Work Day One: hot and happy

No idea why this picture is sideways.  Enjoy!

Kimberly here... fundraising staff person from Habitat Metro Denver in my first blog post from Paraguay.  This is my first GV trip and I am enjoying it a lot.


The first day on the site proved to be very challenging but also very interesting, fun and hot.  Always hot.  This will be our theme.  But I´m happy to say that we fought the heat stroke and won.  The above photo was taken at the end of the day.  I was clean at the beginning!  But still smiling at the end.

Our team is #1 (that´s right and we rock!!!) and we spent the day assisting the masons in building brick houses.  While they did the technical building, we hauled bricks, tiles and mud, scraped and cleaned walls, painted roof tiles, and spent some excruciating hours digging two holes that will hold the septic and sewer system.  One has to be three feet and the other eight feet... we have quite a bit to go.  The site holds five houses and there were more than 100 people working - masons, the Paraguay Habitat staff and the five families.  Most of the women in the families spend the day in the makeshift kitchen cooking our food.  Our family is Roberto and Zila.  Roberto worked with today and he is a very hard worker, choosing to work the pick ax in the hole most of the day.  He has spent some time in Texas so he practiced his English while we practiced our Spanish.  Pointing down to his feet, he said, "alli" and pointing away said "alla" and I finally got "here" vs "there" which was always hard for me.  My college Spanish is coming back quickly.  I also took some time trying to tell him how there was snow in Texas and that it was negative 8 in Denver two weeks ago.  When he finally realized I was saying 60 degrees Celsius in the NEGATIVE, he jumped back shocked.  MUY FRIO!!!  Yes.  And now muy caliente. 

Aside from the work, we are experiencing a lot of culture right up close.  The custom of Yerba Mate or Terere (mate but drank cold) is shared among the staff and masons.  The site where we are staying is beautiful with palm trees and mangos falling right onto the ground.  Lots of butterflies and interesting birds to watch.  And everyone we have met has been very, very nice. 

But I would say the drive to and from work is my favorite. We are in 4 vans and our drivers are very good and safe.  However...  everywhere else, the locals drive like crazy!  There are tons of motorcycles weaving in between the cars and buses and most of them have 2-4 people on them.  Parents with two or three kids in their arms and bags of items they have bought hanging and strapped to the back.  I don´t know why... but it just makes me laugh out loud.  Completely hilarious to watch.  And of course, the roads are all made of busted up rock and sand AND the cars are super old - so no one is going very fast.  Top speed seems to be around 30 or 40 and that´s on the long stretches.  So we´re okay.  The neighborhoods are filled with people walking, kids playing, folks on porches enjoying their mate and fellowship with family.  I watch with my eyes wide open and my brain trying to absorb it all. 

I´m still sort of pinching myself that I am really here.  I can tell already that this trip is sinking into me like the red clay that I can´t quite wash off my hands.  It´ll be there long after I leave here.

Thanks you for reading.  And if you haven´t done so already... get yourself over to www.habitat.org and sign up for a Global Village trip today.  You´ll be so happy that you did.  -kimberly