Today, we woke up at 6:45 am and surprised one of our peers, Alexia, at 7:10 by singing “Happy Birthday”. For breakfast, we had quimbolitos (a traditional Ecuadorian cake), chirimoya (a local fruit), along with hot chocolate.
From there, we headed to Casa De La Mujer where we executed our first day of our Community Action Project (CAP) which was an amazing feeling. We were separated into four groups, the painting and wall fixing group, the gardening group, the sign making group, and the cleaning group. We were a part of the painting and wall fixing group. To be honest, it was kind of stressful, being that it took forever to scrape off wall paper and smooth some of the wall with sand paper. We also had to put plaster on some parts of the wall because there were holes in the wall. We did this from about 8 am to 12 pm.
We then headed back to the hostel and had a discussion regarding our disconnection within the group and worked on communicating with one another, which in the end brought us much closer. To work on the disconnection within the group, we paired up with people we don’t usually talk to and walked to Roma Santa for lunch. There, we had potato lasagna (with either vegetables, beef, or chicken). We also had a tomato/passion fruit drink and an icy strawberry drink. From there, we all had the chance to split in groups and venture through Riobamba for free time. After free time, we all met at the hostel and headed to the school to teach our students from 4 pm – 6 pm. After the lessons, we returned to Roma Santa and had a special birthday dinner for Alexia which involved, pasta salad, chocolate strawberry cake and lots of dancing.
Ella: Though this was a nerve racking experience, I’m glad I had it since it gave me the opportunity to grow as a person as well as a leader. This experience will most definitely help me in future leadership roles. Although I was able to stay on top of reminding my peers to do different things, such as taking water breaks, I need to work on being confident which will make me a stronger leader.
Arshly: Today, I learned that my peers are way more compassionate than I thought. During our CAP execution,I noticed that multiple people didn’t just stick to their group. They helped as much as they could with every group they came across. This showed me that my peers have determination. I was very proud to see everyone working and focused. Being Lider Del Dia was not as stressful as I thought it would be. Being a leader doesn’t mean that you’re the loudest person in the room. There’s different kinds of leaders in the world and just because they’re different, doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same effect on the community around them.
Happy birthday Alexia!
Carmen mommy loves you and misses you very much???
Ella and Arshley great job at being the Lider Del Dia
Happy Birthday Alexia! ???
Glad the group enjoyed the first day of CAP and helped each other out regardless of group assignments. Keep up the good teamwork!!!
As for my sis Carmen, it was so good to hear your voice today!!! I will keep my phone on sound while I sleep – just for you lol
Love and miss you ?
Happy Birthday Alexia!
Good for Arshly and Ella for recognizing that there was a disconnect within the group! Getting to know and getting along with each other will make working on your CAP projects done that much more satisfying! It will also be that much more rewarding to a harmonious group. When the CAP projects are finished you can say, wow look what we did TOGETHER!
Arri, great to see you gardening! ??Looks like you may have picked up some tips from Father…lol! We are so very proud of you! Sending you lots of hugs and kisses! Miss you much! Love you bunches! ?
Have fun and be safe everyone! God bless!
I’m so proud of ALL of you!! I read these blogs and I smile, I tear up, I’m simply amazed at the wonderful things you all get to do and learn from it! I share the blogs with members of my family, and at work (I’m pretty sure people are tired of me talking about it) and I can’t hide how proud of this group I am!!
Iam Julie’s Garcia’s grandma from Puerto Rico, and my Daughter Lisa Garcia share with me every day, and Iam so proud of all the group. Love you Julie God Bless
Happy Birthday Alexia!
Arshly and Ella, wonderful job being Lider Del Dia! As Arrismom said: “When the CAP projects are finished you can say, wow! look what we did TOGETHER!!” So proud of you kids and look forward to reading the blogs.
We see you Soleil! Very proud of you!! Keep up the good work! 🙂
Arshly! So proud of you for continuing to learn about and embrace your leadership style. Your quiet strength has always impressed me. Sounds like you had a wonderful day of hard work and lessons learned. Proud of all of you! Good luck on the rest of your CAP days!
Dear Lutie:
It sounds like the group had a very fine day, productive and instructive! The attempt to improve communication among the group was worthy and wise. Also, of course, there was the good food — it seems so from the photographs, which we really enjoy — and the other learning experiences of the day.
We’re cheering for you, but miss you more with each passing day; and we look forward to your return, within less than a week.
With love,
Your Parents
So glad to see CAP in action and glad to hear about the discussion to mitigate disconnection and strengthen the community which is so important. I can’t wait to hear about all of your experiences when you get home Mikaela. We all miss you incredibly.