Monday, 5th of August

Lyndsey's Perspective:
Our morning started at 6:10 with Maeve's watch going off so she could then call the rest of the girls and wake them up.  We all got dressed in our work clothes for the day and headed down for breakfast at 7:00.  This morning we had fruit, eggs, bacon and home made hash browns.  We then grabbed our bags, got in our groups and got on the vans.  On our way up to the worksite, all of the vans met at an overlook to take a stretch and take photos of the beautiful lake and mountain ranges on the clear day.  I sat in the front of the van with our driver Leonardo and Nancy to avoid getting car sick but also getting a pretty cool view.  We played music and had a good time.  It was a beautiful and entertaining drive to the site.

When we arrived at the homes we all introduced ourselves then got right to work. I was working with Ava and Nancy on the latrine.  We had a great time struggling with pounding nails into the boards while Samuel was laughing at us but also giving us a chance to learn. The little girls at the home also were running around and bringing us things which was really sweet of them.  AT one point while I was hammering, the hammer I was using was kind of a struggle.  The father of the home went to bring me three other hammers until we got the right one.  He also kept asking if it was better and giving tips.  The generosity of these people is incredible and touching. During lunch the family spread out pine needles over the entire floor and set the tables on top.  Our guides and others told us that they only do that on special holidays and occasions.  That was a really special moment and made us all realize what our work really meant to them and how thankful they were. When we were all done working we danced to the YMCA with all of the kids.  It was so fun to see the smiles and joy on each of their faces. 

After a day of working we had about an hour drive back home.  Another special moment was as we were backing out of the site, all the children we were helping came running down after the van because we forgot our circular saw at their home.  Their father was holding it while the kids chased us down.  They walked a pretty long distance down a hill to make sure we got it.  Then as we left they waved to us the entire time until they couldn't see us anymore.  It's amazing how thankful they all are. On the way back home everyone was just kind of observing outside and watching the people working and living their everyday lives.  I personally enjoyed seeing the puppies and dogs running around.  I wish I could feed and take care of them all.  I was also really tired and trying not to fall asleep the whole way because I wanted to see everything.

Finally we all showered and hung out in our rooms for a little bit before going to dinner.  Lauren, Claire, Faith and Lauryn all came in Maeve and I's room while we shared laughs and memories from the day.  We then walked to a Italian restaurant and ate mostly pasta.  I had chicken Alfredo.  While we ate some really cute dogs came and sat by our table.  After we were all stuffed, we walked back through the busy city and headed back to the hotel.  It was a busy but awesome day and we're ready for another one tomorrow.


Kian's Perspective:
(Initial apology for rambling and run-on sentences, I just wanted to include as much of what I saw and felt)  Today was another day full of new experiences for everybody.  The morning routine felt the same, but the people we all met today and the ways we were able to help people, I felt, further shaped us into generous people with some more insight on the world we live in.  I was assigned to the house today, and from what I heard, it was neat(ish) but somewhat monotonous.  However, something that I've tried to remind myself every day is that each day is only as good as you make it.  Our group seemed fun, and I had bet that our work-day would be the same.

The drive up was a blast.  We talked about movies and our families for so long and I learned so much about everybody else.  Josie and her family are big into older shows apparently, like MASH and Cheers, Caroline is a horror movie enthusiast, Larkin actually has three brothers, Claire's dad has an identical twin named Brookes which is super crazy.  Everybody also loves Little Rascals.

The house where we went to work behind was beautiful, both with the layout and the plants that were scattered quite liberally.  Initially walking into her property, you are met with a super inviting atmosphere of flowers and trellises.  I don't know if other people mentioned this in their previous blog posts, but Hilda's home (or walls around her property) were filled with potted succulents in colourful vases.  Asking her later, she mentioned that her father just really liked to grow and tend to plants around his property. 

Following the path to the left and around the side of the house you find stairs leading up to an upper patio with Spanish Colonial style walls with open air windows with a view upwards to where Hilda's home was being constructed.  The table you encountered right up the stairs had a lovely cloth on it for us to throw our bags on, just another example of the hospitality these people demonstrate.  Hilda was so kind throughout the day, helping everyone out and making sure everybody was ok.  Claire mentioned how she loved chatting with Hilda throughout the day, asking whatever question she knew how to ask and starting a rabbit-hole of questions regarding the culture and history of Guatemalans.  Diego was always enthusiastic about answering questions or teaching us new words, something which we all probably annoyed him with after dozens of questions throughout the day.

Assigning jobs, I started working with Kelly, the previous hammer master from the last work day.  She and I had a frustrating start to connecting rebar with smaller metal pieces, but once we got into the zone, we finished in half of the time it took to tie five metal knots.  Then it was off to our snack break, I rate the Guatemalan snacks 10/10, s/o the jalapeƱo lime chips.  After the break, Kelly went of to smash cinderblocks with a hammer, and Caroline, or Sirloin as she said she goes by, finished a couple more of the rebar crosshatching.  Unlike Kelly and I, Caroline was able to jump right into it and needed no more than one demonstration to immediately get the process.

Caroline was someone who I never talked to before just because I thought we were so different, but she really was such a funny and hardworking person who really helped pass the time.  Right around when her and I ramped up the speed of our work, Diego found a speaker and started playing music we all could get into.  We had so much fun working that lunch snuck up on us in what seemed like a few moments.  Lunch was very good, thanks Josie for the extra avocado.  It only took a smiling Susie to bring the masons down to eat with us, something Diego seemed somewhat surprised for because of how reserved they usually are.  We all sat down together and could exchange some laughs, something that we don't need a translator to enjoy.

The rest of the day flew by for me, Padre and Kelly eventually joined Susie and the others in making some ladder looking structures out of rebar.  They all worked so hard for the rest of the day and we buzzed through our quota.

Driving back we went through some more scenic roads and saw the waterfalls (cataratas) again.  There is no sore sight in this country.  Diego also entertained us with some more Spanish practice.

We were a bit sore once we got back.  Everybody went to their rooms to shower and nap.  Once Andy got back he showed me his really cool purchase of the day (I'll let him wait until he gets home to show it off to his parents) and we sat around and snacked.  Andy REALLY likes my fig bars, I think he ate three of them in one sitting.  After relaxing for a while we set out for dinner.  We fit into the quaint Italian restaurant and settled in.  Lauren said prayer for dinner, and a few seconds in has a little freakout as a dog on the street right next to her starts making vomit noises.  We all laugh and finish dinner.  Everyone I sat by that night was so fun and social, like Ava and Caroline who giggled their way through the night, Andy who was really excited for spaghetti he was craving the night before, Josie with all of her fun stories, and Maggie who was all up in the moment (her pesto looked really good also, don't worry, didn't eat it Mom). 

Reflection of the night was Andy and Padre which started a series of stories with everybody.  My favorite of the night, which I kind of piggy-backed off of, was Kelly's thoughts on how much fun everybody had and how God doesn't want people to just be stoic and reserved, but fun and enjoying our beautiful world and the neighbors who we live amongst. 

TLDR: work was so much fun and we sped through it, I got to chat with so many new people and learn so many new things.



Hey mom and dad! Please hug and kiss Rollo and Dillon for me.  I am having an amazing time here and can't wait to tell you all about it.  Miss and love you! - Lyndsey

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