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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Another eventful, educational day I see. Jax I hope you remembered I wear a size 8 in shoes. What a great experience to see a cobbler at work. Jax and Ramon I couldn’t tell who was who LOL. I love the matching outfits.
Again I love seeing the great things you are all doing. Thank you for taking us on this journey with you.
BTW HAPPY 😃 HAPPY 😃 BIRTHDAY 🎂 ADITYA 🎁Enjoy your special day with your new friends in a very special place.
Happy Birthday to Aditya! Sounds like you are all learning lots of information and gaining new skills. Keep up the great work! Sis, we miss you. I know you are having fun and hopefully taking a lot of pictures. Have a good day to all on the trip and I’m looking forward to your next adventure.
P.S. I went shopping with Rachel today and she left a birthday present for you! I love you!!
Congratulations on getting your CAP project approved! And happy birthday Aditya! Max, we were late reading the day 8 entry, so it was too late to comment. We’re sorry – it looked like you and Frida did a great job as LDD. I’m excited for you that the CAP involves art. I know you’ll excel at that too. Keep working hard and having fun. You look happy and beautiful. We love you and miss you – it’s been so long … we’re DYING! Love, Mom
Frida did you get some shoes? I bet that was really cool to see the whole process of making shoes, it’s hard work and most of the time not paid well, But di you buy some?. Seems that every day you are having these amazing experiences and most of all you are meeting all these great hard-working people. Enjoy, enjoy and learn !!!. Love you Bb, I miss you so so much.
Happy B-Day Aditya! Many happy returns of the day. We all miss you so much.
Congrats on getting the CAP passed by the school! Happy Birthday Aditya- Felicidades!
Aditya!!!! Happy happy birthday!!! Everyday I am so impressed by what you guys and gals are doing!!! Can’t wait to read tomorrow’s blog!!
Nutella I get, but toasted bread with chocolate or caramel syrup??!! Interesting choices! I can’t wait to hear about your CAP. I would love to hear how the weather is – it looks much warmer than anticipated? Also – how was the laundry experience? I’m so happy for all of you, it looks like an adventure of a lifetime!! Keep up with the wonderful pictures and amazing details in your posts. I have the blog up and constantly refresh every evening anticipating hearing about your new day. I miss my daughter so very much – I just went through and re-read all of the posts to feel closer to her. You are half way through the trip – make the most of every minute! No regrets!
Hi, Natalie is mom, we miss you so much, Frankie sends you a message he says he misses you we can’t wait to see you when you get back.
Love and Hugs,
Erika Cisneros mom