Lauren's Day!
It's hard to believe it's already Friday -- our last day on the work sites in Salamá. When my team arrived on the site this morning, we were greeted by our friend Juana, a twelve-year-old student from the neighborhood who wanted to spend her day off from school helping us work. Our work today consisted mainly of sand-sifting and moving blocks from room to room within the house. There was less work for us to do today because the house is nearly at the top layer.
At ten o'clock, we headed over to the soccer field to spend some time with our friends from the neighborhood during their recess. All of the kids seemed to have extra energy today, which they exerted by jumping on us/insisting we give them piggy back rides. We had a lot of fun playing with all the boys and girls, and getting to know them using the little Spanish vocabulary I can recall (sorry, Senor Whitford) was an incredible experience. It was really hard to say good bye to all of the kids, which goes to show that you don't need to speak the same language to connect with people and form a bond.
At noon, we loaded onto the bus and drove to the other work site for the closing ceremony. The ceremony was really meaningful for all of us because the families from both houses expressed their gratitude for the work we have done and the mission of Habitat. Angelina shared with us that she will always remember the work we did and think of us and our hands as part of her home. Her words were very powerful and helped us all get a sense of just how appreciative the families are for our help. Angelina and Luis Eduardo are both incredibly hard-working people, and their dedication to their families is something we should all aspire to. Both families were so deserving of these homes and I know we are all thrilled to have gotten to know them.
Later on in the afternoon, we headed into town to play soccer as a whole group along with the masons and helpers from both sites. In my opinion this event has been one of the biggest highlights of the trip. During the two hours of soccer in the pouring rain, we had a lot of fun seeing the more competitive side of the men we had worked with all week, and we managed to avoid complete humiliation on the field thanks to goals made by Abby and myself (Mom and Dad--you really should have gotten me into soccer earlier. I think it's my calling.) It has been really fun getting to know the masons during the week--and the soccer game was a great way to end our time with them.
We ended the day with a delicious dinner of a traditional Guatemalan dish, Pepián [chicken stew], and shared personal highlights from the group. Thought was all shared different moments, it was clear that we have all really appreciate getting to know the Guatemalan culture and we have formed a respect for their history and their family-oriented lifestyles.
Tomorrow, we will leave Salamá and head back to Antigua, but I know that I won't forget the incredible people I was fortunate enough to meet here and I would love to have the opportunity to return some day.
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| Juana is to the left of Lauren. |
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| The Alpha team, plus Juana. Note our progress! |
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| Juana (center) and friends |
At ten o'clock, we headed over to the soccer field to spend some time with our friends from the neighborhood during their recess. All of the kids seemed to have extra energy today, which they exerted by jumping on us/insisting we give them piggy back rides. We had a lot of fun playing with all the boys and girls, and getting to know them using the little Spanish vocabulary I can recall (sorry, Senor Whitford) was an incredible experience. It was really hard to say good bye to all of the kids, which goes to show that you don't need to speak the same language to connect with people and form a bond.
At noon, we loaded onto the bus and drove to the other work site for the closing ceremony. The ceremony was really meaningful for all of us because the families from both houses expressed their gratitude for the work we have done and the mission of Habitat. Angelina shared with us that she will always remember the work we did and think of us and our hands as part of her home. Her words were very powerful and helped us all get a sense of just how appreciative the families are for our help. Angelina and Luis Eduardo are both incredibly hard-working people, and their dedication to their families is something we should all aspire to. Both families were so deserving of these homes and I know we are all thrilled to have gotten to know them.
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| Alpha team (see Davis's post) with our masons: Felipe, Carlos, Ruiz, and Melvin. |
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| Beta team with their masons, led by Rudy who is also an impressive soccer player. We didn't see him coming! |
Later on in the afternoon, we headed into town to play soccer as a whole group along with the masons and helpers from both sites. In my opinion this event has been one of the biggest highlights of the trip. During the two hours of soccer in the pouring rain, we had a lot of fun seeing the more competitive side of the men we had worked with all week, and we managed to avoid complete humiliation on the field thanks to goals made by Abby and myself (Mom and Dad--you really should have gotten me into soccer earlier. I think it's my calling.) It has been really fun getting to know the masons during the week--and the soccer game was a great way to end our time with them.
We ended the day with a delicious dinner of a traditional Guatemalan dish, Pepián [chicken stew], and shared personal highlights from the group. Thought was all shared different moments, it was clear that we have all really appreciate getting to know the Guatemalan culture and we have formed a respect for their history and their family-oriented lifestyles.
Tomorrow, we will leave Salamá and head back to Antigua, but I know that I won't forget the incredible people I was fortunate enough to meet here and I would love to have the opportunity to return some day.
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