Our First Full Day

Today we began our work here. Our group split in half to work at two different sites. Below are reflections from each site.

What an amazing first day of work in Puerto Rico! The group that went to the school was surprised by the conditions the kids must learn in, especially since we had learned it was a private school. The school provided education from preschool to seventh grade and some grades had to share both a classroom and teacher. To make the environment more comfortable for the kids, we worked with a talented artist, Javi, to create a mural for the students. We started off the day with painting the dull, yellow walls in the main social area with vibrant shades of yellow, pink, orange, and red to create a fun base for the murals that will be painted on by the students in the days to come. Some of us also helped clean out a room filled with equipment that was not being put to use due to the lack of a physical education teacher. We hope by the end of the trip this room will be transformed into a library for all the children to use. When we returned to the school after eating lunch at the Centro Zen, we worked on painting the backdrop for the murals that will be made on the outside of the school near the playground. We enjoyed painting very much and conversing with the directors of the school, Carmen and Arthur, who at first were nervous of the turn out of our projects but filled with joy after they had seen everything coming to life at the end of the day.

Today was a fun filled day, as we got to work on projects which were very rewarding. The day began with work, involving painting and construction at Centro Zen. People were given the opportunity to help in building a fence, power wash algae covered stairs, and paint a gazebo. The meditation center was recently restored after sustaining damage from Hurricane Maria, which created a lot of destruction throughout Puerto Rico. There is a tightly knit community of people who work at the center, however it was helpful to have extra hands. The work involved collaboration among all of the volunteers, but it was rewarding knowing that we were helping people who were affected by Hurricane Maria. In order to add to the serene atmosphere that the Zen Center was providing, we were cleaning it up, in addition to adding to the aesthetic appeal. For some of the volunteers, a highlight in the day was planting trees in the garden, since they found it to be a special place for them, where they felt calm. After a break, the group painted markers for plants, in addition to painting the newly built fence. Ending off the day by painting the fence in the garden allowed for overall reflection and admiration for the results of today’s work.