Written by: 1/C Seamus Connolly
Today was our second work day, and all 12 cadets were very excited to continue exploring Guatemala while helping local communities! The morning started off with a bang at Violetta’s. We collectively said approximately five words over breakfast as we stuffed our faces with an omelet with ham and cheese, black beans, and plantains. Muy delicioso! From there the three groups went our separate ways to our respective work sites.
Group 1 includes myself, Vincenzo, Reagan, and Pablo (which is now known as the greatest work group ever assembled). Our group departed from breakfast with our mentor, Jelen. Jelen is an Antigua native who works closely with our group. Jelen has been amazing in helping us navigate the chicken buses up to San Antonio, translating, and showing us the good spots around town! After a roughly 20-minute ride on the bus, we arrived in San Antonio where we were greeted by Hector, a teenager who works alongside William – the site leader for San Antonio. Hector took us up to William’s house, where we sanded material we will use for work tomorrow. We have been working to support a community center named Asociation Creando Oportunidades. We got to enjoy a picture-worthy view as we were high above the town of San Antonio. It also provided an amazing perspective of the monster we will look to conquer on Saturday, otherwise known as Volcan Acatenango. I will say it built a lot of excitement.
The other groups reported a solid day of work painting. However, when they returned, I was concerned that they painted themselves instead of the walls. Sean Davis insisted that they did indeed paint the walls and had to send a picture as proof.
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Good job guys!
Following the work day, we convened at Violetta’s at 12:30 where I demolished two beef tortillas with guacamole and mashed potatoes. After leaving, some of us took a quick nap, and then we got wicked smart at Spanish class from 13:30-16:30. After class, we had our daily meeting to go over the day’s activities. Sean and I then went to get super jacked at the Antigua gym. At 19:30, we celebrated Taco Tuesday with 2-for-1 tacos at Tacorazon. Count me in anytime! Time to hunker down in the sheets and enjoy a full night of sleep.
