Volunteer House Building

This is our house building schedule so far:

Day 1

7:00 meet director at Central Plaza

7:00 – 7:45 wait for other volunteer who never shows up (we think he mistakenly changed his watch for daylight saving time!)

7:45 – 8:00 drive to work site

8:00 – 9:00 wait for other workers

9:00 – 10:00 look at plan, talk with family about plan, talk with neighbors about plan

10:00- 10:30 take a break

10:30 – 11:00 move trash pile from one location to another so family can burn it

11:00 – 12:00 watch Tomas, Cesar & William make measurements

12:00 – 1:00 lunch break

1:00 – 2:00 watch while more measurements are taken, heads are scratched and stakes are pounded

2:00 – 3:00 break

3:00 – 4:30 start to dig trenches 50cm wide by 70 cm deep

4:30 get on a chicken bus

4:31 nearly lose Larissa as chicken bus takes off just as she’s stepping on

4:32 – 4:45 hold on tight while chicken bus speeds from one stop to the next then slams on brakes

4:45 get off bus and breathe a sigh of relief!

Day 2

7:00 – 7:15 wait for Tomas in front of Pollo Campero (Guat version of KFC)

7:15 buy a paper to amuse us during breaks

7:15 – 7:30 ride bus to worksite

7:30 – 10:00 finish digging trenches

10:00 – 11:00 break. Discover paper is daily record of all of the drug murders in Guat city.

11:00 – 11:30 stand around wondering if the materials are going to show up

11:30 watch as hillside above our excavation collapses

11:30 – 12:00 re-dig the trenches

12:00 – 1:00 lunch

1:00 – 2:00 finish re-digging trenches; move dirt from one pile to another

2:00- 2:30 stand around wondering if materials are going to show up

2:30 – 3:00 break

3:00 – 3:30 sit around wondering if materials are going to show up

3:30 decide materials aren’t going to show up; go home

9:00 Celebrate Obama victory!!!!!!

Day 3

Rest Day When the director told us about having a Wednesday rest day, I was thinking, “I don’t need no stinking rest day”. Waking up this morning with every muscle complaining about shoveling, I was kind of appreciating this rest day! Even though it doesn’t sound as if we were working too hard, those few hours of digging trenches did me in!

They say it will take us only 2 weeks to build this house. At this rate, it doesn't seem possible, but I'll update!