with the cake then broke out leaving some Glimpsers in desperate need of a shower.

Although we are all having an amazing time on this leadership journey and cherishing our last few days together, we miss home and are excited to return to share all of our newly gained knowledge and memories with our friends and family. From Nicaragua to you, much love.

Adios, Adriana and Jackie.