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.
Thanks for the updates, Adriana and Jackie.
Belated Birthday Greetings, Devin! I’m sure you’ll never forget your 17th celebration!
That’s a lot of cinderblocks!!! Did you cart them around on a bus? I love the enthusiasm y’all have for your CAPs. How wonderful to have a collective vision and then see it through to completion.
Take care,
—Jenne, Tyler’s ‘rent
[Hey Tyler! Not much new here. Mako is clingy. Toph is aloof. HeiBai is snakie. We all love you and miss you!!!]
It’s so fun to read the blog while I am having lunch at work! Happy belated Birthday to you, Devin! What an unforgettable 17th birthday!
Daisy, Dayton will be bringing you a bobba tea on June 24th 🙂
Ellen ( Daisy’s mom)
Kamryn!! Katie, Jess, and Bailey here 🙂 It looks like you are having so much fun and we miss you in WG! Can’t wait for you to get back, have fun on the rest of your trip!! Love you <3 (I'll see you when I get back but have fun at Vball 🙂 -katie)
Kamryn, sitting at home reading the blog and smiling as I think about you all getting into a food fight! I could only imagine all the laughs! So happy to hear you’re having a great time… it makes the missing you a little more bearable!! Jayden misses you too and of course those crazy animals! Lucky is driving us crazy as usual since you’re not here. <3
Can’t wait to see how the project turns out! Thank you for the update. Happy birthday Devin, I hope you enjoyed the surprise.
Bernardo, ya estoy en Davis, por si me quieres llamar. Te mando un abrazote. Espero que la sigas pasando bien. 🙂
What? You didn’t stop at Home Depot and have your materials delivered to the jobsite? Ahh… the things we take for granted living in the Bay Area. Transporting 60 cinder blocks by bus, now that’s work! With your collective determinations the CAP will be done in no time. Best of luck.
LA, mom is counting the days….
That sounds like a very full day. And a lot of work to transport the cinder blocks you needed for the project. You all seem to be working very hard to create something special that you can leave behind. Can’t wait to see the completed project.
??you all made me cry. From the bottom of my heart, I just wanted to send a huge THANK YOU for making Devin’s 17th birthday a memorable one. To the wonderful glimpsers, you guys ROCK. To the wonderful leaders, you guys are AMAZING. Thank you too for all the great stories on the blog. What a wonderful opportunity to have a great experience in ESTELLI at your ages. Have a safe trip back home. I love all of you and your beautiful ❤️s.
Good job to all of you