City Girls Come Visiting
Megan and Carrie came to visit today from the metro area.
It was catch up time as to how Megan’s eight-day senior trip had gone to Porto Rico. 120 students had made the trip.
Rooms within homes that had been flooded during the hurricane five years ago were scrapped and then given a fresh coat of paint. Flat roofs that leaked were painted with a sealant. Homes that had had brush piled up around their homes from flooding were cleared. Many home pantries would have several cans of beans and rice for the family’s meals, but little else. Certain days of the week, people would gather at a town square for community food distribution. Mango and coconut trees were prevalent.
The meals that the students had were heavy on rice and beans and some pork protein and sleeping was on wood slat beds with mattresses of canvas covering straw. Mosquitos found targets during the nights, and spiders during the days. Shower areas were most often a pipe overhead with no shower heads or more times than not the water was cold. Not all homes had running water. Water taken from streams had a solution of bleach added to make the water drinkable. None of the students were to drink anything other than bottled water.
Megan said the treat was swimming in the ocean twice. On the day they left for home, there were boxes to donate items of what they had come with for the village people. Most donated the pillows and sheets as each child had had to bring their own for the duration.
The trip was interesting, but Megan commented that sleeping in her own bed and using a toilet that flushed . . . awesome.
For the chaperons, the comment was that the accommodations in Porto Rico were so much better than when they had gone with previous senior trips to the Dominican Republic. Hmm.
Life’s lessons that could not be explained but only through experience. Sweet.
Megan also got some cat Snuggle time while they were visiting here today. Megan has always loved grandpa’s cats.