We left home around 9:30am this morning. My three team members and I traveled from Chatham-Kent to Toronto and got to the Toronto Pearson Airport around 1:30pm in the afternoon. We had lots of time before we caught our flight so we decided to go grab a bite to eat before catching the flight. A little Canadian food before we enter the Dominican. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4:25pm, but it was delayed and we took off a half an hour later than scheduled. We are in the air now and we have been for approximately two and a half hours. The flight is around 4 hours and we should be arriving in Puerto Plata around 9:30pm Dominican time. After we land, we have approximately a four hour drive to where we will be staying in Monte Cristi.
Last time I was on a plane was when a few girlfriends and I went to Nashville, Tennessee and on our way home, we had a very bad landing… so my nerves shoot through the roof when I think about landing in Puerto Plata. The take-off was smooth and there has been no turbulence in the air so far. On the flight, we are watching “The Martian” and watching the movie is definitely making time go by faster. Only two more hours until we land. Once we land, we will be getting our bags and meeting up with our cab driver that outreach360 set up for us. I’m sure everyone is exhausted as it has been a very long travel day and we still have a few more hours to go until we reach our destination. I am not sure what will be going on once we reach the Outreach360 facility but I am sure that everyone will sleep well as we have an early day tomorrow. I’m very excited to meet everyone; the leaders, the other volunteers, the kiddies of Monte Crisit! There are two other Canadian school groups here this week volunteering (Algonquin and Western) so it will be super exciting getting to interact with fellow Canadian students. I am so eager to start interacting with the community of Monti Cristi and especially with the children. I absolutely cannot wait to be surrounded by people with such big hearts, here for the same reasons as I am. These children are so smart and beautiful and I can’t wait to help add a little positivity to their futures. I’m going to do my best to be a good team leader as I know this experience can be overwhelming for some individuals. I am going to make sure that everyone in my group feels comfortable at all times and knows that I am willing to help if they encounters distress
-God, grant me strength through this process.
