Community Action Project day 2

We started with an early wakeup call at 4:15 which nobody was really happy about. From 5 to around 7 we drove to La Mesa De Macaracas which is the plantation we worked on today. Today was thankfully cooler than yesterday but we had more work and more distance to cover which made it equally as hard. We planted an estimated 800 trees which is around 100 more than yesterday. Despite the heat and hard work everyone kept a positive attitude, joking and talking the whole time. We finished an hour and a half early which was a great morale boost and felt amazing. We as a group learned to persevere through struggles and the rough environment while keeping a good attitude. I personally learned that my limits are greater than I believed and it showed me I can do so much more than I imagined. We then spent the next hour and a half singing and napping on the ride back which was great. From around 1 until dinner at 7 we had free time which was used for talking, napping, shopping and, playing games. I saw bonds grow; friendships form and people really emerge from their shells. Dinner was chicken and rice with a salad and fruit punch followed by soccer and a bit of down time before nightly meeting. Olivia, Lukas, Louis, and Kauan put on a great show for their talent and Benny taught us how to make a fortune teller. Overall, today I learned a lot about myself as a leader and ways I can improve in the future.

Signed, Sean.

Today was another early day for your glimpsers where we woke up at 4:30 am to eat breakfast on the bus as we went to meet Isaac and the Pro Eco Azuero group for our day 2 of our reforestation trip. We met the group a 7 am at La Mesa De Macaracas where we worked on restoring the ecosystem of the once forest. After a hard day of work, but effective your glimpsers were able to plant about 800 trees while being able to also save an hour of work time and being able to get more free time for when we got back to the hotel. But, after we finished our work with Isaac and Pro Eco Azuero, we left the worksite and went off the get lunch for the day, where we got off and were able to buy local drinks at a store nearby. At the bus ride back to our hotel, we were able to sing karaoke with the speaker for the rest of the ride back to the hotel. When we returned back to the hotel, we were able to freshen up and get ourselves ready for our free time. Some of us were able to go out and get some local ice cream and then hit up a local market and got back and were able to play games. And then rolled around dinner time where we were able to eat some local chicken with rice and peas and salad on the side. And during the nightly meeting Olivia, Lukas, and Benny were able to all put on a great show. In all we experienced a lot especially me as a leader and I saw what to carry on to tomorrow and even as we leave this trip. I saw that as leader how much my dedication and passion could affect the people around me and help others also achieve their own goals.

P.S Love you Mom

Signed, Mateo

The first thing I hear is knocking. I’m half asleep until I get blasted by light. I was greeted by my fellow leaders, Sean and Miguel, who told me it was 4:30 am. In the background I saw my friend, Joel, already lively and dancing in the hallways. At 5:00 am we gathered everyone to the lobby to get on the bus. Once the group found their seats, we were headed to Pro Eco Azuero for our second day of reforestation. It was around 7:00 am once we met with Isaac, an intern at Pro Eco Azuero. We were led to the hillside and got ready to work. For about 3 hours we put all our effort; In the end, we were able to plant about 800 trees. As usual, we finished early and rode our way back to the hotel. We all got on the bus exhausted, but we still had energy to sing our hearts out to karaoke. We eventually took a pit stop at a little restaurant, Fonda Yanelys. two glimpsers, Kauan and Chiekh, volunteered themselves to bring the rest of the group drinks. The group continued to sing karaoke and relax after a hard day’s work. Once we made it to the hotel, we all took some time to relax and get a nice cold shower. Then, we sat down in the common room to eat lunch and talk with each other. While everyone went out the get ice-cream and explore Las Tablas, me and my friends, Miguel, Mohammed, and Desmond, went to order some food with the restaurant next to the hotel. Me and Miguel were able to get to know Ariel, one of our PCs. During nightly meeting Olivia, Lucas, Louis, Kauan, and Benny put a great show with Benny giving an origami tutorial and the rest did a trick. Through all of this I realized that in just one week, all of the glimpsers were able to create great relationships and work together for something greater.

Signed, Giovany