settling in

So, the ability to speak Spanish was not a requirement for this trip. However, almost none of the locals speak English, including our maestro Gilberto. I can communicate somewhat in the present tense, so when Gilberto asked Richard for someone to go around and help him mark out the rest of the toilets, the group volunteered me. :-) This was a little awkward at first, until I realized that marking out toilets meant I didn't have to dig. Score!

Gilberto and I actually got quite a lot accomplished, marking out several sites along the mountain. One family had a sweet little boy who sang me a song in Spanish then gave me a piece of candy. The children here are so cute and so friendly, you just want to scoop them up and hug them. (I don't though because that would be creepy). Eventually we finished marking and I ended up digging by myself for a while. The pick axe was sparking against the rocks, and Gilberto and the older lady who lived at the house were laughing hysterically. I think they were sympathizing though and not making fun, but who knows. :-P At any rate, the locals have taken to serving us moonshine while we work, especially in the afternoons. They just give us little capfuls, but it's fun to interact with the people here.


Progress on the hole, day two


Dig, good woman, dig!


Parker takes a break to humor the camerawoman

On a less funny note, one of the dangers of being in a country with unsafe drinking water is giardia. All of the volunteers are healthy so far, but poor Richard is suffering from the tail end of the sickness. What is slightly amusing is the fact that he cannot seem to stop breaking wind. Such a range of octaves! The boys' room is beyond foul. :-)

Dinner tonight was an adventure. Yrene prepares our meals by candlelight (no power in the kitchen) and was out of candles, so Maren, Vienna, and I went off to the store in search of vela (candles). I was pretty excited that I was able to successfully communicate with the shopkeeper and come home with the right stuff. (no, it really doesn't take much to make me happy). Also, Richard surprised us with a batch of...wontons! Homemade dough wrapped around what the locals call "squeaky cheese". So delicious, we were fighting over them. Parker shared some chocolates he had bought with us, although we later discovered that one of the bars was meant to be used for hot cocoa and not for eating. It tasted awful but we all munched it down anyway, ha ha.

After dinner us girls hung out in our dorm, listening to music and chatting. We learned a word in Quechua today (local language) - cuchi. It means pig. At bedtime I realized that I haven't taken my sports bra off since...Saturday...and I don't even care.