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After a gruesome challenge which included having my face tampered by my fellow companions, I am happy to present the first day of our community action project as the lider del dia. For me personally, the community action project, CAP for short, was one of the events that I looked forward to the most during the Global Glimpse trip. With a budget of 365 US dollars, around 20 people, and a timespan of only 3 days, our goal is to beautify a newly built school through building benches, planting trees, painting the walls, and other unique decorations. During the first day our group shared memorable experiences which included hard work, companionship, and dedication, but ultimately the project is about creating something beautiful for the growing youth of Nicaragua.

We started the day off as usual: getting breakfast at Buffet Esteli. Although we are often served the same food everyday, the dishes continue to retain their distinct taste as it fills up our stomachs. Afterwards, we got on a bus and attained the last of the materials needed for our CAP project, which included soil and plastic bottles. Finally, we arrived at our destination for the next 3 days: the Fundacion Cristal, the school we will help build as a contribution to the beloved community we have grown to love. At first it seemed like we were in low spirits in the morning, but after blasting music on loud speakers, everyone was on task and enthusiastic about working. The woodwork group which I was apart of had the job of creating benches, which was a very tedious job at first. We built the benches from scrap, and it required hours of sanding and hammering which wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Nathan and Humberto. The painting group unfortunately realized that they had not bought enough paint for their project, and needed to buy more materials. Even so, the project as a whole seemed to progress very well in our first day. No one seemed lost in their jobs, and everyone was passionate in contributing to the community we have quickly grown to love and respect. Thankfully, we had the help of three volunteers (One from Sonati and two from Fundacion Cristal) and we wouldn’t have done nearly as much work without them. Sadly, we had to cut our work short at 2 PM, and headed back to our hostel to allow us to prep for English tutoring.

At 4:20, we went to Vida Joven to listen to an insightful speech from the national director of Nicaragua. Afterwards, we smoothly transitioned into our English tutoring program, which was definitely among our multiple highlights of the day. Laughs were had and stories were to be shared as we engaged our students with games and fun lessons. Eventually, we had to say our goodbyes while we left for dinner. The day quickly came to an end, but it contained unforgettable memories working a project that will hopefully impact lives for years to come.

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