Aloe Vera is My Best Friend

So I'm generally a graceful person, right? I mean, I dance and stuff. And wear skirts and heels. (Though on this trip, I look pretty make-upless and sportsy. Which is totally awesome.) Here is the list of my injuries thus far:
Sunburn behind knees, on shoulders, and on chest
Sun blisters on ears
Scratch on chin
Scratches on leg
Fiber glass infected foot

(On girl today tried to tell me she wasn't going to wear sunscreen tomorrow. I set her straight pretty quick.)

(Also that is not the girl pictured to the above right. This is Alivia. She's cool stuff. Currently, we are shivering outside--it's a breezy night on San Pedro.)

Therefor I present to you TIP #7: Come prepared to almost die. A simple first aid kit could be your best friend. I know that aloe vera is mine right now. My idea of an ideal kit:
Lots of bandaids
Neosporin
Medical tape/gauze
Alcohol wipes
Tweezers
Tums (I've never used them, but you never know!)
Benedryl
Advil
Sunscreen
ALOE VERA

Today, we truly began carrying out the purpose of our mission trip. We walked to Holy Cross Primary School at eight and received a tour. None of the classrooms have sound proofing or window panes. There are four hundred and fifty students to eighteen teachers. These teachers have nothing more then a high school education. The school is continuously being built over swamp land and foundation like the one we're working on. Which is built on trash. The school has to keep turning children away.

-Then, we toured the community around the school.
-They don't have a trash removal system on this island. Everything must be done individually.
-A majority of this community cannot afford electricity or water.
-Only when my pictures hit facebook will you even be able to begin to comprehend this. (Stupid computer won't let me upload them just yet).

Then, we returned to the school and began work. Half of us continued to work on the playground's foundation and the rest of us helped out in the classrooms. This school is constant choas and noise, everywhere. The teachers were grateful to have us because the extra help is super necessary. In one class that I was helping in, a couple of the kids could not even speak, read, or write English. Yet, they were being expected to copy down words off the board from the back of the classroom through the chaos. It took the whole time period, but I taught them how to spell their names. It was an amazing experience, knowing truly how much of communication is just physical, considering the language barriers. I feel ultimately accomplished. It kind of makes me consider teaching. I've considered it in the past--teaching, directing, and choreographing all kind of go together in the same boat. Who knows what my future holds? I'm only a freshman after all.

We also plan on presenting our donations pretty soon. Tonight we tallied up EVERYTHING. I only remember this because it's what I worked on, but we have five hundred and fifty-eight books collected. Plus a ton of sports equipment. Wow. Thank you, South Dakota spirit!

Later, after work, a couple of girls and i walked around for at least an hour trying to find a good cheap place to eat. It was magical! I had two glass bottled cokes (my mom would be jealous), a papaya-strawberry milkshake, and Papusas, which are kind of like fried, unbroken, filled pitas. When I remember the name of this sacred establishment, I'll let you know. Chill, local, and great service.

All in all, today was an amazing day. I'm glad I packed very few clothes and no makeup. I actually packed the least of anyone on the trip. I'm NOT judging, but I feel like many of the girls aren't getting as much as they could be from this trip from how much time they spend working on their appearance. Don't get me wrong, we teased a couple of those creepy looking drunk old lady make-upless singers at karaoke last night, but all that truly matters is being comfortable with yourself and making the best of your time as you can. But really, just do what you need to to enjoy yourself the most. If that takes a little make-up, go for it. No big deal, sistah. Or brotha. Or whateva.

Does that even make sense?

PS: I finally feel like myself again. :)