IMG_621020150720_13134020150720_121606

Dear family & friends,

Your blogger for the day will be me, aka El Lider del Dia, informing you all on the wonderful day we had. We woke up at 7am & I made sure everyone was up and early for breakfast at La Favorita, where we had some delicious gallo pinto, huevos rancheros,  tortillas with salsa and a side of iced tea, which was very tasty.We then headed back to the hostel where everyone packed  their bags with their necessary items and hopped on the bus. After a 20min drive, Manuel our wonderful bus driver, dropped us off at the Bertha Gutiérrez school to finalize our Community Action Project.

Once we had arrived, McCall realized we did not have the key to open up to school so we sent Luz to the rescue to get the key back at the hostel. Meanwhile, one of the generous neighbors let all of us in through the back of their house which led into the school. Once we were in, we all began planning on how the painting system was going to work out. We first had to add a coat of preservatives to prevent the wood from damaging. While all the benches dried, we stopped for some cookies and water to stay energized and hydrated in the heat. After our mini “food”, break we got back to work and discussed how the paint was going to be used efficiently. Although there were many problems to solve, we figured them out with a bit of help from our leaders. We were divided into 4 groups, a pink group, a yellow group, a green group and a blue group and then we all began panting our benches. It was very difficult trying not to get painted on, but one way or another we were marked.

As the groups finished up their benches, we realized we were behind on time and decided to take our lunch break, which we ate in our air conditioned bus. We ate rice with a side of veggies and pasta and of course iced tea in a baggie (Yumm). We then resumed our painting, as some people painted the soccer posts, others began cleaning up, and others were painting their shoes different colors, which came out pretty nice actually (Kat & Kevin). But the benches were still not dried, so we waited a few more minutes and then packed them away. We drove back to the hostel, but even after a long day of hard work, many of us still had lots of energy. We arrived at the hostel, dropped off some things and went to dinner where Don Carlos made us the traditional but tasty American hamburgers with a side of French fries and juice.

After dinner, we had a program seminar, wrote letters and as usual, we had our nightly meeting and I passed the torch on to our dynamic duo Min & Victor, who demonstrated  their talent of drawing each other with their eyes closed. Afterwards, we reflected on our CAP project in small groups and had free time for a bit– many played fun games and others wrote in their journals. Big love shout-outs to the green team for doing an awesome job on our benches, as well as the other groups. Thank you for all the support from you guys back home and we love you  all. Good night and sweet dreams 🙂

20150720_160354