Hi all!

This is Kelsey, one of the Global Glimpse leaders on the Matagalpa 1 trip. We have officially completed our first day in Nicaragua! All of us are safe and accounted for and very tired from the day’s travel.

After flying for 5 and a half hours to San Salvador, we proceeded onto another plane for Managua, Nicaragua. Once we landed, grabbed our luggage, and went through customs, we met up with Silvan, our Site Manager, and Roxy, our Program Coordinator, who bestowed us with awesome bracelets handcrafted by Nicaraguan locals! We got onto our very colorful bus and rode 3 hours from Managua to reach our hostel in Matagalpa called Hostal El Rey (which means “the king”).

After setting down our luggage we all gathered around to play a name game to get to know one another before walking through the beautiful garden (full of pet turtles and large leaves) in the middle of our hostel to eat our lunch in the dining area. Then we had our Welcome Orientation, free time, and then dinner before finally ending the night with our Culture & Safety Orientation and Nightly Meeting.

No wonder we were tired! But it has been a great day of getting to know each other and grasping the basics of how the next 2 and a half weeks will go. I’m excited for Day 2.

Pictures will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!