Today, we followed local market workers throughout their morning. Our first challenge was to wake up at 4:30A.M. We went to the houses of local workers to observe and learn about the ways they prepare the products that they sell throughout the day. We learned about the differences between Nicaraguan and American markets, the advantages and disadvantages of working at a local market, and the hard work that these workers exemplified. We had the chance to help prepare the actual products such as cheeses, juices, and traditional drinks. We also had the chance to advertise and sell the products to actual customers at the local market.
What really surprised us were the conditions of the area. They were very different from those of the US. There were no guidelines that workers had to follow and there were no safety regulations.
In addition, we were surprised about how early that these workers woke up to prepare for the upcoming day. Through our experience from today, we can tell that these people work extremely hard to earn money, and the business in the market is very competitive. When we were assisting the local workers, we could tell that these people put a lot of heart into the things that they did.
We are very proud of everyone in our group for staying positive throughout the day despite the fact that we had to wake up in the middle of the night. We all supported each other during the day and looked out for each other’s well being.
Being Leaders of the Day requires a lot of patience, responsibility, and flexibility. It is especially important to be patience because it is difficult to handle twenty other people. Managing a big group is hard and things tend to move more slowly, so it is important to handle things in a calm and composed manner.
Maggie & Christine J
Making cereal, yummy
