Today, Wednesday, is Day # 3 of the build. We got started right away because we had 6 rows of block to lay. It was cloudy but the rain held off. When we arrived Cristina the daughter, and Samuel one of the sons were the only family members there with Eswin the 1 year old. The Mom was at the "pila" doing laundry. A pila is a concrete sink where they wash all their clothes by hand . Two of the other boys were at school. There is usually an area in town where there are a group of pilas and the women wash together...a Mayan laundromat you might say. We had to begin by carrying all the block we would lay into the center of the house. This way Henio and Hector can just grab it, put it down, and we can get to filling the seams. The men also put the scaffold up today as the house is getting higher. I don't like the scaffold so I fill all the seams on the outside of the house where I can reach most of it and then towards the last rows I can stand on a block. We realized we would need more water so Cristina and Samuel went to the water station with buckets to get more water. Eswin stayed by himself. It is such a different a world here, can you imagine leaving a one year old alone. One of the people traveling with us said that if her husband a police officer in the U.S. saw that this situation he would call DYFS. I said if you were going to call DYFS down here for something like that you would need a convoy. This is a different world, it is just the way it is, and as Americans we have difficulty grasping it. A very different culture, not to be judged but to understand what it takes to survive a life of poverty.
In a mere 3 days we have become closer with the family, it always happens that way. Our Mom has become warmer. Unlike the children who immediately take to you, it takes some time for them to let their guard down, after all we are entering their world. I have had many conversations using our men as translators and even though I do not understand the language I can tell by the body language that these are very proud people. What is sad is when I detect shame. There is no shame in living this lifestyle. The only shame in a place like this belongs to the government for their neglect of these beautiful people. The Mayan people have been in Guatemala longer then the rest of the population. The beauty of this country is the result of these very gifted people building ancient temples and pyramids. These ruins are present in many areas in the country. They are also very talented weavers. They often make the clothes they are wearing and a typical blouse if you will, can take up to a month to make. It not only saddens me but, also amazes me that these people are the backbone of this country yet they are so neglected. Their gifts are what bring so many people to visit this country. Seems ironic don't you think?
Anyway, we lay our 6 rows of block and we get on our way. The work is hard, or as Joe has quoted someone saying, "it is the hardest work you will ever love." I agree 100 %. Tomorrow is our short day as we will pour the floor and that will be all. All this is a sign that our journey is coming to an end. I just hate the thought of saying good bye to another family. It just never gets easy...not at all. (I am having a difficult time with teh internet so I will not be able to load pics right now, please stay tuned)
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