First week of my second project. Early Monday morning I made my way to the Maximo Nivel office to be greeted by Victor, one of the field managers. Victor explained to us in an excited tone that we were to be working in a town called Santa Maria on the foot of Agua's volcano. We were to be working in an building being renovated to become a school with the work consisting of eventually building the foundation of two new rooms. The work would take about 3-4 months and we would have professional workers cooperating with us. This said Victor, would give as an incredible insight into how a Guatemalan construction site actually operates and what Guatemalan workers are like. I knew some of this information already, but it was helpful to have a general summary of the next project before it started and not in scattered pieces of intel I picked from various sources gradually, like in San Mateo.
Freddy accompanied us to the primary bus stop, just behind the central market in Antigua and advised that it would be better to catch buses there. He also said that bus service to Santa Maria was much more regular than to San Mateo, meaning one missed bus did not require all of us scrambling to find other means of transportation, via motorcycle or truck. The transport used was minibuses instead of giant, dirty chicken buses that I had grown accustomed to. We could also depart a little later in the morning which could prove invaluable to me. I have recommenced studying for a distance course with the University of New Brunswick as well as finally starting to read 'Atlas Shrugged' and making notes on it. Both those activities take time meaning I have to be efficient with my time.
We arrived in the center of Santa Maria at about 8am that Monday morning. Visually the twon did not look different to any other typical Guatemalan town I had encountered up to this point. There was however a spectacular view of Agua volcano, closer than I had been to it before, letting me pick out details such as the presence of radio anntenas at the summit of the volcano. Freddy told us that since the project was some distance away, that we should share tuk-tuks. Tuk-tuks are small passenger vehicles resembling three wheeled motorcycles. Only 3 passengers can fit in and preserve any degree of comfort. On cobble stone roads such as in Antigua and Santa Maria, being the sole passenger is entertaining enough. With 3 of us boarding one, the ride became hazardous. My head was swinging wildly, hitting the metal inner wall of the tuk-tuk with a thud every 15 seconds. The trip may have lasted 2 minutes but i swore I would ride one again in Santa Maria.
We proceeded to walk the rest of the distance, stopping at a tienda to buy bread which is what it specialised in it. We walked by fields covered with plants until we finally reached the school at which we would be working. The first thing that I noticed was the presence of children, laughter, noice, shouting completely unlike San Mateo where neither we ever saw the kids, and neither did they did they see who was volunteering their time for them. The school itself was pretty basic, several classrooms, a yard with a little shed with aluminium sheets serving as the walls and the roof. The shed was used primarily for cooking and storing supplies and it was to be our first task. We were to disassemble the building and reassemble on the other side of the yard. Firt we needed to wait for the principal of the school to arrive and give his formal approval for us to start wok. In order to pass the time we kicked around a football. Let's just say I was slightly out of form but we all got a good laugh out of our effots to keep the ball in the air.
From here on the week was exclusively dedicated to the task at hand. First all the supplies were moved from the shed to the toilet. Some were also moved to a classroom. Upon entering I was greeted with a team salute. Wanting to have a bit of fun, I introduced myself as the Red Russian upon entering. This nickname came from my early days in Guatemala, when I was red all over from an earlier sunburn in Cyprus and got more sun burns in my first week. Later we started dissassembling the shed itself, pulling out nails, moving the sheets of aluminium and the wooden supports. Simultaneously Freedy started to plan ahead and measure where to put the initial supports in the shed's new location. Nails were straightened, holes dug and wooden supports recycled. The holes were dug to a sufficient depth to allow the supports stability and to achieve a uniform height for all the wooden beams. The aluminium sheets were nailed in to wood and additional pieces of wood were prepared to provide more support for the wood. Supplies were then moved back into the shed and the the swinging door was reattached.
This was all completed by Thursday. Thursday was the last day for 3 volunteers while another volunteer had fallen gravely ill after Monday with a high fever meaning his last day was essentially Monday. Friday only had 2 volunteers, me and Tom. When there's a smaller number of volunteers Freddy can't help but goof around a bit more with us, so we had a bit of a slower day. I still spent the whole day working on the roof, patching holes. Despite our best precautions the day was marked by some minor incidents. Freddy somehow cut his hand while equally bizarelly slipped on the stairs and hit my knee on one of the steps. Later on walking back I discovered a caterpillar walking on my tank top, causing several rashes on the side of my stomach. Generally speaking the variety of all the different critters is much more diverse in Guatemala. During the week when moving construction supplies on Thursday, 2 blocks were discovered to have rats living in them. One was released into the wild and one ran away, despite Freddy's best efforts and wanting to deal with them in a more swift and direct manner.
In other news me and Willy have started to walk around town for our daily tandem session. This week I visited the book stands in central square several times looking for some books on Guatemala history to take back with me. The only problem is that books here cost as much as they do in Canada. Considering what that kind of money might buy in Guatemala, buses to other parts of Guatemala, eating out, chocolate, ice cream, etc, the price is a hard thing to bear. But there is a nice collection of old National Geographic issues dating back decades. For instance one of the issues I bought is from 1979! A true piece of history, something that was read years ago, allowing you a glimpse into the issues and perspectives of the past for only a $1.25 each. To cap of the week we also visited Rainbow Cafe for one drink listening to music and chatting away.
I have also acted on Willy's advice and swapped my 2 hour group class for an extra hour of private tuition. The group was progressing too slowly for me and in absence of suitable higher leveled groups I have shifted my learning strategy. From this week on 1.5 hours are dedicated solely to grammar, new and old, with the rest filled with conversation in Spanish. This is now done primarily with the Spanish teacher for my 1 hour new private class, Edwin. Edwin has had the opportunity to travel not only around the world but also the states, making him an interesting conversation partner even though we may not share the same political views. The extra hour also gives some more time to make progress on my other objectives. Entering the last month of my trip the race is on to make the most of my limited time.
PS. Tuesday was also a different than others in a somewhat sad and tragic way. Midway through the day, smoke appeared above the walls of the school. It took us sometime to notice us and to clamber on top of the wall to determine the source. Once Freddy was able to get a good view of what was going he summoned all of us and marched us down outside and down the street. A house had caught on fire, where the local priest lived, with his house doubling as the local church. We ran towards the source of the smoke but by the time we got there there was a mass of people congregating, oohing and ahing. We were eventually able to help the large group of villagers and several volunteer firefighters to put the flame by bringing out more water from them, from a neighbouring house. We brought buckets and vats of water and despite the best efforts of the other villagers, the house was mostly reduced to rubble and ash. The same day Freddy consoled the owner of the house and brought him some clothes the next day. What he will do in the future I dont know, but hopefully the community will rally around him, especially since news of the fire made to the local news.
