DSCN0300 DSCN0301 DSCN0302 DSCN0303 DSCN0300 DSCN0301 DSCN0302 DSCN0303 DSCN0304 DSCN0305 DSCN0307 DSCN0308 DSCN0309 DSCN0310 DSCN0311 DSCN0312 DSCN0313 DSCN0314 DSCN0315 DSCN0317 DSCN0318 DSCN0319 DSCN0322 DSCN0323 DSCN0324 DSCN0325 DSCN0326 DSCN0327 DSCN0329 DSCN0330 DSCN0331 DSCN0332 DSCN0336 DSCN0337 DSCN0338Imagine it, having the bright opportunity to be inspired by a community where you have no idea where you are, you’re forever lost in a dark tunnel, afraid and lonely. Then, a thin ray of light shows you a small opening. Then the next day the tiny ray of light begins to grow, then even bigger the next day and the next day until finally that once small ray of light, that one small ray of opportunity led you to a bright shining field of inspiration. That light was a mere guide to show us the right direction in which to take that first step. The light getting brighter, the minds of young future leaders realizing the amount of power and influence that they had to change the world is now the sun shining over the world which the young leaders realized was theirs to make a positive difference

Community Action Project Day One: As leader of the day for the start of our final project on this life changing trip, I was nervous. Our project was to place some tiles in kitchen so that the dust and crumbling cement wouldn’t get in the food and to paint a mural that represents hope, inspiration, and many positive messages. Hopefully pictures of the final product will be posted soon. First time being leader of the day, I felt as if I’ve been promoted to a job and it was my first day as the man. I had a lot to live up to. However, knowing this amazing group of powerful individuals, I knew I would have no problem in reaching out for support when I needed it. Starting the day at 6am was a struggle, but I was met with an amazing sign of motivation. Something I was lacking, a beautiful and exquisite creation otherwise known as the breakfast omelette.

After the group was refueled and energized, we split up in 3 groups to go scatter around the city to buy supplies for the next 3 days. It was an interesting journey in that I had my first taxi experience and since the traffic is very fast paced here in Nicaragua. After everyone met up back at the hostal we were set to take off to Sor Maria, the site of our Community Action Project, where we were scheduled to only drop off the materials we purchased prior to the trip to the site. However, the group being made up of a bunch of talented and determined individuals, everyone decided to not only plan ahead, but we started to measure where we would place the tiles, and started to apply primer to the walls so that we could save a huge load of time so that the next day, tomorrow, we can immediately start painting. The day was pretty hectic since we didn’t expect to begin working; also there were different ideas from different people about the design of the mural. But after a quick debriefing, everyone was on the same page and that’s what I love about this diverse group of people. We are all the different and have different ideas but we were able to respect each others ideas and inputs and turn the huge chunk of rock into a beautiful sculpture where we all reached a solution. Quick shouts to Jocelyn for the quick drawing of our final design.

Once the hard work and effort we put into going above and beyond for day one was finished (which was only meant for dropping off materials) we headed back to the hostal for a quick program seminar and ate some dinner which fueled us to get ready for English tutoring. As an aspiring future teacher, I can say that I personally enjoy English tutoring  because I get the firsthand experience of being in front of a class and getting the attention. As a student and, as I can proudly say, a high school level advanced English teacher at San Luis High School in the city of Matagalpa, Nicaragua (definitely going on my resume), I can now see the difficulty of maintaining students’ attention throughout the day. A challenging but fun challenge that I am always looking forward to taking.

Resuming through our schedule for the day, we returned to the hostal to commence our nightly meeting where I was met with some very meaningful words with some very meaningful people. The morning of I was very nervous about being leader but as the day went on I felt very confident and my peers were able to see that in me. I was mentioned as “best leader of the day so far” and I don’t mean to steal anyone’s thunder but when you are afraid of being inadequate for a role that is relied so much on and for you to absolutely blow past your own expectations is a very satisfying feeling. It’s like taking a test you didn’t study for but passing with flying colors. I would like to show appreciation to all of our past leaders of the day because they set the example for me to become the leader that I was today and I hope that I was able to be a good model for our next leaders. One of our Global Glimpse Leaders mentioned that he enjoyed working with me today which meant a lot coming from someone I was trying my hardest to impress and knowing that I was a sufficient colleague was absolutely reassuring. That leader happened to be Dennis, also known as DJ Dennis since DJ Stegeman had a very important appointment with a sled, volcano, and gravity along with Ms. Hoang. Shouts to DJ Dennis for playing music from everyone’s childhood on the bus today

As Ice Cube once said, “Today was a good day”, and it sure was. Everyone had a blast, and I know I did. I feel that it is important to enjoy one of our last few days in this amazing city because we all have grown and learned so much from a place that we were not familiar with. A place we were once scared of. A place we have all grown to love. I highlighted that we have all been inspired by this magical city. Our CAP project is our way of inspiring the community the way they have fueled us, the way they inspired us, the way they taught us. This trip has inspired me to bring what I’ve learned from this amazing city back to the states. To bring home a story. The story of the opportunity I had to inspire a community I did not know existed, but have grown to love and cherish. This is the magic of Matagalpa.