Hello friends, from Constanza. Today, joining you are Criseyda and Ivette, the leaders of the day. Overall, the day was an interesting, but chill day. Many people decided to sleep in today since we have been waking up early almost every day. We started the morning off with a wakeup call at 8:45 a.m, with a buffet for breakfast. This buffet consisted of corn flakes, milk, bananas, and a ham and cheese sandwich. However, everyone had to be ready by 9:45 a.m. due to the fact that we were going to present our Community Action Project (CAP) to the panel.

Structure committee presenting to our panel from Rio Grande

After breakfast, we rearranged the tables so that our guests could see our posters clearly. We also moved the chairs so that we were able to see each part of the committee present their parts as well. They reacted to our project in such a positive way that they were happy to hear more of how we were going to construct this project. As mentioned, there were three committees which were structure, irrigation, and making a mural. So for the structure group, we discussed the main idea for building the greenhouse. However, they did make some suggestions regarding the dimensions. They told us that we needed the exact measurements of the area or else we would not be able to build the greenhouse. They had only given us an estimation that led to incorrect  measurements of the greenhouse. Fortunately, they later gave us the accurate dimensions of the area and we were able to resolve the problem. 

Irrigation committee presenting

Next came the irrigation group. The system that they had drawn out was a good one because we ended up not having to pay for any of the materials since the panel had said they had all the supplies we needed in order for it to be constructed. Adding onto that, they had people that would build and show us how to build the irrigation system. Lastly, the group presented their design of the mural. We explained the materials just like the other group, but we also had a purpose in drawing out the mural. As we discussed further on how the painting would look, the panel looked really pleased with our presentations as we saw big smiles on their faces and loved the project we had come up with.

After this, we ate lunch and went onto free time. During our free time, we all went out to many places in groups of four or more. This also gave us time to explore Constanza a bit more because when we go out, we tend to get what we need and then return to the hotel. This time, we were able to enjoy it and explore what we haven’t seen. Although many people were homesick and wanted to go home, everyone was supporting one another and making sure to get our moods back up. All the positive energy ended up being useful since a lot more people began to participate in our little group activities, such as playing cards. 

Mural committee putting smiles on everyone’s faces

After that we went to the school where we would be teaching English to evaluate our students to see what class they would be in since we wanted to know their level, what they know, what to teach them, etc. While we were at the school waiting for people to come we saw a kitten, which was helpful for people that were homesick because all of our attention was focused on wanting to feed the cat and how cute it was. We eventually ended up feeding it, but we made sure not to touch it.

After a while of being at the school, we returned to the hotel where we had our nightly meeting. Our meeting was wonderful since we were able to pass the torch onto Elizabeth and Raul. Their talent was hilarious, but they deserved it in the end. As our meeting ended, most people were preparing to leave to go to a basketball game, which was very exciting and funny. The game went smoothly, but we were not able to stay for the whole game because it was getting late and we had to return to the hotel. The entire day had its ups and down, but we got through it and it made our friendships stronger than ever!

Sincerely,
Ivette (shoutout to my family and my friends, I miss you all so much. The day I will see you all will be closer than we think. Love you)

Criseyda (shoutout to my family for making me feel better even though I miss them a lot, see you in 6 days!)

Structure committee presenting

English evaluations

Basketball crew

This is what a basketball game looks like in the DR. We paid 50 pesos to get in here and had a great time!