Today was full of fun! We were able to get our hands dirty as well as have some fun dancing. The group met a local artist nicknamed ‘Gato’ (the Spanish word for cat) who makes carnaval masks. He won first place for his dragon mask in 2015! The group got to learn how masks are made with clay before working on their own mask mold designs. As they were leaving, the group was happy to learn that they will be seeing Gato again at their English classes!

In the afternoon, the group spent their time dancing away under the instruction of Paul. Paul is a P.E. teacher whose passion is for dancing. He won a national award for dancing in 2013 with no professional instruction! Paul taught the students how to dance merengue and bachata, and everyone was smiling, laughing and enjoying the music.

Tomorrow we have our first student leaders of the day as the students start their first phase of their CAP (Community Action Project). The group is heading to bed now but they are excited for the rest of the trip!