Day 9: CAP Day 1

Hey everyone!

Today we started off really early at 7 am and had a quick breakfast of eggs, toast, cheese, and juice. We had to finish our breakfast early because we had to head off to the CAP site as soon as possible.

We had to rile up the adults (for once) to make sure everyone stayed on time and we could get as much work done at the CAP site as possible. We climbed into the safari bus and arrived at the site. We were introduced to the community members who would be helping us, while we admired the scenery at one of the neighboring cow postures (and had to avoid stepping on all the cow poop LOL). We began the first shift our project at 9 am digging a one-foot long by one-foot wide trench with pickaxes and shovels (we know we’re going to wake up sore tomorrow).

Once it had reached around 12, we climbed onto the safari bus and drove back to our accommodation where we had a lunch of rice and pork, steamed vegetables, pasta salad, and juice. After lunch, we had a quick 30-minute break to recharge, and many of us took naps (McKinley and Aileen slept in the hammocks).

After our energized bus ride compared to the one in the morning, we arrived at the CAP site to continue our ruthless digging. We had the bright idea of leading a stretch break to begin our second shift (McKinley and Tanvi combined their leadership skills from previous sports involvements)! The second half of the work was a lot easier because we decided to divide into groups of 2 and alternate between a shovel and a pickax. It made the work go by much quicker (and the views were a lot prettier). A plus was we actually got to talk to people as we worked; we had a built-in buddy to talk to!

After our second shift, JC surprised us with all sorts of Dominican sweets. P.S. they taste like salty Oreos LOL! (Dan and Karen: you might be getting some if McKinley doesn’t eat them all).

Everyone was pretty energized after the snack break, and we put the energy to use by taking showers and writing letters to Global Glimpse supporters. Madison used her AP LIT teaching skills to proofread everyone’s letters. A lot of us didn’t get to finish before dinner, which was chicken tenders, fries, and fruit juices (Swarali and Shashank: don’t worry, Tanvi didn’t eat the chicken tenders LOL).

After dinner, we led the nightly meeting and passed the Leader of the Day torch to Roselyn and Ashley, who are set to lead CAP Day 2!

Note to Dan and Karen from McKinley: I miss you guys so much and am looking forward to seeing you so soon! P.S. I am currently on page 17 of The Invisible Man so I will definitely need to catch up on reading at home (or in Hawaii). P. P. S. I am surprisingly good on bug bites (I have less than 10) as I have been covering myself in bug spray every single moment I get the chance. Anyway, I love you guys so much! <3

Note to Swarali, Shashank, Aji, and Ajoba: Hi guys! Missing you all so so much! Can you believe my trip is coming to an end? It feels like I left for the DR only yesterday, which is so crazy to me. Don’t worry about me too much; the accommodation has been amazing with providing vegetarian food for me; I’m not starving LOL! The DR is so similar to India in terms of weather, architecture, and culture! So excited to see you guys soon! Missing you dearly.

-Tumchi ladki, Tanu mau