Wednesday, March 29
Today we woke up at 8:30 to eat breakfast and get started on the exciting day we had planned. After breakfast, we split into two groups. Most of our group went outside to the street in front of the church to unload a bus carrying 312 cases of Bibles for the churches thoughout Holguín Province (La Iglesia de los Amigos is the distribution point).
Once we found the huge yellow bus, we formed an assembly line to more easily get the cases of Bibles from the bus to the church. The rest of the group continued working on lifting sand through a pulley system to the second floor of the church in order to help construct the church’s second and third floors. We were able to get all the necessary sand to the second floor, allowing us to complete that project.
Then, we had a well-deserved break before enjoying another scrumptious lunch. Subsequently, we had another break to prepare for the day’s activities. We had planned to go to a nursing home in Holguín and to meet with another group of Cubans our age, however, once we made our way to the nursing home, we found out that both of our plans for the day had to be changed, due to unexpected scheduling conflicts!
Instead, we went to a Cuban print shop where we were shown the process of making books and prints from scratch, including making the (recycled) paper on site. The shopkeepers were quite hospitable, and many students bought art and journals from the print shop, and we were all given a print of a flower as a gift.
Then, we went back to the church for some relaxation. Many members of our group played card games while others took naps. Then, we were informed by Señora Washington that we were going salsa dancing with Leo, a local music producer and a member of the church. He also works with a modern dance company that taught us our lesson. When we got to the dance studio, the door was locked and our plans were almost cancelled again, but, one of the dance instructors was able to find the key and let us in. During our lesson, we learned the foundations of salsa dancing. We also learned some basic mamba moves, and ended our session by dancing with a partner, either another member of our group or an instructor at the dance studio. When all was said and done, we walked home invigorated by our new salsa dancing abilities.
When we returned home, Leo and Carlos served us delicious almond ice cream cones before we showered and went to bed in order to rest before our day in Santiago tomorrow.
Ollie
Kayleigh
