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Hola!
We started out the day with a delicious breakfast of cheese-filled tortillas, sausages, and fresh watermelon. Then the guys went to help pour the cement for the new basketball court, while the girls went across the road to the high school where we were told to wait for Richard who was coming "right away" with paint. 20 minutes later, and after a good volleyball game, Richard showed up and we were able to do some painting at the clinic, with the sound of amazing piano music played by one of the locals in the background. Once that was completed, we trekked back through the goat farm to avoid the concrete pumping which was going on by the front entrance. We found the guys standing around watching, because apparently the other men were able to do the job better! Then us girls went to paint another area in the elementary school. We had no problem getting paint all over ourselves until we tried to wash it off and realized that it was oil-based paint and not easy to remove! Once that was completed, and all the brushes were washed, we had an amazing lunch of rice, chicken, coleslaw, fresh veggies, and arepita (don't ask). To top that off we each got a delicious cup of jello for dessert.
After lunch, we all freshened up a bit, and piled into the van with Richard, his son, and our tour guides/translators Jonathan, Willy, and Uziel (Oozy). We drove an hour to the capital city of Santo Domingo, and experienced some crazy Dominican driving habits which consisted of much honking, swerving, and minimal signal-light use! Once we got to the city, we went to a market where we got a taste of Dominican style shopping. This was a crazy experience as we had to learn how to bargain and deal with pushy sellers, all while calculating the conversion of pesos to Canadian dollars. In the end, we all managed to leave with some great souvenirs! After that, we re-boarded and went to visit the colonial zone, otherwise known as the first city ever in both North and South America. Jonathan, who knew English very well, led us through some amazing architecture while telling of Christopher Columbus and other prominent figures, who are "even better than Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln." During this tour we stopped at Columbus plaza where we saw some cultural dances with music, and fed the large flock of pigeons (aka skyrats.) Next we came upon cute coffee and ice cream shops where we each got a snack or drink (or both if you're Treena). On the way back, we stopped to pick up pizza which we had planned to enjoy on the beach, but those plans were foiled when we were caught in a torrential rain storm, and by the time we got to our bus we all were soaked. This didn't stop the pizza party however, as Richard just passed down the large pizza boxes and we had to try distribute the semi-cut pizza slices all while the bus lurched over bumps and swerved through traffic. This was highly entertaining to our tour guides who videoed us as we were screaming and yelling at each other. Despite all this, we managed to enjoy our meal and drink our pop in safety, and by the time we were finished, we had arrived at the busy _supermercado _where we did a major grocery haul for food baskets which we hope to distribute to the poor families.
Once this was complete and all the groceries safely stowed away, we drove back 'home' where we cleaned up and finished the evening with closing, devotionals, and singing.
This has brought us to the end of another perfectly amazing day, full of fun and laughter.
Adventure awaits!
Buenas noches!
