Hey everyone,

As per the norm of a free day, we had a slow start to the day. Wake-up call was at a belated 8:00, but I think most Glimpsers have grown used to waking at say 5:00 in the morning and woke up far earlier than the intended time, rendering the wake-up call obsolete in the process.

Anyways, after we all got up, brushed our teeth, and ate breakfast, it was free time. Whereas some chose to go straight back to bed or visit the internet café, I chose instead to meet up with the other delegation at the central park in front of the mayor’s office. (Fun fact: the central park is typically located directly in front of the mayor’s office and only the richest of the rich lived on the periphery of the central park.) Once we exchanged greetings with each other and grew acquainted with one another, we proceeded to compare and contrast our Global Glimpse experience here in Estelí.

One of the main differences between our experience was the location and design of our hostel as it influenced in part how we lived our lives. Since the other delegation’s hostel – El Chico – was conveniently located near the central park and various stores, the Glimpsers of that delegation tended to go out whenever they had the chance. On the other hand, our hostel – Hostel Tomabú – is located in a more remote location and Glimpsers naturally tend to gather at the terrace on the second floor and tend to stay at the hostel more than the Glimpsers of the other delegation.

Later on I chose to join in on a scavenger hunt throughout the city with the Glimpsers of the other delegation and explored the city, learned of the existence of various exceptional shops, and shopped/slurped/ate stuff on the way.

Lunch came next, but most people weren’t hungry since most people had eaten various snacks or pizza mere minutes before. Essentially “lunch” was basically a check-in point to make sure that everyone was still alive.

Anyway, afterwards everyone had free time once again and were free to do as they desired. This time I chose to take a trip to the internet café before going on a shopping spree to stock up on snacks and buy souvenirs. Unfortunately, many of the shops were closed today since most people went out to celebrate the liberation from Somoza’s dictatorship but at least I still managed to buy a couple of things.

Soon thereafter,  I went back to the hostel to join up for dinner with the others. We were surprised to discover that we would be served a traditional Nicaraguan dish consisting of yucca, pork rinds, lettuce, and carrots. I thought the dish was alright but it didn’t seem to appeal to the palettes of some of my other fellow Glimpsers.

So as usual we held a nightly meeting after dinner and discussed our roses and thorns of the day. Some people expressed their disappointment that shops were closed but on the whole most people had a wonderful time. Glimpsers were able to reconnect with their families once more and had the pleasure of meeting Glimpsers from the other delegation.

Anyway, seeing as there is a minute’s worth of lag after I type one sentence and that I have already had to retype my blog post once due to various technical difficulties, I’ll end and publish my post before the tablet freezes again and I have to retype this a third time.

Stayed tuned for the next update!

–Michael Tu