Hello, I am Nathaly Garnica and today’s leader of the day. Today was a fun and intense day for all of the glimpsers. Our day began at 7 am when I personally went to wake up everyone, but as usual most were up since it still hard to get used to sleeping in our cabins. Our theme of today was our reality challenge of living in a $1/day. We had a light breakfast at 8 am, which consisted of a sandwich and some delicious hot chocolate. We wanted to simulate a typical day as a local in the community, Los Francos, and many of the times they only eat once a day. However, we did get our three meals of the day. After breakfast we got an Academic Seminar on poverty, which gave us a better idea on what to expect on poverty in the rural communities. Many of the people who only receive a dollar each day worry more on surviving day by day than having a good education, which we take for granted back home. This seminar opened many of the student’s eyes on today’s challenges.

After the seminar, we made our way to Los Francos, which was only 15 minutes away. There we met the leader, Maria, of a program in that community. We separated into five groups and went to different homes to start our daily lives in a dollar a day. I, along with 3 other students, got to go a home were we got to wash dishes, clean the stove, walk 5 minutes to get water and bathe some of the children. We mostly did a lot of chores, but some had to sweep, mop, get wood and wash clothes for their families.

Later, after being done with all of the chores, we got to have a big meal with people from the community, so it was at least 30 other people eating lunch with us. We had rice with beans, an amazing chicken and salad. Many of the glimpser, after lunch, were really attached to the babies and spent some time carrying babies and playing with the younger children. When it was time to say goodbye, we got to take a group picture with the community and had some emotional goodbyes. It was hard for some students to let go of the babies they had been taking care of but they were happy to be given the opportunity to be able to get to know them.

When we arrived to the rancho we got to take bucket showers to simulate how the community of los Francos and other rural communities take showers. It was a fun experience and really made us appreciate all we have. After the shower we had some free time to relax and just reflect upon our day. We had a Program Seminar on our upcoming CAP project and really got the chance to learn our strengths and weaknesses. Then we had dinner, which was some vegetable soup and plantains with sausage. Tonight we had a chance to do a self-reflection on our day after the nightly meeting, which helped us debrief and share our experiences with one another.

Today really helped everyone understand the poverty in this country and really helped us realize how good we have it back home. Finally I just wanted to thank my family, specially my Mom and Dad, for not only letting me have this unique experience but also for giving me all I have. I miss you guys and I hope everyone continues to have a great summer. Thank you.

P.S: We want to wish all the fathers a Happy Father’s day!