Hello again families of my fellow Glimpsers,
Shenise here again writing my last blog for this trip. As the trip is coming to an end, we had our last Fun Day in which we took a trip to Somoto Canyon. Today we began our trip by waking up at 5:30 (a decision made everyone which meant that we would have to take our showers the previous night). From the Hostal, we got on the bus, picked up breakfast, and some firefighters to help ensure our safety and began our hour long bus ride. Upon arriving to the information sight for the canyon, we stopped for a bathroom break and received our life vests that were MANDATORY throughout the trip.

After a hike to the actual river that we would be treading through, we paired up with our buddies from our Working Like A Local Day and began treading. There were a few rocky moments (literally), but with our partners we were able to overcome any obstacles that we may have faced. Although some may have entered the day with fear for what was to come, throughout the day everyone was able to step out of their comfort zones and cross a few things off of their bucket list…

If your read my co-blogger Hirmine’s blog entry prior to mine, she stated one of the questions frequently asked by parents ” If your friends were to jump off a cliff, would you do it to?” and today we were actually able to answer that question. Yes ! You guessed correctly.. WE WENT CLIFF DIVING !! For those of you who know me, there was no way I was going to jump off a big cliff, but I did jump off a baby one 😂. Even those who did not initially  see themselves diving, ended up doing it and loving the experience. Some even made their own ”water slide” lol. Then after a long 3 hours of going in and out of water, we got on a boat which took up to the place where we would be hiking up to get on our bus and eat lunch.

After lunch, we headed to the Shop of Rosquillos to buy some snacks then headed back to the Hostel where we continued to gather supplies for our CAP project and prepare our lessons for our second to last, and last English Tutoring sessions. At 5 we walked to tutoring and even though we did not have many students due to the pouring rain, everyone still had an successful session. (A woman in my intermediate group even offered to buy us pizza tomorrow during our free day as thanks for working with her). We then headed to dinner at Buffet Estelí where we enjoyed chicken, plain rice (no Gallo Pinto), and plantains and exchanged a few laughs.

With the help of my awesome ELDD partner Hirmine, we all had a fun & great day and finally headed back to the Hostal. As usual, we had our nightly meeting, passed the leadership torch to CiCi, and now I sit here writing this blog. My words alone are not enough to capture the fun and feel of the day, but I am glad that I got to share this experience with you all tonight and I am in the company of your children and loved ones here in Estelí, Nicaragua. Check back in tomorrow to hear from our new ELDD about our Free Day tomorrow. We love and miss you all <3

P. S Mama, J, and anyone else who may be reading this post from New York in my honor tonight, I miss you all and get more and more anxious to see you as the days fly by. I hope you all have not forgotten about me and I cant wait to share my experiences! Have fun in Panama J; see you when you come back. I will try to call you tomorrow on my free day so await my call. Love you lots