Goodnight everyone!

It’s what they all wanted to hear. Today’s day of relaxation was quickly interrupted by loud knocks on the doors of everyone to assure that all of the Glimpsers were well awake. After all of us were ready, we enjoyed an amazing pancake breakfast made by Diego. There is nothing better than seeing Diego reveal the godly breakfast that radiates happiness. The pancakes were fluffy as clouds, the eggs were popping with flavor and the fresh Costa Rican fruit never fails to blow our tastebuds away. The food was delicious as always and there were little to no scraps left at those tables.

After breakfast, we had a short two-hour discussion about today’s topic, Aid and Development. We were shown two perspectives on being a volunteer. One side of a volunteer is the morally accepted side where the work that was given was clear to be sincere and true. However, the other side tends to be more controversial, whereas the one giving the volunteer work was mainly in it for attention and personal gain. The conversation that arose had taught us that one should never help another out in hopes that personal gain is the goal.

What I found very surprising was that all of us had the exact same opinion. For such a controversial topic, it was great to see that everyone agreed that volunteer work should not be manipulated into being shown as a savior. I am proud of our group for expressing their opinions and being willing to be vulnerable with all of us. It is hard to speak our minds at times and I am very proud of them all for continuing to uphold a safe space to share opinions.

A little while after, we prepared for our wonderful guest speaker to arrive. Yanori Rojas is a part of the Boruka indigenous community here in Costa Rica. Her story was very touching and she was by far the most inspiring person that I and the group met that day! She told us how her peers in college were surprised that she was a part of the Boruka community and the way that she described the experience; it made it seem like her classmates did not expect someone like her to be attending their college. She stood in front of us and told us her story as well as how important it is to have a diverse community, all with the most confidence I wish I had more of.

Being Lider Del Día was not such a great fit for me. I am a quiet, kept-to-self person and my confidence could have been stronger in being the leader. At times it was fun and I was being well respected, but I tended to notice that I would fall back into the group and needed support at times to lead my peers. Other than that, I had a great time and managed to keep the group in line with our schedule. If I could do it again, I would definitely use my voice more to gather the attention of everyone quicker. As that was what I learned I needed to work on the most.

To everyone waiting for my arrival back home, I love all of you and I can’t wait to tell you all about this trip!