Monday may perhaps be the last day at which the number of volunteers was restricted to a small number, 4 with the arrival of one new volunteer, Mariella. The first 2 hours were rather slow as Juan Jose took both Mariella and Rachel for what turned out to be a sit down and explanation of the project at which i have worked since my arrival. At the time, me, Dan and Freddy did not know this so we poked fun at Don Juan, a term used in Hispanic culture for womanizer.
I was also dealing with the fact that the lack of water on Friday had prevented me from cleaning the buckets that were used for cement. Therefore the first 2 hours were spent by me scrubbing and chiseling away the concrete on the walls of the bucket. Once we were rejoined by the girls from their lecture, Freddy conscious of the fact that 6 new volunteers were inbound tomorrow, directed an extensive cleaning and moving campaign, aiming to make the placement look more presentable to the new volunteers. At the end having moved piles of bricks to reduce clutter and having cleaned along the newly built walls and underneath pipes used to direct water heated by the sun to the rest of the building, Freddy was left satisfied by our efforts. During the break he even wrote my name on a pair of gloves I had been using since my first day. This small gesture may seem insignificant but to me it suggested my acceptance and the recognition of my efforts and a desire to keep me motivated in weeks to come.
Tuesday is when I was able to meet all the new volunteers. Marie, a fluent speaker in Spanish and a teacher of Spanish to those who spoke it as a first language, was joined by her son Marco, who had leaned Spanish before he had learned English. What made this so impressive was that neither of them had any Hispanic heritage or descent. Alexis was a quebecer from Montreal just like Dan, but in complete contrast spoke fluent Spanish as well as he had been born in Argentina. Greg was a 1.98m tall American who had had previous construction experience building a garage with his father. Mariella, who had joined our placement on Monday, was also fluent in Spanish having lived for long periods of time in spanish speaking countries, but who otherwise was a theology teacher for 10-12 year olds. Reece, a Londoner just turned 18, who was going to train to be an electrician completed the group of arrivals.
I was honestly apprehensive about the size of the volunteers almost doubling as even with 4 people the volunteer placement was not without conflict. It was also quite hard for me to imagine all of us working on the top of the roof where space was limited. Freddy was however able to manage the situation effectively, splitting us up into 2 groups. For the first half of Tuesday, I worked with one group on the third floor. With Freddy rushing me I successfully completed the wall, but not before cracking 3 blocks apart and requiring Dan´s assistance.
The rest of Tueday and Wednesday I worked with Rachel, Mariella, Marie and at times Greg in the shed behind the after school center. The shed was filled with wood of differing sizes and they all need to be cleared out. The wood was separetd and stored in various piles based on its length and width. Initially the work was not very taxing and the larger pieces were stored inside the building itself. However as we reached the floor, the work became more meticulous as twigs had to be picked up and trash was becoming more frequent. Most of the trash consisted of corn husks and I even found part of some animal´s jaw. What made the task vexing was the presence of a colony of endangered spiders. I´m not fond of spiders and Rachel herself had what she called a genuine phobia of them. As we cleared ever more layers of twigs and garbage more and more spiders made an appearance. Eventually we reached their lair from which several large specimens emerged. I had to employ significant mental reserves to keep calm, particularly as I swept off a spider from Rachel´s back.
Wednesday culminated with us cutting a large banana tree and then placing the remains in a large organic pile. Thursday which was my last day due to my Tajumulco hike was fairly different than any of the previous days. Juan Jose assembled all the new volunteers and me in a room which contained a computer. Over the next hour he proceeded to explain that the building on which I had worked the prior 4 weeks was used as an after school center for 60 kids. They came here for a meal, to receive tutoring for school subjects and learn practical skills, such as IT and agriculture. Hearing him speak with quiet passion about how his wife had started the center, had battled a culture of alcoholism and belittlement to receive an education which only inspired to make a change, moved me. I was able to understand most of what Juan Jose was saying in Spanish, allowing me to understand how important this was for him.I myself felt motivation to keep working hard and to contibute as best I can to the project. Several other people felt differently however, and wanted to get back to work as quickly as possible. For me it was different baceause I finally understood where it was I working and what I was helping build without the need for conjecture and speculation.
To close out my week I worked on the third floor again, helping make a very liquidy mix of concrete which was then poured into a foundation between 2 sections of the wall that had been constructed. This was fast paced and I went through a lot of cement, but the wall itself is nearing completion and is coming along nicely.
