Today, we had an early morning at 7:30 am. After breakfast, we started our first day of CAP work at 9 am, where we began digging the foundation of the community center that we will be working on for the next two days. It was tough work pickaxing and shoveling the dirt and rock, but with teamwork and good spirit, we made it through. This morning, the site was very nice and cool; there was a great breeze. Many community members contributed through their hard work. As leaders, we took our role of hydration very seriously and were persistent (annoying) to remind our team to drink water. After 3 hours of consistent work, we came back to Dilenia’s for delicious chili and rice for our meal. Following lunch, we had a few minutes of rest before heading back to the CAP site, where we worked for another 3.5 hours. Throughout this time, we helped bring up materials such as cement, sand, and more tools. We continued our dig and made much progress for a great start tomorrow! We wrapped up our day at the site with many goodbyes and excitement for the following day. We headed home for a quick seminar where we wrote thank-you letters to all of the people who made this trip possible. We had an hour of free time during which we all took much-needed rest before a big dinner of mashed potatoes, salami, and steamed vegetables to fuel us for the hard work ahead. Lastly, we had our nightly meeting filled with many laughs and we passed on the torch :(.
We are having a great time and are very excited to see you all soon!
Kocham cie, Miss you guys soooo much :)- Kasia
Miss you mom! Excited to see you. Love you, :)-Isabel
Miss you Kayla!! I’ll talk to you soon!! Love youuu :)-Ashley
Tell everyone we all say hi!!!!
Nothng like a day of good old fashioned Hard Work to bring on a hearty appetite and a good night of sound sleep. Tomorrow’s sore muscles will be like a badge of honor! And then there is the knowledge of doing some good and helping others that tops off the rewards. Good job, gang. (See, American kids are not all spoiled and pampered ingrates.) We are proud of all of you for doing such a great job of representing our country.
Love the team work assembly line- effective oblique work-out ! Must feel so productive. Good job leaders (sweet little notes at bottom.) What goes on at nightly meetings? Can’t wait to follow the progress on the CAP project– “many hands make light work.” Physical work, plenty of light & fresh air– bet everyone slept well last night! Sigue con el esfuerzo! – Balinda
Thanks for the informative recap. Great job getting started on the CAP! Looks like hard work and a good learning opportunity. It’s always important to build community and these experiences help with that. Keep supporting each other and helping those around you!
Nevin, glad to see that you are wearing your sun hat and being responsible. See, your mother knows what she is doing when she packs all of these things. She’s looking out for you. Speaking of mom, I picked her up at the airport last night. We didn’t get home until 12:30ish. Abby was so happy to see mom. She was making lots of noises and doing a lot of squeaking. Willa invited me over for a cookout with them and Anne O’neill but I couldn’t go because I had to drive to Boston. It was really nice to be invited though. We’re going to a surprise birthday party for Amy tonight. We’re bringing the cake. It’s an ice cream cake with chocolate and coconut ice cream.
We can’t wait for you to come home! Baba
Kasia you are slaying
So proud of all of you—great job!!!! You must be learning so much.
Xiaohan, we just left Pittsburgh, where I am sorry to say we ate at BaeBae’s kitchen twice. We also saw the house your great grandfather Ben grew up in. Before that, we visited great aunt Ruth (97!). We missed you throughout the trip but know you are having an amazing time.
Lots of love,
Mom et al.
Hi Ava P.!!! It’s Auntie Leslye, Uncle Matt, Isa and Celia. We are with your fam at Gloucester for a couple hours and we caught up on all 9 days of your blog. You are all doing incredible work, we are so proud of you! Keep up the good work and we hope you have an amazing rest of your trip. Can’t wait to hear all the details when you get home. Love you!
Wow! I’m so impressed with everyones hardwork and how well you all work as a team. Looks like those gloves are coming in handy Ava M 😉
Love seeing all this hard work on the CAP. Love to see all of the team work and glad you all stayed hydrated. LOL What a great opportunity to work together in accomplishing something so positive for others.
We love and miss you Ava P. and are so very proud of you!
Love, Mom, Dad, and Chris
Hey Cody- looks like you are completely in your element. I love seeing you doing what you are great at. Such an amazing heart. Everyone you are an exceptional group of well rounded young adults. Very proud of this group.
Way to go everyone! It’s amazing what team work can accomplish. I hope you feel good about all your hard work. I love reading these daily journals; you are all doing such a great job!
Look at you guys working hard. so proud of everyone! Kasia I see you are working hard on your muscles with that pickaxe 🙂
I’m sure everyone slept like a baby after all this work. Awesome leaders too!!!
We miss you too Kasia,
Kochamy Cie tez <3
mama & tata