Greetings from Gracie and Kate!

We started our day at the early hour of 6:15. The previous night we settled on wearing our matching green toucan shirts in order to be recognizable throughout the day. By 6:30 am we were ready to get the gang up and moving. Gracie took the casita and had the daunting task of waking up the boys… Meanwhile, Kate lucked out on just waking up the girls. Once that task had finally been completed, we all headed out to breakfast at approximately 6:55 am. Our fabulous wizard of a chef, Diego, had whipped up our breakfast: scrambled eggs, french toast, fresh, ripe fruit, with an option for yogurt and granola (to be inclusive). After we were done indulging, we applied our sunscreen and bug spray; reminding our fellow glimpsers to follow in our footsteps. We then sojourned to the school ready to CONQUER CAP DAY 3.

We commenced CAP day 3 by assigning various tasks to each Glimpser. These tasks ranged from agricultural work to masonry work. Your fellow LDDs (Leaders of the Day) began the day by pulling stubborn weeds from the flower beds that our hard-working Glimpsers had previously assembled the day before. We managed to complete two flower beds by lunchtime, which was at precisely 11:49 am. We dined in the school cafeteria where we chowed on rice, beans, tender beef, and mixed veggies, we washed it all down with some homemade apple juice.

After fueling ourselves for the arduous tasks ahead, we were fired up and ready to tackle our various jobs. Some Glimpsers continued their masonry work which comprised mixing grout and laying down floor tiles. One Glimpser described the experience as ´´incredibly satisfying´´ but reported needing resilience in order to combat the challenges which included sporadic lower back aches and broken tiles. The Glimpers were tasked with completing a segment of the hallway, which they ferociously tackled in less than three and a half hours. The tiles were placed in the hallway leading to the main project, the Ranch, which is going to be utilized for outdoor dining by the school and community.

Other Glimpsers (including Kate and Gracie) had the opportunity to work on the floors of the Ranch in the back of the building. The previous floors were cracked, brittle, and dry cement which posed the challenge of having to be refurbished. Luckily, we were up for the task. We began by effortlessly sweeping the dusty floors, followed by rehydrating the concrete. Next on the agenda was to create our first batch of concrete, a concoction of sand, cement, and water. Once mixed, we began slathering the concrete into the porous holes of the previous floor. Shout out to Clive and Mila for their elegant use of the wooden plank to smooth the concrete; Shirley for forcefully combining the wet and dry ingredients, our team of sand sifters for always delivering our sand, the most imperative ingredient of our mixture; Chino for putting up with our inexperience in masonry and for crafting and welding the structure; last but never least, Fabi, for showing us the way, playing us music, and overall being a great role model in the realm of masonry. Our end result did not fail to impress.

Moving on to one of the larger tasks of the day, the Glimpsers handcrafted the garden beds. We began with shoveling grass to unveil the next layer of dirt for use. The previously mentioned grass required removal due to its abundance of weeds. One Glimpser described the task as ´´slightly yucky´´ but ´´overall relatively easy to learn and grasp.´´ On the other hand, our leadership coach, Maryanne, recalls it as a ´´gratifying experience in the fact that we got to see how much things changed from CAP day 1 to CAP day 3.´´ Fabi and Mila artistically crafted the garden sign, which sits looking over the whole garden. Your leaders of the day then gathered larger rocks scattered around the land, which we then painted a striking teal blue. Mila then passed her wisdom on tending to various species of plants and maintaining a healthy garden. Our Glimpsers finished this segment of the project by writing labels indicating each plant.

Our pre-established schedule faced hurdles when we surpassed the allotted time, we thankfully were able to stay an hour and a half longer to finish what we started. Upon arriving home, everyone cleaned up in preparation for dinner which was immaculate, to say the least. Diego whipped up a hearty plate of rice, beans, tortilla chips, chicken, and salad. Diego simply never misses to fulfill our needs and give us nutrition after a hard day of construction. We CAPped off the day with tres leches cake in celebration of Daran´s and Vicmary´s seventeenth birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!)

If you have gotten this far, thank you so much for your time and interest. We hope you enjoyed it and got a taste of what it is like to be a Glimpser.

Byeeee

• Kate and Gracie