Hey guys! It’s Cynthia and Darwin. Today we had the challenge of being El Lider Del Dia.  Even though we were tired from the previous day, we had an early start in order to have more productive working time with the Pusuca community. Once we arrived we quickly had a meeting to stay organized. Locals and glimpsers were split into three different groups: Minga, Trash Cans, and the Wood House.

The Minga group planted indigenous trees to the community. They planted around 120 plants in the morning while locals were asking some of the glimpsers about their life in California and vice versa. After finishing their planting, they all went to a seminar of caution of agriculture presented by college students from a Geo organization.

The trash can group washed the cans that had oil in them and the locals took off the lids. Then, they painted the trash cans black and recycling cans blue with black print. Unfortunately, a mishap occurred and the group had to repaint three cans in limited time which took a lot of flexibility. Finally, they put the poles into cement to keep the trash cans in place.

The garbage set up

The wood house was the biggest challenge because time wasn’t on our side. Wrong measurements were taken and the whole long process had to be redone. The house group was building the walls and cutting up the bars to be aligned with one another. It was a rainy day that by each moment the weather worsened. After long hours of work, the house was finally finished and sustainable.

measuring the wall

The HOUSE!

For weeks we were told we were going to eat Cuy (Guinea Pig) but the day never came until today. You might be disgusted by the idea of it but cuy is actually really delicious *yum*. You should definitely try cuy one day.

CUY!!!!!!

Afterwards, we set up the swing set and the highlight of it all was seeing the local kids enjoying themselves.  When the Minga and Trash Can group finished, they both went to help finish the house which was more complicated than it sounds. After finishing the whole project, we gathered around to celebrate with some hot tea and pan dulce. In the end, we said our goodbyes and rode to the sunset on our bus. Afterwards we had our usual nightly meeting and self reflection.

We all learned something very valuable today, how much we can accomplish when we work together (every glimpser and local). Over the course of the two days, we were able to build a swing set, a wooden house for the kids, and a trash can system. These things will make a difference by bringing joy to the community and helping keep a clean community.

Whats surprised Darwin and I the most today was the fact of how the community puts family over work. We are so used to seeing people put their work over their own families but it was nice to see a sense of unity and dedication all in one.

Finished play area

The kids enjoying their new swing set

We are extremely proud of how determined everyone was to finish the house and the trash cans. The previous day the swing set had been set up and the foundations were softened but today everyone managed to work against time and still find time to bond.

I didn’t think it was going to be hard to be ELDD but it turned to be quite difficult. Darwin and I (Cynthia) made a great leader duo. Unfortunately, Darwin got sick and I had to go solo. There had to be a lot of managing and organization. Many peers were sick and everyone was all over the place. All locals were hands on and we had a lot of people working on the same project. We wanted everyone to stay proactive during our work hours but it was hard trying to find a new task for those who didn’t have one. Being ELDD on a CAP day meant that you constantly had to run around and make sure everyone was being proactive but do so without being overbearing or overworking anyone. It also meant that you had to have patience because everyone was on the edge trying to finish.

What I learned about myself was that I am a very fast paced person but I need to give myself a break sometimes. I work better in a team rather than by myself because different skills compliment each other. Overall, I think today was a success both as a group and personally.

with Charito

Jannett working on a wall for the house

Emily playing with the kids

Lifting a wall