Sunday Funday

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep after 12 straight hours of travel!

We awoke to a scrumptious breakfast courtesy of our in-house chef, TaTa.  After a prayer of thanks, we loaded up our plates with warm pancakes and fresh local fruit. 

To begin our week together, Mr. Dinello invited us to participate in "The Paper Plate Awards."  Each person picked a traveler's name out of a hat and has one week to get to know that person, directly or indirectly.  The goal is to decide what "award" that person should receive.  It could be something along the lines of "Most Likely To Fall Asleep On The Bus" or perhaps "Fastest Shoveler."  On Friday, each person will present a paper plate to their assigned person with one such award.  To quote one of our students, "It's gonna be lit!"

We spent the morning preparing for our upcoming work: counting medications, sorting shoes, and staying hydrated.  I even overheard a student say, "Let's all be citizens of Hydration Nation."  Preach, kid, preach.  The sky must have heard us, and because around noon it started to pour.  The intermittent showers showed no signs of stopping, which threw a wrench into our planned afternoon at the beach.

Nevertheless, with grey skies overhead and the pitter-patter of rain outside our windows, we hedged our bets and went to the beach anyway.  It rained for the entire 30 minute bus ride but the sky opened up literally as the bus arrived at the edge of the sand.   Our luck seemed too good to be true.

Amazingly, we were able to enjoy two hours of uninterrupted beach time: the water was warmer than ever, the waves higher than usual, and the sand softer than I remember.  With dark clouds looming overhead, we had an extra special appreciation for each moment that the weather held out.  The kids practiced their back floats, perfected their handstands, and launched each other high into the air only to fall back into the water.  It was so refreshing to see the kids totally off the grid, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

We returned to Casa Pastoral this evening so grateful for our good fortune with the weather.  Dinner consisted of pork, potatoes, carrots and broccoli, followed by an assortment of pies that hit the spot.  The kids are playing cards and reading and doing other kid-things.  Though we are immensely grateful for this day of rest, we're ready for the real work to begin tomorrow.

Good night, everyone!