Hello wonderful families and friends! What a whirlwind of a first day!

After such a long day yesterday, we were worried it would be difficult for the students to get going in the morning, but everyone was ready to go before 7am! We had our first breakfast here: fried egg and gallo pinto (rice and beans). Some of the more daring glimpsers even added hot sauce and sour cream to our gallo pinto–we are almost feeling like locals already!

After breakfast, we did some stretches and played duck duck goose to get our blood pumping before our morning seminars. We established a list of group norms at the morning session including open communication, empathy, flexibility, and taking risks (among 14 other norms) This group has really been taking ownership of their experience thus far and should have no problem living up to the lofty goals we set for ourselves.

Next, we had our first academic session about Nicaraguan history and began to examine the central question of the day: “How important is history in the development of a country and how does it relate now in the lives of the people?” After our exploration of the city, we began to understand how the history of Nicaragua is very alive in the people’s hearts and minds today. We learned about the tumultuous history of Nicaragua during the revolution led by the Sandinista group, the FSLN and the controversial involvement of the U.S. Both before and during the Reagan administration. We also learned about the current president Daniel Ortega and some of his triumphs and struggles. All this history got us even more excited to see how it would manifest itself in our city tour!

During our walking, non-touristy city tour, we were introduced to the beautiful street art depicting the history of revolutions in Nicaragua and governing powers that have shaped it the country it is today! The rememberance murals and museums throughout the city were filled with bright, vibrant colors which were changed within the last 30 years to contrast the previous dark, revolutionary colors that of black and red. The city’s nickname is properly deemed “The City of Murals!” At the end of the tour, our coordinators presented us with “una sopresa” which was some DELICIOSO ice cream!

After lunch we had our second field trip, and we headed to the city’s local museum where we learned about everything from Nicaraguan ancient artifacts to contemporary history, the revolution, the FSLN, and prominent political and literary figures.

For our second sopresa of the day, we had a WONDERFUL musician grace us with both traditional Nicaraguan songs and some original songs! What a treat! 🎶🎶🎸🎶🎶

As GGL’s, we feel we have been blessed with a group full of empathy, deep consideration for each other, and a drive to challenge themselves!  These students have such a cohesive group vibe! Each one of them has demonstrated skills of true leadership while walking around town while keeping a watchful eye out for their teammates. They truly have an impressive embodiment of the 3 C’s!

COURAGE COMMITMENT COMPASSION!!!!!!!!

 

While we are having a blast here, we are all still thinking of you guys back at home! Everyone has a free day on Saturday and will probably get in touch with you then but leave us some love in the comments in the mean time!

E1C over and out!

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