From Elaine:

7:42 a.m. Hit snooze, 15 minutes more.

8:00 a.m. Roll out of bed.

8:30 a.m. Breakfast (Eating has become a favorite pastime, Roxana’s the best cook)

9:15 a.m. Off to Casa Marina for presentations

What started January 4^th (and unofficially at our first meeting at UMD) would culminate and near the end today. In San Juan Del Sur, the last city, we wrapped up our final presentations for our respective business and entrepreneurs. Each of the four groups then presented their entrepreneur/ business with grants, certificates, and additional tools that would be helpful in streamlining their business processes. Based on the work groups have already done, one for example has seen their work help the entrepreneurs. The group working with the jewelry makers, found their brochures and marketing packages helped present a potential international deal with someone in France. Not only could we see what kind of short-term impact our work has, we also got to see the before and after pictures of projects from last year’s group. That was reassuring because I felt with the short time we could not do as much as we could have. Despite that though, no matter how short the time was, it still set the wheels in motion, as clichéd as that might sound. If we had more time for each project, it leaves open to one’s imagination of

Everyone always needs more time to do the things they have always set out to do. In these 12 days so far, I’ve come to appreciate every random unexpected experience and encounter. We met our college counterparts from UNAN and UAM, retired international people still working in community development, and other random people I never expected to meet. The latest encounter was at dinner. With 30 something people piled in to sit down, I sat near strange faces. After short introductions, I learned the girl across from me hailed from Vermont and it was her fifth time in Nicaragua. She’s still only halfway through high school. (What have I done with my life so far . . .)I learned more about her and how she got involved with everything here through the Rotary Club. For lack of a better phrase, it blew my mind.

            Nicaragua has its charms and I’m really going to miss it. The conglomeration of people from all ages and countries just makes San Juan Del Sur a really compelling place to be.

Peace out San Juan Del Sur. It’s been real. Stay classy.