Day 1

After an overnight flight from San Francisco, we arrived safely at the airport in Managua, Nicaragua at 9:30am where we met our hosts and in-country coordinators Norman and Asha.

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Norman is originally from Masaya, which is a short drive away from Matagalpa. Asha is originally from the Netherlands and she has spent 5 months here in Nicaragua. They’ve both spent the last three months planning excursions and prepping for our Glimpsers. Both leaders are energetic, have developed a terrific educational program for us, and helped us assimilate to the 90 degree heat and humidity. We have water bottles and are refilling them constantly.

The first order of business was lunch. It was delicious! The students had several options, including carné asada, poyo, lengua de salsa, and gaio-pinto. And then we were off to Matagalpa on a two hour bus ride up the mountains. It was a beautiful drive.

Once we arrived in Matagalpa, we were greeted by the hostel staff who promptly helped move our luggage into the hostel. Rooms were assigned and the students showered and rested while the GG leaders discussed strategies and plans for the next three weeks. At this time, we won’t describe all the activities we have planned. Rather each day a student will be El Lider del Dia (Leader of the Day), whose job will be to describe for you the events of the day. Students were permitted to make one minute phone calls to let parents know that they arrived safely.

After our meeting, we had more delicious food for dinner at the hostel followed by our first group meeting where everyone learned each other’s names by playing various ice-breaking activities. By 8pm, we ended the day and turned in for a well needed rest for a big day tomorrow where we’ll be learning about the history of Nicaragua.

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