Hello family and friends of L1C, your first co-leaders are Kali Tagomori-Lai and Hillary Huang from San Francisco.
Today was our very first reality challenge, to experience life as a local. Everyone seemed hot, sweaty and exhausted but managed to pull through.
As the leaders of the day, we had to wake up at 5:30 AM and get everyone on their feet in a timely manner. Due to the early wakeup call, breakfast was served at an unusually early time. Since we were living like a local, we were limited to gallo pinto and water. After breakfast, we made our way to the Punta de Plancha community where we spent four hours with our host families. It was very kind of them to have opened their homes up to us and allowed us to see what their lives are like on a day to day basis. We were fortunate enough to help with their everyday chores: sweeping, getting water from the well and playing with the little ones. Around the homes we also saw a lot of domesticated animals. The families in the communities seemed very happy even with their limited resources, which makes us appreciate what we have back in the states. After the long day, we surprised the whole community with a piñata and lunch. After having our meals with our families, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.
When we headed back to our hostel, we broke up into our small teaching groups and began our English tutoring preparation.
Then we moved into a two hour community action project seminar. This was only our second seminar about our CAP project and we discussed the overall design. We decided on remodeling the playground, refurbishing the cafeteria and creating a small garden for the children at Los Ninos y Ninas Del Fortin school. Stay tuned to find out more about how our community action project turns out.
After that we headed back to Comedor Imabite to eat our final meal of the day, gallo pinto again. We had to eat fast so that we could make it to our first English tutoring. Mangos were falling from the trees above and slightly distracted everyone from the class. From what we heard, everything ran smoothly but not all the students showed up. The students seemed very hard-working and willing to learn English. Shortly after 8:00 pm, we headed back to the hostel for our nightly meeting and reflection.
Being co-leaders, it made it easier to manage the whole group. We were able to communicate our ideas and not overshadow each other. One advice that we personally took to heart was step up but also step down. This was super important for us as co-leaders. As the third leaders of the day, it was surprisingly easier than we thought. Everyone was super understanding and supportive of us. Thank you all for following our adventures in Leon, Nicaragua.
Thank You both of you for a summary of the day,Maria I hope you enjoyed the one time you will probably be doing chores during your stay. I cant wait to share my college list with you when you get back. We all love you.
Are there more pictures? It sounds like an experience that might have been a little difficult at first but a valuable one for all.
Sophia-I’m so proud of you. I hope your allergies aren’t bothering you too much or the insects either!
Everyone misses you
Love mom
Hello, How Amazing sounds like a genuine experience “Living like a local” What is gallo pinto? Can’t wait to hear all the details when you come home Michael. Things are normal at home. We miss you Michael. Love Mom
Kudos to Kali and Hillary for collaborating together as Leaders of the Day and giving us a peek into what living as a local looks like as well as what activities you as a group have been and will be involved with in the coming days! Your plans are ambitious and admirable and we know that you will all work together to make it all happen.
Your families back at home are all very excited to read and hear about your experiences and look forward to reading your daily blog to learn more about what you’ve been up to…we want more pictures! Sending lots of love and positive energy to all of you!
Hi Kush,
We came back from a two-day trip to Big Sur and read the last three blogs, as there was no Internet there. Kudos to the student leaders for capturing the details of daily activities so well! Your community action project seems like a great idea and I am looking forward to hearing progress on that through these blogs.
I hope you remembered to eat your malaria medicine today!
Love
Dad
Hi Sean,
Love hearing about what the group is doing. Spending a day “as a local” sounds exhausting, exillerating and educational. I can’t wait to hear more. What is gallo pinto and did you like it? I am glad you had a fun day at the beach. Ryan is in Cub Scout camp this week. His week is the polar opposite from yours. He is kayaking, riding SUPs and canoeing in Newport Beach. What a difference. Please post more pictures as it is fun seeing you and your friends experiencing Nicaragua. We love you,
Aunt Julie, Uncle Todd and Ryan
Hi Gina/Tubby!
Man living like a local sounds totally harsh. But the experience sounds awesome and totally immersive. I need to start losing some weight, so maybe I should only eat Gallo pinto and drink water. Days are still dreading on without you as usual. Sorrry for any typos on the comments lol, typing on an IPhone every morning is awful. Nothing else new is happening right now. For today, I’m just planning to squad up with my friends and go Pokemon hunting in your area for a Dragonite. 我爱你和很想念你!
Love,
Stubby
Kali & Hillary, congrats on stepping up to be the first leaders of the day. It sounds like you set the bar high for your peers. Congrats also on your first day teaching english. Usually the first day is the toughest so if you survived day one, it should get easier from there. You only have one picture but it is super adorable! I hope you didn’t make it too difficult for her to get the candy out of that pinata.
Wow 6am. I’m sure my girl loved that. ??
I know you all are having a great time and hope you enjoyed your times spending with the locals. The kids look really happy with that piñata.
Love you Special.
Mom.
Dear Kush,
I don’t know how you managed to wake up so early when you’ve been getting up at like 11 or 12 everyday…LOL proud of you!!! Glad you’re having an amazing time and I hope to hear from you soon. Miss you lots
Hi Stella!!
I’m so sorry I missed your messages I’m honestly super sad sigh. But it looks like you’re having fun! Living like a local must have been a crazy experience I couldn’t imagine.
Just wanted to let you know I love and miss you and I’ve been working so much I’m really tired. I’m taking the next two days off but it’s time to work on my car I promised you that it’d be done for the most part when you’re back!!!
Congratulations to Kali & Hillary on your co-leadership experience. It must leave you a wonderful feeling at the end of the day. I like how Brent said ” you set the bar high for your peers”. Way to go girls…I am so proud of you. I can’t wait to hear more about your first day teaching English. Keep up the amazing work.
Kali and Hillary, thanks for the update. Sounds like a lot of hard but rewarding work. It’s great to hear about your enthusiasm as you get acquainted with local customs.
Natalie, it was another hot day today, we took Nathan and his friends to the San Ramon pool. It was 104 there! So hot! They are spending the night as Nathan’s birthday celebrations continue. Hope you are acclimating to your surroundings. We miss you!
Mommy,Daddy, Nathan and Olive
Hello to everyone in L1C! Hope you all are enjoying the warmth and beauty of Leon. You’re in an incredible city with amazing people. Props also to Carlos Cruz, the winner of this year’s San Marin AVID March Madness competition, who made the University of Nebraska at Omaha sound like it was an incredible place to go to school. Just ask him about what it’s like to present in front of 75 screaming participants. Looking forward to the blog postings that lay out the adventures you’re all having. Stay classy in Nica!
Wassup special , miss u on the outs
Love
Dear Kali & Hillary – So happy & proud of you for co-leading the day and sharing so concisely the experience of living as a local. Loved your reflection about teamwork…”step up but also step down” All of you are certainly having very full and busy days…definitely an experience of a lifetime! Wishing all of you the very best as you continue to tutor English as well as plan and progressively implement your CAP! Mwah!….Auntie Amy
Best friend!!! I miss you ! I hope you’re having a great time! I really can’t wait to hear all about it! See you soon❤️ Love you Jas
-Chrystal