Hola!

My name is Sophia and I was LÍder del Día or Leader of the Day. Today was our first free day, where we were allowed to split into groups and explore Guaranda and interact with the locals in an informal setting. Since we were still getting use to the layout of the city, our Global Glimpse Leader Amy and our Program Coordinators, Diana and Heyssel, accompanied us. My group went to the local supermarket Tía, and bought snacks, stuffed animals, and a soccer ball. Afterwards, we walked down to a playground and played some soccer. We were all out of breath by the end of the game! The other group went to Plaza Roja and took lots of pictures, some of which you will see below. They also went to an internet cafe, where they called their parents. Our two groups coincidently meet up at Plaza Roja, where our two groups mingled then went to a hardware store to check out prices of materials for our CAP project

After our first excursion out into the city, we headed to the hotel for lunch. After lunch we were able to go back out and explore more of the city. My group went to the farmers’ market in search of an Ecuadorian fruit called granadilla, which resembles a passion fruit. The farmers’ market lets farmers from the surrounding area bring their produce directly from their land to sell. After that, we visited another supermarket called Akí, where we bought more snacks. It was interesting comparing similarities and difference between Ecuadorian markets and US markets. We had to leave our bags in lockers at the front entrance! Meanwhile, the other group went to Tía and then they went to a cafe and had boba tea.

As LÍder del Día, it was an interesting experience trying to lead multiple groups that were in separate places. When we separated, I had to make sure that all the members in my group got to see what they wanted, while also keeping track of the time, so that we weren’t late for the next activity. When we were all together, I had to inform the group of changes in the schedule and remind people to drink water and reapply sunscreen. Our group had to be flexible because many shops that we wanted to visit where closed on Sunday. We were also given limited time for each outing and had to use our time wisely so that we got to see what we all wanted. Overall, I had a great time being LÍder del Día and our group had a wonderful and educational day sightseeing Guaranda.

Be sure to stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.

Love,

The Glimpsers