Build Day 2

I'd have to say today was more exhausting than the first day. It was the same temperature, with a slight breeze. I inhaled a deep refreshing breath every time the breeze passed by, although others didn't do the same. I was told that every breeze was sewage air; I suppose this is one of the benefits of having a cold/stuffy nose. 

Today we finished moving the pile of sand but had to build a contraption in order to increase its depth rather than its length, or we wouldn't have enough room for the next pile. We ended up tying two boards together to make a ramp for the wheelbarrow to be pushed up and dumped out. It was definitely tedious but we had no other way of finishing the job. After that I worked on assembling more rebar throughout the exterior of the house. Yesterday we finished the bottom part, which was placed in the trench. Today we were working upwards. Once the rebar was in place we needed to tie it to the top and bottom (the rebar above and the rebar in the trenches). This job took a few hours but was finally finished before lunch. After that we were ready to begin mixing cement and concrete. First we needed to get just enough water to form the perfect combination. Our only access of water was from a 50 foot well. We had to haul buckets back and forth once we filled each one. Once that was done I worked with the masonries to mix and shovel the cement into buckets and then pass it down the bucket line we formed to more efficiently dump them into the trenches. We did the same thing with the concrete mix. We mixed a total of three piles, which took up the rest of the afternoon. 

During the build day a young boy in the neighborhood came to watch us. He wanted to know what we were doing and asked how he could sign up because he doesn't have a house. It really touched me because I had never encountered an experience like that where a child was curious to see what all of us volunteers were doing because he has no place to live. It just proves how great of an impact Habitat can make on others. Faith is change, and Habitat instills hope. 

We were able to take bathroom breaks at the soon-to-be owners' cousin's house. It wasn't much but it was nice to at least have somewhere to go. She had a few kids sitting in the patio that I talked to. They showed me some of their pet fish. Apparently they have them sitting outside in a concrete pond because the mosquitos lay their eggs on the water and the fish eat them. It helps prevent the increase of the mosquito population, which is good because there's currently an alert for yellow fever mosquitos in the entire country of El Salvador. We had to lather up with bug spray because of it. It's better to be safe than sorry though.

After the workday we went to watch chocolate and coffee be produced right in front of our eyes. Diego makes it himself and sells it out of his van. First gave us a demonstration on the different types of coffee he makes and let us try it. Then we went to his backyard to see where he grows coffee, cinnamon, and avocados. He also made us chocolate with cocoa beans and sugar. He added the mixture to his grinder and waited for it to become mixed. Once it was finished he kneaded it, rolled it, and cut it up. He served it to us fresh; no preservatives or other ingredients besides cocoa and sugar. I had to buy some because it was so delicious, and inexpensive as everything else in this country. My bag of chocolate bars was only $1.50. This was quite the deal for me in comparison to the amount of work he put into it. Nearly everyone got some; he took orders almost like a Girl Scout cookie spreadsheet. It reminded me of my selling days. 

Right now we're headed back for dinner and will have the rest of the night to ourselves. I'm not feeling up for doing much after the long workday, but I'll definitely need a hot shower followed by my bed. Yes, a hot shower. I actually figured it out last night, and since it's cooling down by the end of the day, it feels quite refreshing.