Que tal, somos Idania y Miguel, los Líderes del Día!! Waking up everyone else at 7 AM was challenging because everyone was still tired from the hard work from the day before, but it seemed that the delicious breakfast (a very tasty sandwich) woke most of us up. With everyone motivated on the bus with music and thoughts of a busy day, we were all ready to get to work. With our large group still divided in two, we went our separate ways to focus on both the mural and to finish off the grass. The mural was a difficult challenge because we didn’t have certain colors ready, and the temperature was very hot today, so we needed many breaks for water and sunscreen. For the grass group, we were missing some tools and the thorn bushes were pricking us. The day was long and the hot temperature did not help.

The mural team worked tirelessly to complete the project, and we had many ideas and changes that were done in order to best finish the mural. The headmaster was observing as we worked diligently, and would occasionally give us a new direction to take our projects, which we would take into account. After many long and strenuous hours, the projects were finally complete. As a form of celebration, we took a group photo and the headmaster gave us a keychain of a traditional sandal so we would remember the school by. The trip back was enjoyable, and despite our tiredness, we continued lively conversations all the way to the hotel. During our free time, some of us went to the mercado, which is a small convenience store right across the street. Passing the time together is so much more enjoyable with the bonds we created as a group, and it really showed today when our projects were complete. 

Once dinner arrived, we ate some soup and had interesting conversations like always. We then headed to the nightly meeting to finish off the rest of the day, as well to prepare for the next. Disappointing news soon arrived after the meeting that our Program Coordinator, Mateo, will not be with us for the rest of the trip. Everyone had a special moment with him and said our goodbyes before he departed on his flight to Colombia. He was a mentor and friend to all of us, and we really enjoyed the time we spent together as a delegation.