Day 5: Wednesday, February 23

Today was our first full day of work, and we made the most of it—3 rows of blocks!

We have had some wonderful weather this week, but today seemed much warmer, either due to higher temperatures or higher humidity. The breeze was also down a bit, so we really felt the heat today. At least our site starts and ends the day in shade, so there’s at least some relief!

Alex had a meeting for much of the day, so we were left alone for about four hours, which was no problem for us! Saoul, has learned that we rely on Cappie for translation help, and he will even yell for her himself if he has to explain something more complex than just gestures will allow.

If you are not familiar with El Salvador construction, El Salvador uses concrete block construction instead of the wood frame method that is most common in the United States. This makes the construction require a completely different skill set, and makes it harder for amateurs to build the walls. So the mason on site (and whomever he deems skilled enough to build walls that are straight) is in charge of laying the bricks. The rest of us contribute in a wide variety of other ways--putting the mortar (or mescala) on the bricks for the mason, putting the mortar inside the blocks after they're put onto the wall (that type of mortar is called chispa), cleaning up the site, or working on the ground in and around the house. Add in giving each other a chance to grab some water and a quick rest in the shade, and we are kept hopping!

The kids are still always around, and always willing to help whenever we will let them (we tend to be very hesitant to let them help, mostly due to safety issues of hauling heavy things like bricks around). They turned the math quizzes back on Carolyn—testing her Spanish as much as anything, but she did great! They also started showing off for us, little rhyming games and hand games. We often couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they sure had fun with them!

A little note about the food. We have breakfast every day at the

hotel, ranging from pancakes (with edible flowers) to more typical food like plantains and cheese. We have lunch on the site, which is brought in from a nearby restaurant with which Habitat has a contract. We also have a small snack every morning and every afternoon provided by the family. Dinner is back at the hotel, and is always large and delicious! Rest assured, we are not going hungry! We also are able to stay hydrated. There is a huge bottle of water on site, and we get more at the hotel, so we are able to stay safe, too.