Tuesday (by Matt)

The workday began at the late hour of 7 am after a hectic night of meeting families and exchanging gifts. As we arrived we were immediately whisked away on a walking tour of the school. The tour began with looking into classrooms and meeting students, but as we moved further away from the entrance we encountered a chicken coup, a mother pig and her adorable piglets, and even a cow milking. After the tour finished we jumped right into the business of general painting or the construction depending on which group we were in. However, all 19 of us had to participate in the moving of sandbags, concrete blocks, etc. from a warehouse to the site of construction. Those who didn't bring their gloves (like me) paid the price in blistery hands. At around 11, we all broke for lunch to return for more work at 1pm. Most went home for a family lunch while me and my homestay partner, Andrew, were treated to a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo. All returned at 1 only to be confronted by rain and an empty school, yet we found jobs moving sand and rocks, painting steps, and sanding handrails. Exhausted we returned to the multi-purpose rooms and at the prompt of WLS leader Pablo, we shared the techniques we had learned during the day, like where to properly hold a paint brush or not to splash paint around because it could end up on you. Then Pablo took us on an intense trip down memory lane. We all recited our most memorable “snapshots” of the trip so far. An emotional time was had by all. With the unrelenting downpour creating a medley of natural music, we had a spiritual moment of togetherness. We were not 19, we were ONE.