Word of the day:

REWARDING

/rɪˈwɔːdɪŋ/

adjective

We started the day with music! We woke up to some songs and then had breakfast all together. We then organized our things and divided into three groups. Two main groups started to work on our construction project and Alaina and Jenna volunteered to be on kitchen duty, which means they washed part of the dishes from each meal of the day and they got to go with Tania, our cook, and Juliana to town to buy the things needed for upcoming meals.

Our main project is helping with the construction of cement floors. In La Guazara, it is very common to build a house with bricks for the walls and metal tiles for the roof — but since cement is so expensive, the floors are usually left as dirt floors. During our morning shift, the group was able to complete two floors for two families with the help of our maestro de obras, who show us and guide us through the process.

After lunch everyone napped! But right after nap time we went all together to one house and did that floor in only a few hours. Mixing the cement is one of the hardest parts, but we have learned a lot already about leveling the floors, how to prepare the floor for the cement, and how to smooth the cement and make sure that it looks beautiful. While we work, we have many kids from the village to help us and make us laugh. We sing, we dance while we work, and we get to know the families we are building the floor for. So even though the group was really tired, during our group meeting everyone felt happy and everyone said it had been a rewarding day!

— Gregorio &  Juliana