imageHello friends and family! It is your leaders of the day: Kayla and Charles. Today was our first reality challenge, Living Like A Local. In this day, we were not allowed to wear luxurious clothing (such as watches, necklaces, and bracelets), we couldn’t spend any money, we had to eat meals that a regular local would eat (such as rice and beans with bread), and we had to take bucket showers. The point of this challenge was to learn and experience what a day of a regular local in Nicaragua is like. Throughout the day, we all struggled without our regular accessories i.e. watch and not being able to eat extra snacks. However, all of us were able to get through the day with happy smiles and a positive mind.

First, we woke up at 6a.m. and some of us took our bucket showers right away. It was a new experience for most of us and it really made us appreciate our luxurious showers back at home. After breakfast, we went to the Punta de Plancha (Point of the Iron) Community. There were 8 houses total and 2-3 glimpsers were assigned to each house. Starting at 8a.m., the glimpsers readily helped the families with their daily chores and activities. We all had an amazing time getting to know the families and gaining a valuable insight of the families’ daily schedule and living conditions. At 11a.m. we gathered as a community and the kids broke a minion piñata that we brought for them. With sad goodbyes, we left the community at 1p.m. and headed back to the hostel for our CAP 2 seminar. Then we had dinner and went to tutor our students from 6 to 8 p.m. After our daily nightly meeting and a self reflection, we are all sitting happily with stomachs filled with a peanut butter sandwich from Noel and Nancy as a reward for getting through this hard day.

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Overall, we are extremely proud of the group today for their efforts in the reality challenge today. They did their best to follow the rules we assigned and stuck true to what we wanted to achieve today. We accomplished our goal today which was to learn about the life of the locals, their  culture, and their customs.

imageWith our experience, we definitely saw the difference between a regular day back at home and in Nicaragua. Some experiences.we faced included doing the daily chores, washing clothes, picking out weeds and much more. The difference from doing these chores in the community than back home was the environment that the families live in. Some families have a TV or a DVD player, but they do not have basic necessities like clean water, a clean kitchen, and a bed. I saw that families do not own beds and that they slept where they washed their clothes on the dirt floor (Charles). It gave us a reality check. We really became more appreciative of the simple items we have at home.

 

–Kayla:

Personally, I had a ton of fun as leader of the day and I’m appreciative for this opportunity to lead my group through this hard day. Seeing the glimpsers and the locals laugh, play, and eat together made me really happy. I am so proud of them for following through with the strict rules that we had and helping the families with an open mind. Honestly, I was really anxious about being leader of the day because I didn’t know whether or not I could fulfill the responsibilities of being a great leader but in the end I was able to be on top of everything (with the help of Charles). I am thankful for being able to be Leader of the Day because I learned that I am capable of being a great leader who is responsible and positive.

P.S. Hi Mom, Dad, Tyler, and Justin. Thanks for all your support on the blog’s comments. They always put a smile on my face. I miss and love you guys! S/o to my friends because they wanted one but I’m not even sure if they are going to read this buuuut miss you guys too!

 

–Charles:

As leader of the day, I had a great time and it was a great experience for me to learn and develop as a leader. Though I had some new responsibilities that I have never had before, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to improve my leadership skills. At the end of today I am really proud of all the glimpsers for their efforts in trying to complete the challenge. I like to thank Kayla who helped me throughout the day with making sure everyone is hydrated and following the rules we set.

P.S Hi Dad, Mom, Kathy, and James. Hope you enjoyed your graduation from elementary and middle school. I love you.  To my friends reading this blog I hope that you are having a great summer and I miss you all.

Lastly, to all the parents that are commenting on the blog posts thank you for making time in your day to check in with your daughters or son. They are being shared. Please continue to leave us comments.

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