Half a house!!!

We woke up to another gorgeous morning in Antigua, Guatemala.  We had to be at the office early at 8:15 to get on the road and get started.  I have to say we were a little achy to say the least but we marched our little selves right out of our cute little hotel and up the street to the office. We boarded our trucks and away we went.  We got dropped off, and made the climb up the hill to where we will work. What a wonderful surprise when we saw that the families had piled all the block we would need today in the center of the house so that eliminated that job for us..and that is tough work! How many block you ask???? Approximately 200...what a beautiful gesture.

Today Jose and Edgar lay the block and then we put the concrete in between the seams of the block. We will do a total of 7 rows.  We do about 5 before lunch and 2 after.   I must comment on the sun today..it was so hot, we were all applying and reapplying sunscreen. At about 11:00 our family served all of us jugo de fresa( strawberry juice) and cookies.  I think they must have seen us all sucking wind and said, "Geez these gringos must need some nourishment!"  We were grateful, of course after we checked that they made the drink with agua pura (bottled water) and not the water these folks are so used to drinking.
We jump for joy when we hear the word, "almuerzo" which means lunch.  We all gather on one work site and share lots of good food and chatter. It really brings you together and is one of the brightest parts of the day. Today Laura Nelson who is a teacher by trade taught us a song about everyone being together...or something like that...I don't remember. It made us laugh alot...well some of us. I tried to translate it into English which led into a whole diatribe of silliness.  FUN! Back to work people...we only have 2 rows to go and then a cement pour. We mix the cement...hard....then we fill the buckets...hard...then we lift them along a congo line....harder, and then pour....whew... that is hard work!!
While we are doing this the women in this neighborhood go about their business, they seem to be busy all day. Remember so much of their daily chores are done by hand, it is like going back in time. They appear to be very content, and most of the time they are quite relaxed. "Tranquillo" as they say in Guatemala.
The kids are really warming up and there was alot of interaction today. There was a great game of beach ball. There are 2 little boys that are tough as nails. They cannot be more then 3 years old...they are so funny. It is like they rehearse a whole shtick and perform for you. The one little boy will get in fight stance and hold his fists up ....it is a riot. He also can really drill the beach ball...I think he is a future soccer player.
Its time to wrap it up for the day and climb back down the mountain...our work is complete. Tomorrow is Wednesday, we are halfway there.  It goes to fast!!
Tonight was Domino's Pizza in the hotel. We had so many laughs!! What started as pizza ended up in a sing along with the final tune being American Pie....whats better then that. We are a great group who have blended together beautifully.   The kids all get along and are having a great time...especially Marissa. She is in her glory!!  Tomorrow is another day of block and cement. 

This is what we completed today.