CAP Day one

Hola from Toby, the one and only Leader of the Day.

Today was our first day of the Community Action Project (CAP) and by far the hardest day so far. My day started at the disgustingly early hour of 5:00 AM so I could be ready to wake up the rest of the crew at 6:00, which people responded VERY differently to (Bella fell out of bed, Tricia didn’t wake up).

We ate a delicious breakfast of mashed potatoes, salami, and queso frito to get our energy up before the long day ahead, and then I recruited Melinda as a temporary co-leader to help me rally the group and get everyone on the bus. We took our lovely cooks, Ursula and Aurelia, along to the CAP site, so the bus was absolutely packed with shovels, water, and prospective masons.

The bus ride to the site was far less eventful than the last time we made the trip, and only one or two branches ended up hitting the right-side passengers.

Once the bus parked, we all grabbed as many shovels and 5-gallon jugs of water as we could and made the walk from the bus to the house that we would be flooring today. Chris twisted his ankle on the way, but he soldiered on and we made it the rest of the way without incident.

Once we reached the house, we greeted the family and the workers who would be helping us with the more difficult parts of the project, like smoothing the concrete. Once we had become acquainted with everyone, we got to work, breaking open the concrete bags and mixing them with the construction sand that had been laid out for us before we arrived. After we added the water, the real work began, and just about everyone was put to work, myself included (some of our Dominican companions cheered me on with a “¡Vamos Justin Beiber!).

Working like a well-oiled machine, we managed to complete the first half of the project ahead of schedule, thanks to people subbing in for one another at exactly the right times, with a little motivation from their Leader. We set up the cement pile for our next shift and then took our lunch break, which consisted of Sancocho (a thicker soup with meat and vegetables), rice, and avocado.

We didn’t rest for long before it was time to get back to mixing the cement. Backbreaking would be a suitible word to describe the work, as complaints about back pain became plentiful almost immediately. We decided to switch up the system, breaking the team into two groups, switching on and off every five minutes, which temporary leader Shane kept track of. We managed to work even faster this way, completing the second half of the house in just an hour, despite the intense heat and aching backs.

I attempted to teach a few tricks to relieve the pain to the group with mixed results, and then we cleaned off our shovels and said goodbye to the grateful family and our diligent Dominican masons.

I’m still not sure why, but we had an extra bus on the way back, so we split up arbitrarily and made our way back to the ranch, tired, but happy. Many people on my bus fell asleep, including myself, so I’ll have to assume that the bus ride was pleasant based on the fact that I didn’t wake up until the end of the hour-long trip.

After we got back we enjoyed some free time and some food, taking a break to write letters of appreciation to some supporters of the program.

I ended my eventful tenure as the group’s Leader at our nightly meeting, handing my role to Chris and Tamari for tomorrow’s second day of CAP.

Note from GG Staff:

Comments submitted on this blog are reviewed by the Global Glimpse team before appearing publicly. Approved comments will be visible on the website within 24 hours. Thank you for your patience and for supporting your student’s journey!

Los comentarios enviados en este blog son revisados por el equipo de Global Glimpse antes de ser publicados. Los comentarios aprobados serán visibles en el sitio web dentro de las 24 horas. ¡Gracias por su paciencia y por apoyar el viaje de su estudiante!