Day 4: Cultural exchange prep + CAP seminar

Hello friends and family! Today marked the fourth day of our time here with Global Glimpse and a fun one at that! We began the day as usual with a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto, eggs, pancakes, fried plantains, cheese, and fresh juice made by the lovely base house staff. This morning meal has grown to be a center for bonding among glimpsers as games of pool and cards ensue after the food has been cleared and we await our next activity. Our PCs, Julio and Dianna, gave us a preface of the cultural exchange; a wonderful opportunity in a few days for us to visit a local school and exchange language and culture between the children and glimpsers.

The highlight of the day began when we boarded a bus and made our way to the main town in Turrialba. While exchanging currency, we learned that the exchange rate between USD and colones is around 450 colones per US dollar. Our biggest stop of the trip was at the local farmer’s market. Vendors filled a street selling goods such as fruits, vegetables, Turrialba cheese and baked goods and we learned how to purchase produce from the vendors. From our experience, the sellers were extremely patient and kind, willing to respect the language barrier and ensure we weren’t accidentally overpaying. Some items we purchased included, mangoes, lychee, plums, carrots, starfruit, guava, coconut candy, and dragonfruit, all exceptionally fresh. Our next stop was at a supermarket, where many of us bought and replenished our snack loads, prepping for tonight’s movie watching. Despite the rainy weather, our adventure into the town was successful and fulfilling and we left with our hands and bags full.

Lunch awaited us back at the base house, another wonderful meal of pork chops, potatoes, and salad prepared by the staff. Afterwards, Dianna and Julio presented more in-depth on our CAP project, which we will begin tomorrow. We learned what it means to organize ourselves efficiently and effectively as a group in order to best benefit the local community.

One of our last activities for the day was getting to call our families. This was important to us as it provided a way to connect and catch up with those back home as well as sharing the stories we’ve gathered thus far in Costa Rica. You guys all matter to so much to us and we sincerely appreciate all your help in getting us here. Best wishes to you all!

For the remainder of the day, we are excited to have more time to bond together, specifically with our movie night later! We are also looking forward to another good meal and more games amongst ourselves. We are starting to become even closer with each other and we continue to develop closer friendships and bonds with our peers here.

This is Sadie and Brian, your LDDs for today!

As being a leader, it helped me learn how to take initiative, and provide support to our peers. – Brian Valle

Being a Leader of the Day helped me step outside my comfort zone when it comes to asserting myself around new people or those who I don’t know too well. I learned how to communicate with locals, even with my language gap, and was even able to support some of my peers with shopping at the farmer’s market. – Sadie Owens

Overall, we are both grateful for the opportunity to lead today and we look forward to seeing what awaits our delegation for the remainder of the trip! After today, we have one exciting week left!

Pura vida!