Hola from Monte Coca, and Wythe + Demarcus!
Today was the first day of our CAP project, Wohoo! But we were ready and prepared, waking up at 7:00 (without music, sadly, just knocking on doors). Breakfast was at 8:00 this morning, which was cereal. We had Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes with a few different varieties of milk to choose from, and some fruit to keep the nutrition up.
At 8:45, we left for Monte Coca with music on the bus. Today, we started our CAP project, which has two sections: pouring concrete for the floor of a house and building up the walls of a house nearby. Before we started with our work, we presented our plan of action to Don Roberto, the community leader who has helped us with this project. We split into two groups to tackle the first day of the project, with one group starting by getting rid of some old flooring with hammers and a pickaxe (Tyler has told us that this is very therapeutic and that they will be sleeping well tonight), moving bricks for ease of access to them, and getting mortar ready for the bricklaying. Group two started on the cementing of the floor by mixing cement and sand and pouring water on it to create a mixture that is useable for the floor. They put the mixture into buckets to pass in a line, and placed it down in the house, using a wooden board to level it.
For lunch, we stayed at Monte Coca instead of bussing back to El Rancho like we normally would. Lunch was catered to us there, which was white rice, egg and potato salad, chicken, beans, and fruit consisting of watermelon; pineapple; and cantaloupe. We had freshly squeezed lemonade (yum!) accompanying the meal. After we ate, we took some time to rest and get ready for the afternoon of work, mainly by hyping each other up with a series of Bruno Mars songs sung by the group, with almost everyone joining in.
After our lunch activities, the two groups swapped activities, with the first group working on the floor cement, and the second group working on the house. The first group continued where the second left off: pouring the cement onto the floor. They had to make a second batch to continue, but that was cut short by an incoming cloud of rain. The second group continued where the first group left off: moving bricks and getting mortar ready to pour. They continued the work by bricklaying and mortaring the walls, with the help (and hindrance) of some local kids and a very friendly dog named Rocky (although Xoie insists that his name is Ray-ray). They were cut short by the rain and headed back to the bus to head back to El Rancho.
After all that work, we were all quite tired, so it’s a good thing that we had an hour of quiet time to rest and recuperate, along with showering off all of the dust and cement mud that we were caked in. It was a bit annoying to shower for some groups, as the electricity went out around when we came back.
After that time to cool down and get some rest, we got together to write some postcards to some Global Glimpse sponsors who
made this trip possible for us (thank you!).
With the cards done, we had some more time to spend before dinner, so a quick (but competitive) few rounds of Mafia were played.
For dinner, we had some delicious tacos, with choices of beef or chicken to choose from, with multiple sides to pick from.
We are excited about CAP Day 2 and the leadership that we will get from Tyler and Ella.
Bye for now,
-Demarcus and Wythe
Way to work hard today! Can’t wait to see what you accomplish the next few days.
You make me me very happy demarcus ! Im proud of u !
Thank you for the post, Demarcus and Wythe!
The group has accomplished a lot on the first day of CAP! It’s really hard work, and in high temperature! Hope all of you will sleep tight tonight after an exhausting day of work!
Looking forward to reading tomorrow’s blog and seeing how your projects progress!
Love from back home,
Bin Li
Hi everyone, Great job Demarcus and Wythe! Congrats on completing CAP day 1 glimpsers. We are all so incredibly proud of the hard work you have done and will continue to do with the short time left. My hope is that everyone feels a sense of accomplishment making a difference along the way. Get some much needed rest for CAP DAY 2.
Can’t wait to hear about the trip in detail when you return home.
Miss you so much Isabel. I’m very proud of you, love Mom
Buenas noches para todos , que bien me encanta cada actividad que hacen día a día , estoy muy contenta de ver cómo aprenden cosas diferentes y así van a llegar con la mente mas fresca , les envío un fuerte abrazo a mis hijas que las amo y a todos los muchachos y profesores .
Wythe, I hope your prior experience pouring concrete was helpful. At least you didn’t have to worry about the cold this time. Keep up the good work and practice your Spanish.
Exciting to hear about the CAP project. Wow!! I’m sure it will have a big impact all around. Good work!!
We are very proud of all of your hard work! This project will make a huge difference for these families. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip! Mango got a haircut! We miss you and love you!
Great work everyone! Looks tiring but fulfilling. Love to see those pictures!
Hello Glimpsers, it sounds like day 1 of the CAP project was a success; kudos!👏🏾 I hope everyone understands the impact you are making. We are so proud of your efforts and know that your community service work will benefit the families that you are helping along with providing lifelong learning to carry you forward. It is not surprising that Xoie gave the little dog a nickname!😂 Keep up the great work, stay hydrated, and soak up all the experience you can. Great job on the post, DeMarcus and Wythe!
So proud of all that hard working helping to improve those houses. It will make a real difference in the lives of the families you’re helping. Hope today went just as well and that you are getting to see some of the results of your labor. Enjoy your last few days in the DR!
Great Job Demarcus & Wythe !
Your actions makes a HUGE difference! Although it might be a challenge, keep going and think of the end result.
CONTINUE THE GREAT WORK! & GOOD LUCK ON DAY 2 !!!!!!!
Hi everyone,
Hope you’re having a good time. Matter fact I know you’re having a good time! Demarcus Good job on leading day 1 of the CAP project. Hurry home can’t wait to hear all the exciting details!!!!
Love you!
– Grandma Rere
How exciting! great job Demarcus I’m proud of you!
This looks like an amazing experience for all of you. To my Nephew Demarcus I am very proud of you and your accomplishments keep following your dreams your gonna go places and your name will recognized by many much love