Hey! It’s Leslie and Ashley šŸ™‚ Today we were able to experience life in the shoes of a local. Last night we started our challenge to live like a local so we turned off all electricity and collected water in a bucket for our showers and toilets. It was a bit hectic with no electricity, but we managed to make it through the next morning. Our day started off with a nice bucket shower and then we attended a seminar that addressed the shocking realities of the world we live in. Again, we realized just how much is taken for granted and how fortunate we are when it comes to resources. We then finished the seminar and made our way to the community of Rio Grande where we would be doing chores with the community and truly living like a local.

We were then divided into groups where we experienced how each local spends their time in the day. Some groups visited host families and helped them around the house with different chores along with getting to know a little bit about their lives. We also distributed donations including school supplies and clothing to various families in the community. Other groups helped make today’s lunch (which was amazing!) and finish the last delegation’s Community Action Project (CAP) which was a basketball court.

After we took care of some of the duties of a local, we played with the kids at the school and gave our “Big Love” to the members of the community. All of us were so happy to spend time with them and had a lot of fun! We appreciated the opportunity to hear their stories and experience their day to day life. Saying our goodbyes to Rio Grande, we headed back to the hotel where we had another seminar that was dedicated to our Appreciation Letters. We wrote our drafts and were able to reflect on our 10 days in Constanza.

Before dinner, we had an hour to explore the town on our own and even though some groups spent most of their time looking for the empanadas place, we still had a blast getting to know Constanza and having the time to explore. Our nightly meeting was in the dark because the majority of locals cannot always rely on having running water and electricity. We wrapped up the day with passing the leadership sash to Ashley and Hurley, who you will be hearing from tomorrow!

Leslie – Having soo much fun, los extraƱo mucho mom, dad, y Kelly!!

Ashley – See you soon, mama and dad! I miss you!!! (maybeeeee šŸ™‚ )