Trip 2, Day 6

As we sat in the back of the pickup on the way to work today, some of us realized a little sadly that our time in Guatemala is running short. After everything we´ve experienced over the past week, it´s easy to relate to this sentiment. Not only have we bonded well as a team, but we´ve also spent wonderful times laughing, talking, and playing with the families we´re serving in Santa Maria de Jesus. The From Houses to Homes crew has been a fun and friendly part of our time here, and on top of that, I am inspired by the tireless efforts of the Casa Sito staff and volunteers (Casa Sito is the volunteer house which has rooms for five of us).

Today at work we finished five more courses of concrete blocks on the two houses we´re building. Tomorrow we´re pouring the floor (lots of concrete mixing!), and the day after that we´re finishing up with the roof and the painting. I am very impressed at the precision of the Guatemalan crew we´re working with. Our foremen (Henio and Isaias) have memorized every step of the building process and know exactly how much of everything (such as sand, fine and coarse aggregate) we need and when.

After taking the winding road down the mountain and into Antigua after work, several of us attended a meeting held by Casa Sito volunteers at a cafe downtown. The purpose of the meeting was to inform the audience about an important educational program called EducArte, which serves kindergarten through third grade children near Antigua. An non-governmental organization, EducArte is staffed by volunteers and provides education in the arts and nutrition as well as the traditional subjects such as social studies and literacy. As part of the meeting, many of the students from EducArte performed a wonderful rendition of Snow White. The kids obviously put a lot of work into the production. Their lines were memorized and the costumes were simple yet effective. I especially loved the dwarves´beards, which appeared to be made of cotton and were in various stages of disarray! The meeting lasted only about 45 minutes, but it made a deep impression on me. There is a lot of beauty here--one sees it every day in the spirit of the people and in the efforts of volunteers and workers who want to make a difference.

--Adam Cross