It’s our PC Summer’s birthday!

What happens when the kids get ahold of a GGL’s phone

The winning moves in our energizer

Playing hopscotch

Hanging out with the families

Helping the families

The adventures of living like a local started the day before.We started off this experience by getting around the hostel with only our flashlights (Part of this experience was cutting off the electricity) and taking bucket showers. We started off the day with a 6 am wake up call (which was originally scheduled in for 5) followed by a breakfast at Imabite that only contained a serving of gallo pinto and a tortilla. We then took a trip to a community, Reparto Tomas Borge, to live like a local.

 At the community, we were split into 8 groups of 3 – 4. Although many of the originally planned families were at work or busy, the program coordinators and community were able to find families to “adopt” us. We shared many experiences, stories, memories, laughs, games and more with these families. Because we were to live like a part of the family, many of us helped with house work. This included raking leaves, cleaning dishes, folding clothes, and gardening. Once the house work was over, the families introduced us to fun and games. This is where the many different personalities of the families. The children, and Glimpsers, found joy in playing soccer, braiding hair, juggling, throwing balls, and talking about anything and everything.

Before we departed, we had two pinatas for the children of the families. The children were excited to hit a spiky ball shaped pinata and a terrifying clown pinata. After the pinata, we headed back to the families homes to share a meal and leave. Many Glimpsers had difficulty saying adios to these families they connected to. Bonds were made and stories were shared.

After visiting Reparto Tomas Borge, we prepared for our CAP presentation to Amalia. In a brief summary, the presentation was a total success. Amalia loved the idea of repainting the murals inside the classroom walls and retouching the murals outdoors. The biggest priority of our CAP is to inspire the youth to have a bright future with positivity in their life. Not only will our murals create a positive aroma, but fixing up the backyard and providing trashcans will also help encourage their education. We still have a long way to go, but it’s a start.

Today was our first day exploring Leon without adult supervision and 60 cordobas ($2). Parents don’t worry; we made it back safe and sound. Plus there was pretty strict rules. we had to be in groups of four or more, come back 15 minutes before the next event, provide info about where we are going, and the leaders would check up on us often. So its all good. Drivers are unsurprisingly more tolerant with smaller groups of people.

After dinner, we came back to the hostel for our nightly meeting. As a result of no tutoring today, our free time was like 2 hours!! Now we are here writing this blog and yea. This group of Glimpsers gets closer and closer everyday. Every situation gives us more opportunities to work together, build positive relationships, explore the world, and discover change. Sorry, this is like an essay. I like essays

– giselle & jocelyn