Diving into the Deep End: Day 1 from #iProj14

By Edna Cheng
¡Hola! After five hours on the plane, we have finally arrived in Puerto Vallarta yesterday night.

It was wonderful to see our 1^st Rivorton Rover buddies and Mexican Rovers Scouts welcome us with their awesome waves and bright smiles at the airport. Although it was a long day for our contingent members, we were super excited to meet each other, share our stories and demonstrate our fun cheers with each other. With the help and support from the 1^st Rivorton Rovers and the Mexican Rovers Scout, we were able to settle into our hotel just in time for dinner. After satisfying our hunger, our contingent came together to meet their patrol members, and to come up with their patrol names and team cheers.

Today, we had a chance to meet up together and enjoy a splendid breakfast by the beach. We had such lovely sunshine and light breeze this morning as we caught up with 1^st Rivorton’s adventures so far in Mexico. After breakfast, we all joined up and practiced our songs and cheers for the bonfire that is going on later tonight. Moreover, we also got to complete our drill formations in preparation for other activities in our itinerary for the next two weeks. As I am writing this now, we are getting ready for tonight’s International Altruism Festival and bonfire by the beach with the Mexican Scouts.

We encountered our first memorable event just hours after arriving last night, which ended up becoming a surprise team bonding moment after meeting our patrols.  As the iProj contingent, we always strive to do more than expected.  The elevator that brings us up to the meeting rooms got stuck.  About half our contingent were trapped inside while the other half was confused as to their whereabouts.  What made it such a great team bonding moment was that we put all our brains together to help each other get out, and for most of us, I’m sure we can say it was certainly an unforgettable first night.

Unexpected moments like this happens often during International Service Projects, and our External Communications team is working hard, and looking forward to capturing and sharing more of these interesting moments with you. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next post!