Week 2 Day 4

Que pasa mundo?
Today we started out at 9 o'clock sans Patrick whose still wasn't feeling well. Instead of going directly to work, we first visited a school that From Houses to Homes funds. The idea behind this school is to provide a quality education that is free for kids pre-K through 6th grade. We got to see the younger kids playing and creating and the older kids having formalized lessons. Some of the kids sang us "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" and "Skidamerinkydinkydoo" in English. These kids we so happy and seemingly so willing to learn. I was really amazed and proud to see the work that From Houses to Homes has done with this school.

Then it was off to work for the day. We spent the morning mixing the cement for the roof and the floor. This was a strenous job but did not last all that long. Then we passed along the buckets for JuanJose to fill in the roof and the floor. This took a lot of buckets and a lot of team work but ultimately didn't take too much time.

At lunch Olivia and I played with the girls. Maritsa sat with me as I ate and talked to me about her school day which I enjoyed. Then, after we ate, we continued to take more and more pictures. The girls love posing for the pictures and seeing themselves in the camera after.
During the lunch break, Fred started what he called the "Guatemalan Olympics." All of the events centered around the baby, whether it was throwing something at the baby or catapulting the baby. The guys seemed to have a lot of fun with these events.
After lunch I did more bonding with the girls than physical work. The guys helped remove and sewage pipe and lay a porch in front of the house. The girls taught us a patty-cake game that I somehow consistantly lost (I have a feeling Maritsa always proclaimed herself winner no matter what).
After the porch was done, we ended our work day and headed out to play soccer with another crew. The teams were all of the volunteers versus the four From Houses to Homes workers. We had fun and I actually played ok but we still lost 4 to 2. We declared Fred M.V.P. for having some great saves.

Then we went to the grocery store and picked out some gifts to give to the girls tomorrow. This was fun but made me sad to think that tomorrow is our last day with these families. I have formed some friendships with these girls and I will be sad to see them go tomorrow but I am grateful for the time I got to spend with them and for the entire experience of this trip thus far.

Hasta luego,
Taylor "I was sick before I got here" Hix