Day 8: CAP DAY 2

Hola a todos 👋,

It’s the Lideres del Dia (Alexander, Daisy, and Jessica)! Today, at 7:00 am, the glimpsers woke up to the boos and claps of the ghost trio 👻. For breakfast, as per usual, we enjoyed mangú, mashed potatoes, queso frito, salami, eggs, and pancakes 🥞. We also had side options such as fruit salad, cereal, yogurt, and brownies. To wash all of it down, we devoured jugo de chinola, a classic Dominican juice made out of maracuya (passion fruit), chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), café caliente (hot coffee), and leche (milk).

Then, around 8:45 am, we prepared to embark on a bus 🚌 ride to the community. On the bus ride, we had the privilege of sight seeing ponies 🐎, motorcyclists, and the colorful architecture that is iconic of the Dominican Republic. Throughout the trip, we have spotted small blue stands called “Loteka Te Toca,” the equivalent of a New York deli lottery stand. We jammed to the carefully curated playlist 🎵, which included songs by artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Romeo Santos, Marc Anthony, Tyler the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake 😬. In the last minutes of the bus ride, we experienced a little bit of turbulence with some students having their heads shaken off (oops). Gladly, with the expertise of bus driver Milito, we made it safely 😊!

At 9:00 am, we arrived to the house 🏠 we were going to work on for the day. The house was for a family of four consisting of a mother and her three children 👩‍👦. With the help of construction experts, we began to work in our assigned groups. First, group 5 (Alexander, Itzel, Olivia, and Sara) were assigned to create the mix of sand and concrete with the help of group 4 (Sean Michael, Jenny, Daisy, Chelsea) which poured water 🪣 on the mix to prevent it from drying up. After the mix was completed, two of the other groups assembled a train line, similar to that of a factory, to pass (somewhat heavy!) buckets of concrete to the experts inside the house. Simultaneously, groups that had just mixed were refreshing themselves in a cool seating area that was generously offered by the locals. Before 12:00 pm, we had successfully completed 3/4 of the house’s interior, consisting of the bathroom and part of the larger living space. At the end of our work, we had a minor scare with light rain droplets 💧, but do not worry, they went away pretty fast!

After our hard work in the morning, we got back on the bus to the villa, the hotel we are residing in for the trip. At 12:30pm, we arrived with a hunger so immense that we could devour a horse 🐎 (-yikes). For lunch, we had an arrangement of chips de plátano (plantain chips), aguacate 🥑, arroz blanco (white rice), concón (the rice at the bottom of the pan), and sanchocho (a classic Dominican soup of potatoes). To rinse down the food, we had agua de fresa 🍓.

At 1:30, we prepared ourselves to travel to our work site once again. Compared to the morning, we worked in reverse order of groups, giving all groups the opportunity to work hands on and relax as we rotated. Today, it was a bit windy and as motorcycles 🏍️, trucks 🚚, and cars 🚗, zoomed by like the one and only Lightning Mcqueen (KA-CHOW!), sand started to slightly blow in our faces. Sadly, we said bye to the little kids who were playing hand games with the students who were on their break 😔. And, we said goodbye to the chickens and roosters 🐔 that observed our hard labor!

Similar to yesterday, we finished ahead of schedule at around 3:30 pm, giving us an hour and a half to spare. Again, Milito arrived to pick us up with the glamorous bus. We arrived at the villa at 4:30 pm with glimpsers having free time in the villas where they took a rejuvenating shower 🚿, enjoyed Duetto cookies 🍪 (thanks Pamela), and had a moment to call their parents or loved ones 📞.

At 7:00 pm, we enjoyed barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes (with cheese – sorry lactose intolerant friends), smoked vegetables, salad, and fruit on the side. Unfortunately, during the nightly meeting, we were informed that we will not be building the concrete floor of the third house :(! Then, we had a huge 💃 dance party 🕺 to Shakira with some dominos as well.

Stay tuned for what happens tomorrow.

Alexander’s PS:

Hi family and friends, I miss you all so much! Congratulations on 15 to my younger cousin, and I am so sad I couldn’t be there 😔. I miss you so much mom, but I will be back on Thursday to annoy you every five minutes 😏❤️!

Daisy’s PS:

PS. Mom y pops los quiero mucho 🙂 Los veré pronto y espero que estén bien.  

PS. Mewe!!! I love you!! Hope you are enjoying your days being a single child in the house. You better not have watched TSITP WITHOUT me!!!! 

PS. Hola Tío! Se que has extrañado tu sobrina favorita!!! Vengo pronto. Tengo un recuerdo para ti.  

Jessica’s PS:

To my family I miss you lots and I can’t wait to be able to be home in my bed and with you guys 🙂 ❤️

And that’s it!