Hello everyone, we were the Leaders of the day for our Living Like a Local Day. Today, wake up call was at 5:45 am and we took a bus to Don Carlos’ restaurant for breakfast where we had a simple local’s breakfast of gallo pinto and a glass of water. Afterwards, we took the bus to Comunidad La Pruisa and gave a gift to our speakers, Santos and Ivania as thanks for letting us spend a day in their beautiful and friendly community. We were then separated into groups of two or three and escorted to our respected homes for the day. Both of us (LDDs) and our partners ended up being close neighbors and spent the day as a larger group sharing the responsibilities of doing household chores and taking care of the many children living in both homes. At 11am, all the groups around the neighborhood met in front of the LDDs’ houses and there was a pinata party for the children. After that, each group was sent to collect enough servings of food to serve the members of their families and themselves for lunch. Lunch consisted of rice with shredded chicken, a bread roll, and a salad along with a bag of iced tea. After lunch we spent an extra hour with our families then went to the hostel. Once there, we started E.T prep for the following week as well as last minute adjustments to our CAP project pitches. At 4:00pm we had our CAP seminar and all three teams presented their ideas to the librarians. All three ideas were accepted! Once the CAP seminar was finished, we all separated to free time. Some of us went around the city and some of us stayed at the hostel. Then dinner started, same thing as breakfast which was gallo pinto with water. As dinner passed by, the whole group did a self reflection about living like a local. When our day has came to an end it was time for us to pass the torch to the leader of the next day.

Adrian’s personal note: Today was a very impactful day, when we went to the houses in the community, it was an unbelievable experience. The kids had endless smiles, though all they had was a single ball and tons of time. It’s really cool how the families had a farm in the backyard, growing their own garden and making a lifestyle for the families.

Jade’s personal note: Today gave me insight on how other communities in low income neighborhoods live and it was a very beautiful experience. Spending time with such positive personalities like the children. The homes were small and uninsulated, but they had a familiar homey feeling we can all identify with that comes with the warmth of a loving family. We learned the importance of appreciating what we have and that home isn’t always made from american style houses, tall celings and fancy cars, but from the happiness that your family and/or friends bring you. Home is where the heart is.

Best,

Jade and Adrian