As we awoke from our beds in the early morning, all the glimpsers quickly scrambled to eat breakfast then board the bus that eventually took us to a coffee plantation which was located in the same community as we were in yesterday.  The one and only *drumroll please * Memo (one of our program coordinators) was our tour guide for today. Together, we toured the garden where the community displays rocks that were engraved with spirals. Strangely, how the rocks arrived in the land remain a mystery among the locals. As we moved along, Memo then guided us to the local church where many couples get married. Interestingly, the elements of the church came from all around the world; the clock arrived from Germany and the stained glass was imported from Italy. After taking pictures, and confessing our sins, we then hiked to the coffee plantation up the mountain. There, Memo pulled out a poster which depicted the long and detailed history of the coffee plantation. While we learned about how the locals pick coffee beans, we channeled their techniques and picked our own coffee beans. The red, ripe beans had a sweet flavor that was buried deep within the pod. After, when we reached the top at the big tree, we spent some time taking some photos of the greenery view. Eventually, we made our way to the bottom where we put our helmets on and explored where all the delicious coffee originates from. We learned the whole process from picking the beans to sorting the beans, to prepping the beans, and to roasting the beans. After a hot day at the community, we bussed back to the compound where we rested and ate lunch. And, as the responsible leaders of the days we are, we gathered everyone after lunch to head to the dairy farm. There, we met Kaarla, who’s the owner of the farm, where she raises Jersey cows that produce the best quality of milk available on the land. Luckily, she taught us her daily routine living alongside cows, which include feeding the cows, milking the cows, churning the cheese curdles and flavoring the produce. Not only was this an amazing journey, and experience, but it was also eye-opening as it made the group appreciate where our cheese comes from. After stepping on cow’s dung for most of the day, we made our way back to the compound where we ate dinner and showered.

In the end, the journey throughout the day was very enlightening and taught students to appreciate the effort that was put into making their produce.

Being on this trip exposed students to new ways of living while limiting their dependency on their technological devices. Living life in the moment, and taking in the scenery around you is something that teens usually don’t appreciate. However, this Global Glimpse trip opened out eyes, changed our perspective, and motivated us to live in the moment.

The entire group sends their love back home, but for now, we all love a home away from home, and a family from other kids around Chicago and Bay Area. Pura Vida!

Hey Mom, I lived in my coffee fantasy today at the coffee factory; don’t worry Jadi followed me to the restroom at night 😐. Jasmine, comment down below something so I get some human interaction from home. (They are reading it out loud so pls be cool) From Doris 🙃

Hi, I milked a cow today; don’t worry Doris watches me use the bathroom at night 😐… and can someone teach one of my friends to write a comment on the blog post cause this gets lonely …..either Geoffrey or Zoe. From JD 🙃

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