Carson Graham – First Day at the Worksite
Today was our first day at the worksites! 10 of us were at Monkey Jungle, working on a dental clinic, and the rest of us were building for Mama, a woman in one of the villages that LiveDifferent partners with. I was building for Mama, and boy, was that hard work. We made cement, carried cinder blocks, and had endless assembly lines of various rocks, sand, and something in between the two.
I thoroughly enjoyed working and giving my all, but it was Mama’s beautiful, radiant smile that kept me going. Seeing the people that our blood, sweat, and tears are going to help makes it impossible to give in to fatigue or pain.
After working, we hung around the resort, ate dinner, debriefed, and did some karaoke. It was a ton of fun and I definitely over-stayed my welcome on the stage, that’s for sure! Nevertheless, it was a great day full of work, smiles and laughs, leaving me to fall more in love with the Dominican Republic. The country is stunning, the people are incredible and I couldn’t be happier. It’s only the first couple days and I cannot wait to see what else this beautiful place has in store for us all!
Chloe – LiveDifferent Hero Holiday Volunteer, Dominican Republic 2013