What a stressful day! The schedule was very hasty today. We woke up pretty early today at 6:20am, and breakfast began a little later than planned, but we had a good meal. Everyone wore comfortable clothing and shoes, which were expected to get dirty.

DSC_1015After having our breakfast, we had volunteers to carry some of the supplies that we needed to begin our work at the Hope Project. We loaded everything onto the van, and already we could tell that today would be a long one just by feeling the early sun’s heat on our faces. The beautiful view of the blue sky balanced out the fact that we were really hot. Driving to the Hope Project comedor, we stopped by Sor Maria to gather some more supplies that were necessary to complete the work that awaited us. We borrowed some power tools and bought some cement and made our way back to the van. Driving again, the van was very energetic because of the music played. Many people sang to the songs only to become quiet when passing by the ramshackled buildings.

Arriving to the comedor, our faces lit up to see children running out of the building’s front doors to greet us. The energy that we had earlier came back because we knew that we spent days discussing what we were to build and that we were actually there ready to work. We realized that we were not only doing this so we could become better leaders, but we were doing this to help these bright children. We were leaving our mark on Nicaragua and helping out the children of this and future generations.

DSC_0914Even though it may had been confusing for a short time, we seem to come together very quickly, grabbed those tools and started our mission. Having to wake up so early, to jumping straight into difficult work was hard for many, but it was very successful! Everything was so organized. We had four sections, people working on the partition, some on the bookshelf, some on the roof, and some of us were even entertaining the children. The bookshelf was fully completed within the first three hours! We had people hammering and it was all so well coordinated. We added the supporters which made the bookshelf even more stable, then coated the wood in varnish which made it look very nice. People that worked on the roof had to dig, hammer and saw. The framework for the roof was completed. For the group in the partition, we figured out what was wrong with it and we will continue working on it tomorrow.

DSC_1001Finally, after a long day of work and hours out in the sun, we drove back to the hostel and had a 25 minute break. We showered and got well dressed, knowing that we had to go to the last day of English tutoring right after dinner. After reviewing with our students what we’ve taught them these past few classes, we had very fun activities waiting for them. We had cake, variety of candies and even talent shows in some classes. It was very sad knowing that we would most likely never see these children/adults ever again; teaching our students made me realize how important our education is and that we need to be dedicated and passionate in order to complete our dreams and aspirations. My time in our Global Glimpse trip made me come to the realization that the little things in life matter a lot.

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