Today was our last CAP day! We started off our day with amazing pancakes from Diego. His meals are never a miss. After we finished breakfast we headed over to the school at 8:15. The students from Escuela Aquiares were playing some soccer when we got there. After the foreman, Omar arrived we split up our group and got to work. Our main job was to scrape leftover plaster and clean up any unfinished corners. Since this was our final CAP day everyone was very eager to get started and help with the project. We realized the issues that having separate groups brought, so as leaders we decided to supervise and stay every shift, this was pretty effective because no one was confused about their task.

During breaks, many played with the kids and made them friendship bracelets. Lydia Weeks braided the little girls’ hair as well. It started to get hotter around 10:00 and Memo cut a huge leaf as protection for Sonia. At 11:40 we were all very hungry so Marcela’s lunch hit the spot, we ate arroz con atun, frijoles, and ensalada with delicious jugo de guayaba. While we are eating, the dogs and cats love strolling around the cafeteria.

We had a break till 1 so people used this break to play an exhilarating game of soccer, then we started right back up. While it was hard work, we enjoyed spending time together and joking around. Our favorite job was prying out wooden planks from the ground and everyone watching and cheering us on. We managed to communicate very well and figure out the final touches. During breaks, we would play with Bonnie the dog, and watch the ants carry their gigantic leaves to their hill. Although we don’t have our phones, our project coordinator, Sonia, lends us her phone and speaker to play our favorite jams so we are so very thankful for her. LOVE YOU SONIA! <3

We finished up our part of the project, cleaned all our tools, and a group volunteered to carry back some things to Omar’s house. We got back to Casa Aquiares right before the rain hit and then we had a lot of downtimes. Some chose to go down and watch the kid’s volleyball game and others jumped in the pool. Some went down to the market in the rain for some well-deserved little snacks. We had a deep reflection on our CAP project, at first we felt we didn’t do much and were a bit disappointed in ourselves but then our leaders helped us realize that even a small contribution created a big change and was extremely important.

We passed on the torch to Maya and Rachel.

(Hola Ma y Pa y Luna y Alexa y familia, los quiero 🙂 -Amelie) (hola mama y papa y rory y oscar <3 te amo – Vale)