“If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good!”- Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Today, in Jinotega, J1C embarked on its first fun day. After 3 days of learning about the country, the city, and the culture, we finally got to have fun and enjoy some of the incredible recreational activities that Jinotega has to offer. For our first fun day, we took a field trip to Lago de Apanas, the largest man-made lake in Nicaragua.  After a delicious breakfast at La Familiar (the food is incredible here for all of the worrying mothers who want to know), we headed out to the lake where we played team-building games such as futbol (soccer), relevo de palo (a game involving walking across sticks), skiing group, and water balloon volleyball. A quick lunch of arroz con pollo on the bus was followed by a kayaking adventure on the lake. Everyone had a great time and no one fell in, with myself coming the closest, twice. We soon returned to Jinotega where we prepared for English tutoring, had our first meeting about the Community Action Project, and learned that we will be doing it at Escuela Villa la Cruz, an elementary school in Jinotega that serves lower income students. We finished the day with a fantastic dinner of Nica-style hot dogs, a great way to end a very delightful day.

As the first El Lider del Dia (Leader of the Day), I got the opportunity to see my fellow glimpsers from an outside perspective. I think today really was a big step for us in terms of our team building activities. The competitive spirit and the teamwork displayed today was incredible to watch and I think today our group learned more about ourselves than Nicaragua. What surprised me the most today was the energy and dedication showed by everyone while playing futbol on a water-drenched field. I’m sure we all left our hearts as well as our dryness and general dignity out there. Additionally, the friendship and cooperation shown towards each other today made me so proud to be the leader of the day. I really believe that this is the beginning of something fantastic.

Being the leader of the day was a very fun experience. The group was very responsive and made being the leader easy. I never felt overwhelmed and was able to feed off of their energy and continue to be a positive influence on the rest of my peers. I was very lucky to be able to hone some of my leadership skills and it was a privilege to be able to lead my peers today. The last question I am supposed to answer is what did I learn about myself, but I spent so much time learning about my fellow glimpsers, I did not have a lot of time for introspective thought. However, I did realize that no matter how confident you are in your skills or what those skills are, they always have room to be practiced and improved. No matter how good I think my leadership skills may be, I can always be better.

Good Night from Jinotega, Nicaragua- Andy

The competitive spirits came out today!

The competitive spirits came out today!