August 3 ~ Laura

I tried not to have many expectations about this trip, but I expected a lot of hard work. There was so much I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect the awesome malaria dreams. I didn’t expect the fabulous food every day- especially the cumpleanos. I didn’t anticipate how well we’d get to know the families & each other or how good Gallo & guacamole tastes at 5:05pm! I didn’t anticipate how beautiful the sunset would be from the roof or what it would feel like to set the alarm off at 5:30am ( yeah, that was me) I didn’t realize how relaxing it could be to work outside all day & rest on a giant pile of stones or how exciting it was to hear the cinderblock kids sing us a song that welcomed Gringos to their school! I got my passport 3 days before this trip & it makes me think how close I was to missing all this. I wonder how many of you were in the same position. Maybe you almost didn’t get to come. Maybe you almost didn’t tae the time off work. Maybe you almost went on a cruise instead. Maybe you only got to go because someone else dropped out of the group or you applied on the last possible day. One twist in the road and we all might have gone another way. I’m so glad we all found our way here.