Hey Y'all,
Today was an action packed and eventful day. We started off by going out for breakfast at Trigo in the city of La Romana. We sat outside in this garden and had chocolate croissants and cinnamon buns, which were both delicious. Amos was upset because he didn't get his cinnamon bun and I (Holly) left my mark on the floor of the restaurant with yet another epic nosebleed (I had one yesterday and was taken to the emergency section of the hospital...). After we stuffed our faces with delicious croissants we headed to the hospital to work. With completely full stomachs, Audrey, Liz, Amos, and Jenny worked the pulleys again and helped bring cinder blocks from the bottom floor to the roof. Sarah and Holly helped build a wall on the fourth floor by filling in cracks in between cinder blocks with cement. The rest of the group helped to unload cinder blocks and gravel from the pulleys. We took a break for lunch out on the patio in front of the hospital with these amazing Dominican sodas as well as peanut butter and jelly and empanadas. Amos took a nap on the bus by himself and we all relaxed and talked. Back to work after lunch doing more of the same jobs. Audrey and Liz went to work on the fourth floor to help build the wall with a local named Augustine who was the man. He taught them the correct technique despite only speaking Spanish, and they both became pros. At 3 o'clock we got a full tour of the hospital and learned some of the history and future plans of the project. After finishing at the hospital we boarded the bus and then went to visit kids at a local orphanage with a huge bag of donations. We played volleyball and took pictures with them and had so much fun. They were extremely competitive; they were trash talking Amos by calling him 'flaco' (skinny) and would constantly scream afuera (out) when we missed the ball (which was most of the time). After leaving our new friends at the orphanage and a short stop back at the hotel we traveled to a near by basketball court to play 5v5. Bladimir (a translator from the hospital) joined us to play along with some of his friends. Senor Wilson didn't make it out of the fierce game without an injury. He now has a cut on his face but it adds to his character. After basketball we came back to the hotel to take quick showers, and then got back on the bus to a sandwich stand called Johnny's nearby. We struggled to communicate our orders since everyone wanted slightly different variations of the same sandwich. Finally we were able to sort it out and enjoyed the meal. We also ordered exotic plum smoothies (they were brown) but surprisingly good in a strange kind of way. We're almost ready for bed, but tomorrow we're off to the hospital in the morning and then to the beach in the afternoon.

Buenos Noches,
Audrey & Holly