Playa Maderas was an overall amazing and fun experience. Our first half of the week was spent lounging on the beach and taking surf lessons, but our second half of the week was spent volunteering. One of the mornings we spent about three hours digging trenches and laying pipes so that we could deliver running water to the school. We worked with Communidad Connect and also parents of the school and by late morning there was running water at the school. We were all so thrilled to be apart of something so big to them and we were so happy that we could make a difference. We also spent three of our afternoons teaching English to the children at the school. It was very fun to have to come up with lesson plans and then actually teach the children with no help from any of the adults. We did it all by ourselves!! All the children were so excited to learn English that it made it that much more fun for us, we were excited to go to the school every afternoon. Our other mornings were spent hanging out as a group. One morning we rented a boat and it took us to private beach with beautiful white sand and the water was blue and clear as day. We also got to fish off the boat and Jesse and Tina both caught fish! The other morning me, Rachel, Tina, Victoria, Cheridyn, and James went zip lining!! We had a great time flying down the lines, Victoria needs some help with the break part haha! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday night which Tyler made for us. It was nice to come together and say what we were all thankful for and spend the moment together. We also got to enjoy a banana cake which Emilie and Helen made for us! Overall Playa Maderas was such an amazing time, from surfing and laying on the beach to volunteering with the children, we all enjoyed it. We couldnt thank Tyler enough for the hospitality and welcoming us into his home and his family!
<3 Melinda
Love and miss you mom, dad, and family<3 🙂