Montserrat:
This morning I woke up feeling tired yet full of energy. I was so excited to meet a family and really get to know what life is like for them especially since they live in this small town called Paris in the outskirts of Chitré. When I was talking to my host mother I realized how alike we were, our families are similar in how we celebrate holidays, we also have some of the same hobbies like dancing bachata. Like I was expecting for us to be so different and maybe have a few things in common. There was actually a lot of things that made this town of Paris and her family so special that I honestly fell in love with this town. After talking to my host mother, our group was playing soccer with the kids of the community and even though there was some language barrier with some of us, I love how everyone was getting along and building a great bond within a few hours. Overall, today was such an eventful day I hope I get the chance to visit Paris again.
Jessica:
Today Montse and I worked together to prepare the trip to Paris de Parita, the CAP Seminar, and English Tutoring. We first went to Paris, a small community with a strong bond between its people. There we had the opportunity to spend the day with a family that is part of the province. I went with Maria Solano who felt like a second mother to me. As a group, we were united by a school tradition that has been held for 6 years which was to celebrate El Dia Del Niño. This was the place where I saw how love, family, and friendships can create a beautiful event. Throughout the day I was astonished by how close everyone can become. My “2nd Mom” would kiss the children and say hi to everyone. It inspired me to get to open up and seek more friendships. Although I had such an interesting morning, my favorite part was playing soccer with the 1st and 2nd graders in the community school. This is where all our differences come aside and are united by a common thing which is soccer. Afterwards, we went to Hotel Hawaii to speak with the representatives of IPHE, the school in which we will be working with to fix aspects to improve the daily lives of the children with special needs. And finally ending the day by tutoring my class of students along with my partner Elan to improve their English.
