Getting at least one post in while still in Nicaragua

Dear Avid Fans and Supporters!

I am so sorry that I this is my first post about my Global Glimpse trip with 21 students in Nicaragua. I wanted to post everyday but our schedule has been so filled and well you know high school students, they often are quite demanding of one’s time.

Anyway, I wanted to write at least one post while here to describe some of the places we've visited, the activities we done, and the people we've met. I want to tell you a little about our routines and traditions as a global glimpse group, and I want to describe what I’ve learned as a GG (Global Glimpse) leader.

Here is a quick summary of where we went and who we met during the first few days of the trip:

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         History Day – Toured around the city of Esteli and got our bearings and then we went on a tour of the Esteli museum. Following our tour we had a showdown where the students made up silly dance moves to intimidate the other team before having a quiz off over questions from the tour, in an area known as “the plaza.” Here, many teens and college students in Esteli gather. It was actually the first opportunity for our NY students to meet some locals and try out their Spanish. We then had ice-cream at a local shop. It was delicious but tastes different from ice-cream in the states. It is creamier and less sweet. I kind of liked it that way. After our nightly meeting, we had our first self-reflection which involves students breaking into groups of 7 people and sitting around a candle in remote parts of the hostel as they discuss questions about what they experienced on their first days in Nicaragua.

      Culture Day- This day was jam-packed with interesting activities. We first went to visit this man named Alberto in the mountains. He was really inspiring to many of the students but first, before we arrived at his sculpture garden, we stopped at this beautiful mountain outlook. The view was stunning. (See picture of us adults having fun with a view in the background). Ok, back to Alberto, he was a prophet. He had visions in his dreams about things he’d never seen in real life and he carved all of it into rock. It was incredible. Many students were quite amazed with his story. Once we returned to Esteli, we participated in a Tusa workshop.

  
      Tusa is a craft created by a local man in Esteli that involved dying dried corn husks in bright colors, then cutting them into tiny pieces and creating a mosaic picture. We made greeting cards Tusa style. After our workshop, we had a dance class. Our dance teacher taught us some traditional Nicaraguan steps, and we taught her the cupid shuffle. It was an eventful day.

One thing I really liked about Global Glimpses structures was that each day a different student was the “Leader of the Day.” This was awesome because not only did it mean that the students developed their leadership skills through actively taking responsibility for the group on their assigned day, but it also meant that us adult leaders had another person to assist with group responsibilities. That meant that we didn’t have to wake people up in the morning, gather people for meals, ever have to do a count off to see if everyone was accounted for, or announce bed-time/lights-out because the student leader was in charge of those tasks. It was wonderful! Double bonus in its effect because not only did the student learn about what it feels like to be a leader and get to try out strategies to get the group to function well but Sarah and I had less tasks to stress about. Brilliant idea, Global Glimpse!

And every night we had a nightly meeting. This became one of my favorite traditions. During the meeting the leader of the day would summarize the day, then we would do something called, “thorn and Rose.” Each student would share something that was challenging from the day (a thorn), and something they really liked or enjoyed from the day (a rose). Then the leader would have someone read out the question of the day and a few people would share what they thought the answer was based on what they learned that day. Then the students would write about how to be better global citizens based on their experiences throughout the day. Then the focus was on group behavior. The leader would give pluses and wishes for group behavior. Then the group would give feedback to the leader of the day about what he/she did well and what they need to do to be a better leader in the future. Then the leader would pass the torch to the leader for the next day. This was always a momentous occasion. Andre became our ordained authority who would swear in the next leader by placing the leader necklace around their neck and handing them the pineapple scepter that Alberto bequeathed to us to the new leader. He’d ask, “do you swear to lead this global glimpse group to the best of your ability?” and after the person said, I do. He’d say, “by the power invested in me by the global glimpse leaders (sarah and I) I now make you leader of the day. Then the new leader would review the schedule for the next day. Sarah and I would give announcements and then it was “Big love” time. Big love involved giving a shout-out to any person who showed one of the 3C’s (courage, commitment, or compassion) during the day. Then we did a unity clap. This involved clapping with Alligator arms as we walk together until we are clapping in one big conglomerate group then we would say an inspiring, unifying word. And that would be the end of our meeting. Even though it often took 60-90 minutes each night, I loved the tradition and the positivity of this routine. It was the ending of a chapter for one leader and starting anew for another.

I also like that every time someone gave us a tour, came and spoke to us, or shared some knowledge with us; the leader of the day gave a small speech and gave them a gift. It kept a consistent undercurrent of gratefulness and positivity being shared daily.

Well I think this post has gotten long enough, I am going to sign off for now, but stay tuned, I will share more about what were the most significant moments during the trip, the greatest lesson I learned about myself and about leadership, and who I met that inspired me most. All of this, a re-cap of a few other days/activities and more pictures in my next post, so see you then!