¡Buen Trabajo!

¡Estamos listos! We are Katelyn and Savinnie, the Líderes del Día for our CAP 2 Delivery day! The quote of the day was “A lot of little people, doing little things in little places, can change the world🌎” -Eduardo Galeano. Someone once said, when you’re scared that you don’t have the power to change the world, start first by changing yourself, and once you’ve become a better person, the world will also change for the better. Today, the world changed, because we’ve all changed ourselves for the better. By immersing ourselves in a different culture in a different country, we have all become more compassionate, committed, and courageous.
My day started off with a confused alarm situation. Both the alarms that I set the night before did not go off as planned, but I managed to wake up at 6:09 AM, thinking it was 5:09 AM. I looked out the window and a touch of blue sky shimmered through the clouds. After not being able to fully comprehend the numbers on the watch, we successfully got everyone ready to embark on our adventure to the farm. After our wonderful breakfast of a cheese and butter sandwich and freshly cut fruits, we arrived at the farm to continue building our glorieta and to put our final touches to the structure. We split into groups and went off to work on our group tasks, such as transporting more soil to the base of the glorieta and applying primer paint to the tables. After a few hours of work, the students of Carlos Garbay surprised us with a special dance that they organized to thank us for our contribution to their school. They were dressed in traditional clothing that was full of color and intricate designs that fully embodied their culture. As they danced, they invited several glimpsers to join the dance and gradually everyone was on their feet, swaying to the music and sharing a moment dedicated to gratitude. As Líderes del Día, we thanked them for giving us an opportunity to give back to the community in Riobamba in such a special way.
Lunch, an American-style sandwich, was a refreshing reminder of home. Energized after a delicious meal, we were ready to get back to work. We made the cement as the base of the glorieta and the art crew painted 3 of the 4 regions of Ecuador on the tables. Our entire group left our marks on the rocks leading to the hut, by placing our handprints with colorful paint. Although the roof is still incomplete, we are very fortunate that the next delegation has decided to take on our project to finish our legacy. We said our goodbyes and captured some memories with everyone that contributed to the glorieta.
Next, we had our fourth English lesson. Despite the time crunch, we all got accustomed to leading the class and all our lessons went smoothly! We will be really sad to have to leave all our students that have taught us so much! We headed back to the hostel and enjoyed a delicious meal. We concluded the night with a very meaningful self reflection.
The moments we shared with everyone at the school created a sense of family that made the work we put in these few days not seem like work at all. Although these few days were full of drops of sweat and many blisters, there could not have been a better way for us to give back to this special community that will always have a meaningful place in our hearts. Our glorieta will continue to harbor our passion and love to serve.