HEEEEYYYYYY, this is Alan and Sarah, today’s leaders of the day 🙂

We are here to debrief our day. Starting our day, we had scrambled eggs, or huevos revueltos, with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (very delicious by the way). A word of the day was “invernadero” (greenhouse). We visited one of the Greenhouses owned by Alberto. He was a passionate, straightforward person who was very honest about the true reality of the world. He reminded us of our privileges. He also opened us up to a new perspective and view on life.  We spent most of the morning there doing the job of the local workers. Part of the job that we were able to experience was to prepare for the tying of the tomatoes. When they were explaining the task, it didn’t seem hard. But when actually doing it, it was a lot of work, especially in the heat. It was exhausting. Although we only worked for an hour and a half, it felt like we worked a whole day shift. We were really able to appreciate the hard work that it takes to harvest (cosechar) crops. As we were preparing the tomatoes, Elena was very aware of not complaining. She reminded us that we were only working a short period of time and that we should be grateful. People do this for their living and we should recognize that. Everyone agreed.

After coming back to our hotel and having VERY good food, we headed back out to the World Agro Market. There, we learned about the process of cucumber packaging and exporting. We came in with one set of expectations and left with a very different outlook on the hard work and dedication the employees have. In one conversation I (Sarah) had with one of the workers, I asked her questions about her typical work day. I realized that it consumed her life. She spent ten hours a day, on her feet without a break, six days a week. It’s not as simple as it looks. For our working tour of the Agro Market, we started by preparing the cucumbers for washing and drying. Then, we moved on to packaging the cucumbers. They were very specific about the box the cucumbers could go in. There were three separate categories of cucumbers. Even though they looked the same to us, the workers saw something different.  Something we found very unsettling is that a huge amount of cucumbers go to waste because of how picky the U.S. consumers are about their produce. We were lucky enough to take a box of cucumbers back to the hotel to have for the rest of the trip!

During our free time later in the day, we split into two groups. One group stayed home and one left to play basketball and play catch with a baseball. During basketball, we really connected to the neighborhood kids. Even though the games were intense, we got to meet some very unique people. I (Alan) felt very connected to the neighborhood kids when I was able to introduce myself to them in Spanish. It was a very proud moment. We all had a very proud moment when we won two out of three games of basketball against the other kids. Nick, especially, created a strong bond between him and some younger kids who played baseball. He is very passionate about baseball himself and he found people who share that passion. We even had some personal cheerleaders with the other Glimpsers who chose not to join the game. For those of us who stayed home, we started off by playing cards. We walked around the hotel and made friends with workers in the hotel, especially Luz, which was fitting because she was so bright and cheerful. Then, we all got together and had a very deep conversation. It was a bonding experience and it brought us closer together.

During the evening events we pass the torch off to the next Lideres del Dia (leaders of the day). They have to show off a talent. Tonight, Nick performed a song, Jo finished a rubix cube and spoke in French but Alex P really stood out. He usually seems like a really quiet and shy person but tonight he shocked us all. He created an original poem and read it out to the group. It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! It brought smiles to all of us, including Alex P. Later, he even gave us all Big Love as we made him feel comfortable, confident, and connected to all of us.

Stayed tuned for tomorrow’s adventure,

Alan & Sarah

P.S.

Sarah shout outs: I miss you Mami, Mariana, y Lucas. Los amo mucho.

Alan shout outs: Hello mom (big hand wave) I miss you too. Stay safe out there and get some sleep. Te amo, Alan