Day Six

This is McKenna blogging about our sixth day here.

After a fun-filled day at Cayos Cochinos, we went back to work today. Instead of hauling sand bags up the 120 stairs at the Jungle School, we hauled concrete across a trail the boys made a few days ago. We were working on a dam which has been in progress all week, and we completed the task today. We passed buckets down an assembly line, and definitely stayed entertained as we sang, told stories, and chased empty buckets down the hill as we dropped them. Jesus and Leah impressed us all with their impersonations of chickens and monkeys, and Alexis swang from branch to branch pretending to be a "mono" (Spanish for "monkey" for those who lack language skills, like myself).The boys moved between this task and bringing bags of rice up from the road.  Seeing as it is April Fools Day, we also played practical jokes on each other throughout the day, though only few were successful. We finished work relatively early and got to see the kids before they left school. Though we had just finished a three hour workday, the kids cheered us right up with their bright, smiling faces and cheerful personas. When they left for home, we ate a quick lunch then got back on the road. Steve and Brian Baker stayed behind and helped put the finishing touches on the dam. Our last day at the Jungle School was a little emotional, though it was not our last day with the kids. We departed knowing our hard work will greatly help the school and the kids.

We next visited the new site of the Hogar de Amor. It is currently under construction, and was a potential site for work this week. However, I think we were all happy to have worked at the Jungle School with the kids and lower temperatures. We briefly looked around and admired the kids´future home, which was significantly larger than the current home. This will allow for 10 rooms versus the current 3, and make room available for more children in the Hogar. After a long day of work, our tempers were running a little short, but Leah eased tensions by signing "If You´re Happy and You Know It" on the ride back to the hotel. With two hours between then and visitng the Hogar, we dispersed as some went for a walk, hung out in the lobby, or caught up on some sleep. It seemed odd having "free time" as we have been so busy this week, but we all enjoyed a little time to ourselves.

Seeing the kids is never a boring experience. Though some kids from the Hogar were getting a jump start on their weekend homework--something unheard of back home--they all enjoyed our time together. Danielle took poloroid pictures and the kids made frames. Many kids wrote notes to each other, which brought out our emotions a little early. Playtime did not fail in bringing memorable stories. We found a bird nesting in the yard, and when I asked Harrison how to say "bird" in Spanish, he jokingly replied "comida," which means food, not bird. Santos channeled his agressive side and bit Aubrey in the face. Jesus and Brian had to mediate and tell Santos biting is not a friendly thing to do. We all enjoyed spending time with the kids, making arts, crafts, and memories. Many children framed our pictures and gave them out as gifts, knowing we would always remember our joyful times.

 Come 6 o´clock, we returned to the hotel. Bri M, Erica, and Kylee attended church in the time before dinner, while the rest of us went for a walk around town or hung out in our room. Kyla performed lice checks on some of us, and Stacey helped Kyla search for lice in Bri M´s head. For dinner, we enjoyed beans, plantains, and chicken around the pool, and soaked up each other´s company. After dinner, some headed out for a night of dancing and others went for a dip in the hotel pool. Shelby Byer, Shelby Grates, Harper, Alexis, Chloe, Nick, Amanda, Brian, Bri M, Jesus, Kyla, and I were escorted by Stuart and Steve to go dancing. Though the security guards were initially hesitant to grant us entrance because of Nick´s intimidating muscle-tee, he switched shirts with Bri M. and we were let inside. We were the first on the dance floor and did not care if we looked like fools, because we were having fun and busting out our most obscure, yet fun dance moves. After an hour of dancing, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big day ahead of us. Sleep will definitely come easy tonight.

Goodnight.