Global Village Nicaragua Trip 2018, Day 3

Guest Blog by Noah Keller, 
Twin Cities Habitat Staff & Global Village Volunteer Team Leader 

Another solid day. Our two teams completed the walls of each house. We were welcomed into two places of business owned by women who leveraged Habitat Nicaragua's micro-financing program. We got to see another neighborhood with many Habitat projects, including their 100th in the city of Esteli (!). We then were able to tour a cigar production facility, which is a primary driver of Esteli's economy.

Loan recipient from Nicaragua's micro-financing program.

The tour was nothing short of fascinating, even for those not particularly interested in the final product. Aside from an anonypetemous team member unwittingly, and luckily temporarily, stealing our tour guide's phone, we'll consider it a successful outing. We rounded out the day at the local stadium cheering on Esteli's futbol team, and leaving with the beat of their super fans' drums in our ears. 

One really does need time to process the things we experience here, but it's a catch 22 because, as anyone who has been on a Global Village trip can attest, taking that time would mean we'd miss a moment of working, laughing, or learning with our team. Thankfully, there's a small library in our hotel. We're all realizing we need to stop by before turning in for the night. There, maybe we'll find something related to teams, to flexibility, to an undeniably special experience. 

This is respectfully submitted by Noah, and I consider myself lucky to be one of the team leaders with this wonderful group, and to get to learn how to lead better still from Alejandra and Carlos, our fearless Habitat Nicaragua hosts. I think I'll head to the library and see what's on the shelf.