CAP Day 1

First day of CAP Lets Go!

Hi it’s Aquetzlli, Ashley and Christofer, and we were the Leaders of the day for Day 1 of our Community Action Project (CAP).

Today we started by waking up bright and early to conquer the day and to wake up our fellow glimpsers. We then headed over to the main Villa for our very filling and nutritious breakfast consisting of mashed potatoes, eggs, salami, and fruit. To seat everyone we chose to leave it up to chance and do a raffle. Very shortly after, we got on our bus and headed to our CAP community. On our bus ride there our glimpsers FINALLY got a glimpse of Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, along with many other songs thanks to our DJ and PC Daniel. Before work we ensured to prep by applying sunscreen, bug spray, drink some water, and most importantly stretch, to avoid any muscle pain.

Our first task of the day was delivering buckets of sand and cement mix from the top of the town towards the bottom of the mountain. To do this, some of our glimpsers were in charge of shoveling the mix into buckets, while the rest had the job of very carefully passing the heavy buckets down steep slopes and towards the house. With the help of the community members, we were able to deliver the mix and bags of cement to its final destination just in time. After a laborious first half of the day, our group headed out of the community and back the villa for lunch. For lunch, we had chicken, arroz de primavera (Spring rice), and salad.

After coming back from lunch and having a good time on the bus ride singing and having conversations, we went back to work and switched up the tasks to resume our CAP project. For work, we mixed the cement that we brought down from the top of the town with water and mixed it well until it was the perfect consistency that was ready to be used. As we were working hard, shoveling the cement into buckets and forming an assembly line to pass the heavy buckets of cement into the home, the locals of the town were interested and happy about our dedication to this project. Us leaders, Ashley and Chris, worked hard alongside everyone else and brought the energy by making sure to remind everyone to drink water, work hard, and stay safe when everyone was working to shovel and pass buckets. We wanted to make sure that everyone was focused, but to also have a good time and not overwork until exhaustion.

Although most of us were working on mixing and passing, some of us, (including todays LDD Aquetzlli) were focused on building a connections with the community kids. The kids were very grateful to have a friend to play with and even learned a few words in English. Thanks to our PC Julia, we were able to listen to music while working and even got to recreate the viral 2016 Mannequin challenge. Even though it was a heavy workday, many of us still got the chance to have fun, dance, and enjoy the CAP project. And it was all worth it when we finally completed our one of three concrete floors. The last thing we did before heading out for the day was take a picture with the group and the homeowner.

Finally, although late, we made our journey back to the villa again. When we got back we made sure to freshen up before our self-reflection and program seminar, led by our amazing GGL’s Judi and Claire. In our self-reflection/seminar time, we discussed our time in the community and how our perspectives have changed after working hard to make the concrete floor for one of the local mothers. Wrapping up our discussions, we headed back to the main villa where we ate tostones, some fries, and salami for dinner. After that rewarding dinner, we met at our nightly meeting spot, where Chris rewarded everyone with a little dessert of cookies to share with everyone for their hard work on their first day of the CAP Project.