We started our wonderful day by waking up at 7:10 in the morning. Farangiz woke up late even though she had the alarm clock (oops), but that’s okay. We ended up starting the day a little later than anticipated, but we still made it to breakfast, where we had bananas, strawberries, grapes, toasted bread, cheese, sausages, and a mysterious vegetarian dish (I hope it was delicious!). Some of us ate our toasted bread with either chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, or the one and only Nutella. After eating, we drove to Arevelo’s shoe factory in Guano, which is owned by Mr. Arevalo and his family. Growing up, Mr. Arevalo was extremely passionate about making shoes, and he was able to make a reality out of his dreams.

Mr. Arevalo and Dora Arevalo!

Master shoemaker at Arevalo (shoemaker in Guano, Ecuador) creates another masterpiece!

The minute we walked in, we were presented with the techniques of shoemaking from scratch. Turns out, they manufacture their shoes manually. From cutting the leather to shaping the shoes, the shoemakers fascinated us. Fun fact: the wrinkles on any type of 100% leather material will go away with fire. Speaking of 100% leather, this factory only utilizes such material. Even though we had to step out for fresh air a couple of times, we watched intently as the masters showed us the whole process of hand making shoes. Afterwards, we were given the opportunity to purchase their products straight from the factory.

Valeria, Natalie and Carla watch intently as the pair of shoes is finished!

Subsequently, we visited a shoe store that imports shoes from all over the world. We discovered a dramatic difference in the materials, prices, and styles.

A huge thanks to our Global Glimpse coordinators, who treated us with ice cream of our choice! We devoured the scrumptious ice cream and started heading to Roma Santa for lunch. We had pasta, green rice, fish, chicken, and lentils. YUM YUM YUMMY.

At around 2:30, we arrived back at the hotel to prepare for our Community Action Project (CAP) presentation. We can’t spill the beans yet; you’ll find out in a few days! To be completely honest, it was a bit stressful. However, we are extremely proud of everyone for stepping up and contributing to getting our project approved by the principal and her fellow coworkers.

Having some fun before the BIG CAP meeting!

Valeria, Farangiz and Rita working through the CAP while Lencho and Joanna get the tea ready for out guests!

Gina and Claire working on the CAP!

The principle and staff of Martiniano Guerrero School.

Farangiz, Joanna, Lencho, Valeria and the principle of Martiniano Guerrero School agree on the CAP!!!!!!

On our way to Roma Santa, we stopped by a store to buy hats and batteries for our cameras. For that, we would love to thank Sandra and Paul for making it possible. For dinner, we had burgers for both vegetarians and meat lovers, fries, and salad. As usual, dinner was the best meal. Time flew by and we didn’t realize we were running late for our nightly meeting.

Jax and Ramon…..or is it Ramon and Jax???

Our meeting tonight was fairly short but very comforting after a long and stressful day. There, we passed the torch to our LDDs for tomorrow: Anson and Aditya. By the way, it is Aditya’s birthday tomorrow, so wish him a happy birthday in the comments below! Thank you and have a wonderful night.

Birthday boy Aditya!

Leaders of the Day Joanna and Farangiz!!!