If you have been on Connect long enough, you have probably read or seen the reference of “Local Guides Clean the World.” This “Powered by us, Local Guides” initiative was created by @ermest, one of the Connect Moderators, in March 2018.
For 2019, we hosted 30 Local Guides from every corner of the globe during our 2nd Annual Local Guides Clean the World Connect Live 2019 Meetup on November 12th, starting at 8 AM.
Our 5+ hour meetup comprised of:
- Going to Voltaire Coffee House, a local coffee shop, for a quick breakfast
- Mini walking tour of Downtown San Jose – incl. playing “Monopoly”
- Picking up trash and getting a private guided tour at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
- Grabbing lunch at Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla, a popular Downtown San Jose Mexican fast food place.
During Connect Live 2018 in San Francisco, Ermes and I, @KarenVChin , hosted the first-ever Local Guides Clean the World – Connect Live 2018 Edition Meetupat The Presidio.
With [San Jose, CA](http://San%20Jose, CA) being the new city for Connect Live 2019, I had to find a new meetup place that would fit the following criteria for a fun, learning experience for our attendees that:
- May have never experienced a Local Guides meetup and/or a Clean the World meetup
- Have a chance to experience an “Only in America/Only in San Jose” place
Why the** Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (CDM)?**
For our Clean the World Connect Live 2019 meetup site, we selected CDM because not all countries have “children’s museums” or learning places dedicated to children to inspire their creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning through play, art, math, and science.
We thought this would be a great opportunity for our Connect Live 2019 meetup group to experience both what makes a great children’s museum while participating in an actual Local Guides Clean the World meetup during their time in San Jose.
A month before this Clean the World meetup, the CDM requested that Ermes and I can only have a maximum of 30 participants. We could not take every Connect Live 2019 attendee who signed up for this meetup. 
Meetup within a Meetup: Pre-Local Guides Clean the World Connect Live 2019 Meetup
So to not disappoint and to give a chance for any Connect Live attendees and their +1s who were already staying at or near the San Jose Marriott that early Nov 12th Tuesday morning the opportunity to meet, I hosted an impromptu Pre-Connect Live 2019 Early AM Coffee Run Meetup, and, of course, try out the local coffee scene before we walk over to the museum.
At 7 AM, we had a mix of excited 18 Clean the World meetup attendees and Connect Live 2019 early risers who didn’t need the caffeine. 
Let the Clean the World Connect Live 2019 Edition Meetup begin
At 8:15 AM, we gathered in front of the Marriott to begin our 9-minute group walk over to the museum
Local Guides having fun along the way
Along the way, before the start of our 9 AM meetup, we took the time to have fun and take photos at the “Only in America / Only in San Jose” – Monopoly in the Park.
We had a lot of fun walking on the Monopoly game board.
As Local Guides, we started taking group photos. Here, in front of the mural at Discovery Meadow.
First, us gals.
Then, the guys.
We’re here!
At 9 AM, we met the CDM and the City of San Jose Anti- Graffiti & Anti-Litter Programs Representatives in front of the museum.
The City of San Jose’s Anti-Graffiti & Anti-Litter Programs Community Activity Worker Annie Gambelin gave us a talk on the importance of keeping our public areas, such as parks and waterways, clean–free of trash and plastics.
We’re speechless!
@Nyainurjanahpresented Ermes with a handmade “upcycled” gift from @Aikoo .
This 110 cm x 160 cm (or 4 ft x 5 1/4 ft) rug was made out of entirely used folded-up Indonesia coffee bags (totaling 3,320 bags) Aikoofolded herself! 
Aikoo, Ermes was deeply honored, speechless was more like it, by your thoughtfulness and time it took for you to gather these bags from not going into the trash and then folding and putting these wrappers together one-by-one into this very sturdy rug. Thank you so much for your generosity.
Aikoo, you made Ermes tear up as he stared, looking at your beautiful gift.
Nyai also presented Ermes, @Julien44 , and me each handmade #LocalGuidesCleantheWorld acrylic banners made by @PaDeSSo.
PaDeSSo, none of us were expecting this. We were all shocked by your generosity. Thank you soo much for thinking of us! As with having breakfast together earlier that morning, your handmade #LocalGuidesCleantheWorld banners were also a big hit!
Nyai had a very heavy backpack which became lighter and lighter with all the gifts she took out of it that Tuesday morning. Nyai, thank you for bringing all these gifts with you from Indonesia!
A private VIP tour of the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Before we started to clean, Cecilia Clark, CDM’s Public Relations Manager, gave us a 30-minute private guided tour.
Many of the educational exhibits are hands-on, both indoors and outdoors.
You don’t have to be a child to have fun here!
We cleaned!
We picked up trash around the entire perimeter of CDM for an hour.
We happily picked up plastic bottles, paper, cigarette butts, cardboard, glass, food trash, etc.
We picked up trash in front of the museum, which is Discovery Meadow.
The entire right side of the museum, along the Guadalupe River Trail.
And, finally, the entire left side!
It was amazing what the power of 30 people can pick up in just 1 hour!
With 30 bags or 30 hours of work for a single person, we picked up approximately150 lbs of trash!
A****dditional Cleaning
We also removed, washed, and cleaned the decorative plastic cups on a chain-link fence near the CDM parking lot for 1 hour.
Before we left CDM, we had one last bit of group fun before we ended our Local Guides Clean the World Connect Live 2019 meetup which ended a little after 12 PM.
Connect Moderator @AdrianLunsong whimsically positioned each of us in front of the CDM’s colorful mural before we walked back to the Marriott.
Lunch!
For those of us who wanted to eat lunch before checking in at the Marriott, we walked across downtown San Jose to Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla, a popular Mexican Fast Food place.
For many, it was their first time figuring out how to order from a made-to-order menu and eating Mexican.
Let’s Guide Tip: Be sure to order Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla’s famous spicy Zilla sauce on the side if you love more “heat” on your meal.
Thanks so much!
We would like to thank all the Connect Live 2019 attendees who spent time with us on Nov 12, 2019.
We know for many of you this was either attending your first Local Guides meetup and/or Clean the World meetup. We hope you were inspired and took what you experienced here back home with you and start hosting your own Local Guides meetups and/or Clean the World meetups in your communities.
CDM and the City of San Jose Anti-Graffiti & Anti-Litter Programs greatly appreciated all of our labor to help and keep clean the grounds surrounding the museum and Discovery Meadow for the public, especially for the children and their families who visit this area.
We know you could have done other things during those 5+ hours on that Tuesday morning, like sleep in, go sightseeing, etc., but you chose to spend your time with us. We are eternally grateful.
We also hope you made some good Local Guides friends during our meetup too!
And if you are wondering, we have already started planning the next Local Guides Clean the World Connect Live Meetup as soon as we left CDM!
Big Hugs & Cheers,
Karen & Ermes
FYI: Here is our Local Guides List of all the places we visited
Local Guides Clean the World CL19 Meetup
- Local Guides, does your city/country have a children’s museum?
- *Interested in learning more about the “Powered by us” Local Guides Clean the World initiative?*Contact @ErmesT to learn how you can get your Local Guides Community involved.
Karen V Chin for sharing 
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