¡Hola from Estelí!

It’s Raychelle and Hannah! Sorry for the delayed blog post-we’ve been crazy busy!

 

Tiffany handing over the leadership torch, along with Bryan & Mel.

Tiffany handing over the leadership torch, along with Bryan & Mel.

For our Leader of the Day talent, we sang every president’s last name in under twenty-four seconds! This was the night that Lauren and Kenyatta had free time to enjoy the Estelí culture, so Bryan and Mel oversaw our nightly meeting!

 

The 16th was one of the most hectic days of our trip thus far! It was day three of our four CAP (Community Action Project) days, Delivery! This meant that we spent eight hours of our day at Los Bomberos, the center of the firemen and EMTs of Estelí. This is where we have spent our three weeks teaching English, so we thought it would be the perfect place to improve!
Mia working in the dreaded bathroom.

Mia working in the dreaded bathroom.

The day started off nice and early, 6 AM, followed by our usual breakfast at Buffet Estelí. After a 30 minute walk to the city center, we arrived at Los Bomberos. To start off, many groups went out shopping to complete our supply list needed for cleaning and painting the space. The list of things we wanted to accomplish became a little overwhelming, but the Glimpsers maintained their determination.
Although we originally planned on being in separate groups (cleaners, painters, artists, builders) to “divide and conquer,” we quickly learned we would be more time efficient by working together. It was nice to see everyone taking on jobs that were not originally assigned to them to keep things running smoothly.
The Bomberos were generous enough to power wash the room.

The Bomberos were generous enough to power wash the room.

Throughout the day, the sign out sheet was very busy. This was the first day that the Glimpsers were really able to take advantage of their group in/out privileges, meaning we are allowed to go out in groups of four or more. Hannah took the role as the stationary leader and stayed back at the firehouse to make sure everything went well. Raychelle was in charge of doing supply runs, and made at least 4 trips to the paint store to continually buy and exchange paint. We chose a sky blue and bright red to brighten up the room. With her little knowledge of Spanish, we were so thankful to our In-Country Coordinator, Bryan for patching up the language barrier making sure we bought the right supplies.
Hannah holding down the fort at Los Bomberos.

Hannah holding down the fort at Los Bomberos.

FSLN festivities in the city center.

FSLN festivities in the city center.

July 16th also happens to be an important historical day in Estelí. On this day in 1979, the Insurrection of the Sandinista Revolution occured right here in Estelí. The streets were lined with different vendors and FSLN support, along with fireworks and sparklers going off all day long!

By the end of the morning, all of the loose paint had been chipped or sanded and the floors had been scrubbed and mopped. However, the bathrooms were a whole other story. It appeared they had two separate bathrooms for men and women, but only one bathroom had any hope of being repaired. The one that was too far gone was going to be turned into a storage space.
Matt, Ezra, & Chloe chipping paint off the staircase wall.

Matt, Ezra, & Chloe chipping paint off the staircase wall.

After a brief lunch break, provided by Buffet Estelí, and some quick trips to the celebration at the Parque de Central, we got to painting! It was wonderful to see everyone working together! We were fortunate enough to have twelve of our English class students come to help. We really felt like a part of the community.
After our walk back to the hostel and dinner, we ran our usual nightly meeting and went to bed, eager to finish our CAP the next day!
TO OUR FAMILIES: We can’t wait to see you guys on Monday morning, but we are having a great time enjoying this once in a lifetime experience!
XOXOXO