(Tiffany)

Many difficulties and realizations were made today after our second reality challenge, which involved us shadowing a family living in poverty. Today’s theme was “living on $1 a day,” meaning that everyone would wake up bright and early at 5 a.m.  Though it was actually still quite dark out and many stumbled around, we took bucket showers with no running water and spent the day without electricity or electronics of any kind. Our diet today was also minimalized, so that we too would eat about the same amount that one living in poverty would eat on a daily basis.

Our first meal of the day was a variety of fruits, oats, and yogurt, which helped keep us energized for our field trip of the day to the small community of Tejerina. Essentially, Tejerina is considered to be an extremely impoverished community, yet by the end of our visit, we all found the locals to be kind and very open to sharing their stories. Upon arrival to Tejerina, students were divided into groups of about two to three in order to shadow and interact with families throughout the community. Students had the chance to learn how to milk a cow, make tortillas by hand, wash clothes and dishes without the luxury of various appliances, and, in general, just have a good time without the seemingly necessary electricity. Lunch consisted of a tortilla and rice with shredded chicken, and was brought to every student and their host family to be eaten together. During the final hour, every student and child of the host families congregated at the local elementary school to play a few rounds of soccer, and the children got to break open a piñata. Sadly, we finally had to leave, going back to the comfort of our hostel for some much needed rest.

Upon return, representatives of the CAP project met together today to finalize plans to beautify and update “Los Pipitos.”  The plan will be presented in front of GG leaders and Dona Yadira tomorrow afternoon.

Dinner was a meager meal of oatmeal, water and a loaf of bread.  Though it was a struggle, we managed to be OK for the rest of the day. We then had our second day of English tutoring, which was an overall success on everyone’s part. It was unanimous that the relationship between the Glimpsers and the students improved greatly, and that our students continued to progress during their lessons.

(Serena)

I think I speak for all of us when I say  today has been another eye opener. Not only are the people we meet everyday extremely inspiring, kind, and generous, but the 25 people who are experiencing this (besides myself) are simply amazing. The bravery, passion, open-mindedness, and care that these people show makes you see life completely anew. Today made me remember and see how lucky I am back at home – I have electricity, warm water, and a dish washer, while the inhabitants of Tejerina take bucket showers and have faulty electricity. We don’t have to wonder where our next meal comes from or if our house will be flooded when it rains.We have to remember that we are lucky. We have to remember that anything can happen in a matter of seconds, so tell the people you love that you love them and never stop thanking the amazing people in your life. “I love you” and “Thank you” is not said nearly enough for the incredible things we have.

So, thank you parents, family, and friends because we wouldn’t be where we are or who we are without you. <3

Tiffany, Linh-Mai, and Thuong with their host family

Serena and Mohammed with their host family