Day 9 – San Mateo

On Jan 5th, we went to another ANCOP site in the rural region of San Mateo.

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It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and breath fresh air

Here we had the opportunity to plant trees.

Digging Hole
Step 1 – Dig a whole in the clay (surprisingly much harder than soil)
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Step 2 – drop in the seedling (baby tree)
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Step 3 – Fill in the hole back in with the dug up clay
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Step 4 – Smile for the camera
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Step 5 – Do steps 1-4 all over again!
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Some of us even climbed trees
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Bernie Consul (Mike’s Dad) poses in front of a jack fruit tree bearing fruit
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This is a mango tree…….if you look closely, you can see all the little yellow mangos.  The boys in the picture are throwing rocks trying to get some mangoes down.
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A drastic change city life
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Toronto’s tree planters

Next job: trek through the forest get some water.

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Student leaders embark on a hike to the watering hole
Walking to Well
The water source is just down this path where we find other people doing laundry and bathing
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The watering whole is literally a hole which a local women discovered a couple of years ago
Diane
Fresh cold clean underground water – so refreshing
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Water buckets all full
Water in front of statue
Almost there…..water jugs get heavier with every step
Pouring water
We pour water into these big bins which hold the water for future use

Now time to play with a whole new bunch of kids.

Stella
First we get to know each other and then play old favs: Stella ola ola and Duck Duck Goose
Wolf boy
Next we teach them “What time is it Mr. Wolf?”
Wolf and Krystal
“Let’s say five o’clock”
Wolf Chasing
These cute little wolves don’t even wear shoes on this rocky surface
Race
We then have a piggy back relay race…..so much fun!

It’s was so hot up in the mountains on the hard clay.  We decided to take a water break from all the running and play the rest of the games in shade.

Gifts
Like before, we placed all the gifts in the middle and played the number game
Limbo
In addition to giving out toys, we gave each kid some candy and clothes…..but first you had to earn it by going under the limbo stick 🙂
Limbo 2
These were our two best limbo dancers
Dance
Teacher Merle Gonsalvez teaches them some original choreography to the song Fireworks by Katy Perry
Dance 2
Leaders, kids, and adults all join in!
Gangnam
And of course, we dance our favourite song bye Psy – Gangnam Style
Bird dance
We also do the Bird Dance
Cha Cha
As well as the Cha Cha Slide as Bernie tries to get down as low as Adrian
Thriller
The student leaders do their best rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller
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One last group shot in front of Our Lady of Banneau before departing back to the city

After returning back to the city, we were able to go to mass together at Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel.

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Before returning to the hotel, we had a photo scavenger hunt.  Pictures of the hunt will be put up on a separate post…..funny stuff…..worth the wait!!!

We are eager to return to the build site tomorrow to continue where we left off.

One thought on “Day 9 – San Mateo”

  1. Hello Michael,

    Wanted to congratulate you on such a great cause and a great job!.., I believe this trip will also change the way these student leaders will view the world. The pictures and captions have been just amazing! I’m very proud that Krystal wanted to do it, and after seeing all the pictures and what you have done, I understand why all the kids wanted to do it. To you, the teachers and all the student leaders: you have touched the lives of many kids and adults in need… Job well done!
    Have a safe trip home!

    Susy Henriques

    Reply

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