A look at the last few days

Hola!

It has been a busy week, and everybody is very sore right now. The reason? The concrete monstrosity that we finally conquered! When we returned to the work site on Wednesday, we loaded up a dump truck with bits of wood and plaster to be hauled off. Then Don Gustavo pointed to a concrete ledge supported by three columns and attached to six steps, gave us a small axe, and told us to take it down. After much pondering and the discovery of rebar in the concrete, we got a big sledge hammer and pounded the concrete off the rebar. In the distance we could see Don Gustavo and the other workmen laughing at us. Our only consolation was that they didn´t have any better ideas. Everyone got a chance to master their feer of heights, balance on rebar, and show of their swinging skills. However all the college students in their prime were pute to shame by Bill taking out four times as much concrete each turn. Let´s just say the whole thing was comical.

Wednesday we went out to the other school run by El Hogar, the agricultural school. After an hour and fifteen minutes of insane driving through beautiful mountain scenery (yes, the geology major took lots of rock pictures) we came to the farm. The plants were beautiful and the students were very polite, although more shy than the boys from the technical school. Most of them are from very small communities in the mountains, but a few came from El Hogar. They must have a 6th grade education before entering the school, and then they acquire agricultural skills as well as credit for 7th-9th grade. After that they can return to their communities, get a job, or complete 10th and 11th grade to attend a university.

We saw a lot of things on our tour of the campus. There were agitated geese, berries for red dye, dogs, goats, sheep, stupid chickens, horses, cows, calves, and pigs. The pigs were by far the most interesting. The little ones looked like babe (Liz was very proud of her picture) and the papa pig was about 350 lbs. On her way to look at the massive pig, Gracie smacked her head into the doorway of the shed. Our guide was very upset, but Gracie was fine. She has a cut on the only part of her head not covered by bangs, but it makes her look hardcore. We told her she should have said that it happened while we were smashing the concrete.

The boys and girls are still the real joy here. Every afternoon we hug and wave to the girls as they leave to go back to their separate house for the evening. Carmen plasters her face against the window while Ana waves and smiles. At meals when they are supposed to be silent, the boys furtively wave and talk to us. Once evening program starts, things go wild. The game is tag, and the rules are somewhat like Calvin ball. Someone counts to veinte while everyone else runs away/hides. Once you are tagged three things can happen: you can be dragged to jail, join in tagging people, or just keep running. Sometimes tagging is good enough and other times you have to take them down. Once in jail you wait for someone who is free to come tag you and say "libre!" Then you can run again. After some indeterminate time a new person is chosen to be "it" and the game continues. We got tired really fast. As an alternative we brought out sidewalk chalk Wednesday and Thursday night. It is very disappointing for a student in an instituion of higher learning to be outsmarted in tic tac toe by a 7 year old. These kids are amazing in their energy, intelligence, and love.

In the evenings we continue the catchphrase war. Even though Bill is a Rhode Island Red Chief turncoat with too many irons in the fire, we still love him and encourage him saying "don´t give up the ship!" Many inside jokes have sprung from the furious fued. Wednesday night team 1 was within two points, but the margin has spread somewhat to three. We can still catch them! Afterward we have compline and share our highs and lows of the day. The only lows lately have been feeling only moderately helpful at the work site and the monotony of the food. I never thought I would get tired of tortillas, rice, beans, and cheese until I bit into a burrito one morning. It was the most unappetizing thing I had ever tasted, so I gave the rest to John who will eat almost any quantity of almost anything. This could be annoying when at home, but it is very useful when you are expected to eat everything on your plate.

The team has bonded so well this week. There was great teamwork on the work project and so much love given to all the kids. I am thoroughly enjoying the trip and being surrounded by Spanish tutors and translators. Through this whole week I can feel the work that God is doing in our lives and the lives of these kids, even if we can´t always see it.

Hasta luego!
Kate