Heyy!!
To everyone back in New York, I would like to mention that this trip has been an opportunity with many doors of experiences that have been opened and many more to come. On the 8th day, I was given the chance to be the Leader Of The Day, giving me responsibilities like waking everyone up, doing time checks, making sure everyone in the team is doing what they were supposed to be doing etc. In the morning, we were given pancakes and lemonade leading up to our mental warmup, where we learned about how it is to work in Jarabacoa as a local. Then we got to actually experience that by working at a Coffee Green House called Vivero Cafe and then… it rained. We had to go through muddy fields of coffee plants, digging up roots of unnecessary grass. Then we headed back to the Ranch, all soaked, muddy and dirty. After that, we had rice, beans, and fried chicken (and soy for those with food restrictions). We then went on a trip to a coffee factory called Cafe Monte Alto where we were able to see different machines, a variety of coffee beans and buy some of the beans as-is or as powder. Then we again headed back to the ranch where, as a group, we had to present our plan for our CAP days to Olmedo, the leader of the Hatillo community. We finished up with some fried smashed plantains, chicken, cheese, mango juice, and vegetables for dinner. Lastly, we had our Nightly Meeting, where we talked about the good and the bad of the day (roses and thorns), the pluses and wishes (what is needed to improve) of the group and the Leader of the Day, and watched the talent of the next leader to earn the next day’s ‘Leader Of The Day torch”.
