Hola de Nicaragua¡!

The GLOBE fellows have officially begun exploring the beautiful country of Nicaragua!
The fellows accompanying Dr. Sama include; Evan Dittig, Travis King, Natali Macuil, and Shannon Seery. Mina Mustafa, GLOBE's graduate assistant, is also with us in Nicaragua.

So to briefly bring the GLOBE family up to date, today marks our first full day of adventure. After a long journey yesterday morning, from New York to Miami to Managua, we quickly got to work meeting with both Fabretto and Nica Hope; two cooperative programs who assist women. We were fortunate enough to learn about their organizations and see first hand some of their products (pine baskets and jewelry), that we hope to bring back and share with our GLOBE family.

Today, we had an early morning breakfast at The Pyramid hotel, before traveling roughly 3 hours to Matagalpa, to meet with Peter Schaller, of Rayo de Sol. Peter granted us keen insight into his non-profit initiatives that center on education and empowerment. Peter, originally from New Haven CT, has been living in Nicaragua for the last 21 years working with numerous organizations prior to his exceptional work with Rayo de Sol. Meeting with Peter was a fabulous experience. His knowledge of the economic development sector is renowned, and his insights prove beneficial to the mission of the  GLOBE community.  With Peter, we focused on learning about his work with educating women in trades such as, sewing and technical skills. We had the opportunity to meet some of the women Peter works with, and even a chance to explore the places in which these individuals reside. The children of these women, their laughter and smiles had to be some of the most amazing moments of this experience to date. Although they appeared shy at first, they quickly opened up to the excitement of skateboarding, due to Evan bringing a board along and teaching the children how to ride. Before any of us even realized we became one with the community. Peter guided us through the village, allowing us to see how and where the women work on their sewing products, which basically concern bags made of reusuable products, such as discarded clothing. I believe I can speak for the whole team, in saying that it was truly an inspirational moment seeing what a simple, beautiful, life these individuals live.

Next stop of our day was experiencing some local cuisine of Nicaragua, including a fresh sweet corn tortilla, with beans, cheese, and cream! This Nicaraguan dish was delicious and surprisingly filling.
We concluded our time in Matagalpa at a look out at the top of a mountain that Peter had suggested. We were looking for some adventure, and we sure found it. The view gave us exceptional views of the entire city of Matagalpa!

This broad overview presents an impeccable start to what will be an amazing, life-changing experience. We will be sure to incorporate a lot of photos into these posts, to better document our experiences, but currently due to lack of internet access the photo option is unavailable. We have no doubt that our experience will broaden the horizons of GLOBE and allow our organization to become more prosperous for both our borrowers and students.

Please stay tuned, and follow-us as we continue our fascinating adventure though Nicaragua. The fellows and I will be sharing our perspectives over the course of the next week, and try our best to give a detailed representation of our experiences to be shared with the entirety of the GLOBE community.

Adios mi amigo¡!