Hey y’all!! It’s Katherine here, today’s Leader of the Day. Today was Global Business Day, and we explored the successes and challenges of businesses in Nicaragua. We woke up bright and early at 6 am in order to fit in a jam packed day full of seminars, field trips, and activities. After breakfast, we attended a seminar led by our good friend Yader. Yader taught us about Fair Trade, and we taught each other about the working and living conditions of Nicaraguan farmworkers through hilarious skits and creative presentations. It was scary to learn about the terrible conditions that many workers face, but the Fair Trade system gives hope in its efforts to protect workers.
Following the seminar, we were actually able to go on our first field trip of the day, a tour of a salt plant. We visited Salinsa, the biggest salt plant in all of Central America. The manager gave us a tour of the factory and explained the process of extracting salt from salt water. It was really awesome to hear how salt mining has been passed down in his family from his grandfather, to his father, and now to him. Near the end of the tour, we saw how the same salt gets packaged under two different brands; one brand sells for more than the other. It really got me thinking about what kind of products in the U.S. might be sold for more than the same item under a different brand. After the tour of the factory, we were able to see the pools from which the salt is extracted.
After a delicious lunch at the comedor, we set out on the bus for our second field trip of the day. We got to visit the Tosca sandal factory, which is a very popular brand of sandals in Nicaragua. The factory was quite crowded, so we split into two groups for the tour. While one group was on the tour, the others kept busy by playing Ninja and the watermelon game outside. Even Nancy joined us in playing! During the tour, we saw how the sandals were made, from the sewing of the straps to the sanding of the finished product. We wore masks as a precaution due to the glues that some of the workers were using. After the tour, we even had a chance to purchase sandals from the factory!
Our final activity of the day was English tutoring. We’ve all grown tremendously at teaching and developing lesson plans in just a short amount of time. These tutoring sessions have quickly become one of the highlights of our days, and it’s really rewarding to see our students improve. Hopefully we can continue to grow as teachers and keep having a blast with our students!
Being Leader of the Day was definitely out of my comfort zone, but the support from my fellow Glimpsers made the experience a ton of fun! We continue to bond more and more every single day. I’ve never laughed harder than with this awesome group of people. From ugly whip circles, to long bus rides and card games, there’s never a dull moment. Thanks for staying updated on our adventures in León, and keep an eye out for what awesome stuff we get up to tomorrow!!
Wow. What a day. I am exhausted by reading it. Sounds like you are making friends that you will have for years to come. Thanks for the daily updates!
I see Oscar reppin’ Hayward lol!
Keep having fun and hopefully you guys learn new things!
p.s IMY KC!!
I agree w/ Jose Blackorby, I think you should all try to stay connected. Who know maybe one day you all can have a reunion. Busy day you all had and it sounds like you were till available to squeeze some fun in your busy day. Thanks for all this wonderful pics and updates. Love you and miss you Alondra. Can’t wait to see again. LOVE Mom, Dad, Adrian and Daisy
Alondra, I hope you remembered my shoe size jk jk. Remember to get a little something for Dad, Adrian, Natatia, Yaretzi and if you have enough $ your momma…Love Mom
I see you are rocking that warriors hat. Next season is our season and we both know it.
Hi Haley!! I think the Katherine I met at airport first night
Wrote this blog! One week tonight we will pick u up w a maddies
Strawberry salad in hand ❤️❤️! Love u missing you to the
Moon and back. Lovemom
Very productive day for you !! It sounds like fun. Same here too. It’s always awesome reading what you’ve been up to in Leon, can’t wait to hear more tomorrow!! Margaret!!! They better be reading this to you. I miss you so much. I told your mom what you wanted me to tell her. Then she send me an emoji so I haven’t texted back since. Lol. I love you!
I am going to throw in a shameless plug in response to Jose and Alfredo’s comments above and tell students that if you apply and are accepted to the alumni ambassador program for this upcoming year, you’ll have an opportunity to reconnect with other students from your delegation at our 4 weekend Summits and ambassador graduation. You’ll also have a chance to meet some of the great student leaders from other trips as well. Look for that application invite in mid August 🙂
Salt and Sandels! Quite an interesting day! I am hoping Sarry bought a pair for herself.
Sarry mommy is going to dinner with Travis tonight. I know this will make you smile. Planning a camping trip for Labor Day in September!
Sonya starts working at Summit on Monday. We decided I would drop her off and pick her up to avoid parking tickets. Just in case!
Pups are good! Giving them lots of attention in your absence. Even letting Snoop sleep with me here and there to keep their spirits up. I know they miss you!
I have been watching my phone like a hawk to insure I don’t miss the next call. Sonya said she missed a call from you yesterday. We listened to your message twice!
Still looking forward to your blog day! Keep your spirits up! We all love and miss you!