Time Capsule Letter
Hey Loves,
We hope you are all happily settled in to your new/old lives at home! We miss you and wanted to send you an update from Las Canas. We completed the bottle house and Alejandro’s family has moved in. Slow but sure, we finished up the walls and taught newcomer students to tackle problems. Your hard work truly helped in finishing the structure.
We often reminisce on your maturity and kindness. You all surprised us with the way you tackled new and uncomfortable situations. Your thoughtful queries during discussions and work days showed us the ability you have to analyze your situation and respond in an appropriate and impactful way. Whether we were figuring out work strategies or enjoying a virgin piña colada at the beach, you all managed to convey true personality and caring.
Our little family turned out to be amazing. Remember the night we danced bachata and had a dance competition? Or all the laughs we had with Junior? We hope you can remember the moments you felt happy, uncomfortable, inspired, and determined. We hope you carry those memories with you and use them to empower you to stay globally engaged.
Reach out if you need anything!
With love,
Leslie, Marie, and Junior
Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!
Saturday April 13, 2019
We have all arrived safely! Excited for the adventure that lies ahead!
Sunday April 14, 2019
The day started off with a breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, cereal, granola, and fruit. We had orientation before going to the worksite. At the worksite we mixed cement and put it on walls. We also dug a hole for a septic tank. We walked back to home base for lunch. After we rested, we came back to the worksite and worked for a couple more hours in the sun. We did swim tests and played cards during free time. After dinner, we worked in our journals and learned about human security.
After lunch we relaxed and took in the insane view before hiking back down. We made it back to the bus an hour and a half later and drove back to the lodge. Once there, we went to the beach and played soccer and tanned. We came back to the lodge for dinner and had rice, fruits, chicken potato and carrot stew (called sancocho), broccoli and lemonade. We closed off the day with a discussion about the relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We are excited for some cement fun in Nueve York Chiquito tomorrow.
Tuesday April 16, 2019
Wake up, breakfast, blah blah blah – you know the deal! We drove to an unfinished home. Using assembly lines, handwork, & loads of sweat, we mixed 8 bags of cement to partially floor the building. The experience provided by this opportunity was unlike any other. We were directly able to see and interact with the people we were impacting.
There was paw patrol band-aids + lots of water breaks, but we worked so so hard. Using consensus building tactics we came together at the end of the day to play an educational game of Dancing Mafia. There were both awkward and enthusiastic dances, but we learned a lot about working together, leadership roles, and everyone’s dance skills.
P.S. Long live Omar and Junior the Haitian King.
LODs: Chloe, Tana, and Omar (aka Liam)
Wednesday April 17, 2019
Today we woke up at 7:30 and started our day. After our delicious breakfast we took an hour long bus ride to Sosua Beach. Shortly after, we picked up our life jackets and snorkel gear. We snorkeled in the beautiful clear water and saw some fish. We then went back to the beach to eat pizza, play soccer with locals, and swim in the water. We had the chance to go souvenir shopping after the beach as well. We came back home to the lodge, ate dinner, and had an interesting discussion about climate change and social activism after watching a documentary.
See you soon,
Ryan, Brandon, Tate
This morning was a relatively early morning, as we woke up at 7:30am and ate breakfast at 8am. At 9 o’ clock we left for the famous “Dudu” Lagoon. The lagoon was beautiful! We enjoyed jumping into the chilly cave lakes. After the swim, we had an intense volleyball game, showing off the groups teamwork and athletic talents.
Afterwards, we had a buffet lunch to fill our starving bellies. We then headed out to the majestic beach, “Playa Preciousa”. After riding the waves and sipping pina coladas, we headed home and commenced Free-Time. We had a scrumptious dinner at 6pm. Later, we had a lesson on the traditional dominican dance called Bachata. We ended the day off with a competitive dance battle!
LODs: Jenna, Akshay, Lauren
