Mexico journal

Isla, Vera Cruz, Mexico: 2006

Wednesday, January 4: “Would That Be Okay?”

Arrived safely. With luggage! After a good night’s sleep, walked out to the courtyard to find.... an internet-connected computer! (But with a Spanish keyboard, so some of the punctuation keys are different)

Trip to Houston was made more pleasant. Checked in at the gate, did my usual ask (any exit row seats available). After looking a bit, then looking at my boarding pass, she said cheerfully "I don’t have any more exit row seats, but I'm trying to fill up first class. Would that be okay?" Being an accommodating person, I agreed.

I have only been in first class once before (1968, now-defunct airline where the all-female flight attendants had to change their costume 3 times, plus serve cocktails and a meal, all during a 1 hour flight). Turns out it's sort of like coach used to be (and still is, on long international flights)--food, drink, and most important, more legroom! I enjoyed myself immensely. The meal itself was okay--what Socrates might have called "a good dinner, not a great dinner" before being executed. But it sure beat grab-and-go in the Houston airport.

Arrived in Vera Cruz shortly after 11. Found the ATM, got some pesos, got a taxi, showed them the address. And then began the usual mad-taxi ride through a very quiet city, with the taxi/ex-camel driver taking umbrage at any other male to beat him to a light. Spanish rap music on the radio. (Some things shouldn’t be exported). Got to the hotel around midnight. As expected, it was locked. As expected, the taxi driver dropped me off quickly and drove off. As not expected, there were 4 hookers on the corner across the street. I rang the doorbell, quickly decided that if no one came, I didn't have an exit plan since I couldn’t' very well ask one of the hookers where I might find a room. (Well, I could have, I suppose, but didn't want to.) But the group leader and the desk clerk eventually showed up, I came in, went up to my room (shared with someone already sleeping in the loft) and went to sleep quickly.

Off soon to breakfast, then the bus ride to Isla. More later, if I can.

Wednesday, January 4: The (Almost) Nightly News

So I’m sitting in a cyber cafe in "downtown" Isla. The tariff is 7 pesos (70 cents) per hour. I think I can afford this. I love the Internet age.

Some of us gathered this morning in a Vera Cruz cafe for a nice breakfast at an outdoor cafe, complete with mariachi band. And fantastic coffee con leche, with the leche (milk) poured from on high (shoulder height--it's their specialty.)

Corrinne (from Calgary) and I took a nice stroll around the center of town. Nice pedestrian areas, which are still decorated for Christmas. Got as far as the port area, which was quite active with ships (not cruise ships). Then back to the hotel and on to the bus station.

The bus trip was long (4 hours) but not unpleasant (air-conditioned, comfortable reclining seats, and only about 1/2 full, virtually all being us) with a rest stop along the way. The topography is quite flat and very lush. Lots of sugar cane fields. Some with men plowing behind horse-drawn plows. Small houses in the fields, with window and door openings but only rarely with windows or doors. Thatched roofs. A caravan of tractors, each pulling 5 wagons loaded to overflowing with cut sugar cane. Many ponds and lagoons, with plenty of water birds (those white ones especially--egrets maybe?). And a few pineapple fields. And then arriving at Isla, which is mostly southeast of Vera Cruz.

It doesn't take long to walk around downtown Isla. It's a town of about 30,000 in the region of Tuxla. And it has all the amenities we need--hotel, ATM, and best of all, cyber cafes.

We had our orientation this evening with many presentations from the Habitat affiliate. This is always a big deal for them, and can get a little tedious, but at least, we weren't suffering from jet lag. There are 21 Habitat affiliates in Mexico, and the Tuxla affiliate is 10 years old. In that time, it has built 2300 homes--more than any other affiliate--in a total of 99 communities within the region. We will be working close to here--13 kilometers by poor to bad roads, 50 kilometers by good roads. We’re opting for the closer/poor to bad road option tomorrow. I figure that once I learn the route, I and probably some others will choose to walk at least part of the way home.

Our hotel is a typical one for Habitat trips. Modest, but all the essentials--beds, running water, showers (I'm told they're hot), and air conditioning (necessary given the heat and humidity.)

Time to go back for margaritas or beer and dinner. All for now.

Thursday, January 5: We are the event

After a leisurely breakfast (not our doing--it's just the Latin way), with the highlight being fresh pineapple juice (Isla is the pineapple capital of Mexico), we climbed into the back of two trucks for the trip out to the building sites. They are in the settlement called La Union, about 13 km. from Isla. I love riding in the back of a truck. It seems so.... illegal, since it is illegal, in the States.

Arrived at La Union and were ushered to the open-air community center, all set up with stage, pineapples, chairs, etc. We knew this was a program. Eventually discovered an actual printed program, beginning with speeches, and speeches, and poems by the poet laureate of La Union (not joking--I couldn’t make this up), and speeches, and then lunch, and games. We realized it wasn't going to be a workday.

The program was actually quite interesting. Found out we are the first brigade to come to La Union, making us the occasion for many in the community to come out and celebrate. The layering is extensive. There’s the community (La Union), the zone (Isla), the region (Tuxla), the state (Vera Cruz) and the country. And each has its own committees and volunteer structure (virtually no paid employees anywhere.) And all are very proud and want to meet us. And they did.

The poet laureate read several poems created "on the spot" he said, in our honor. And they gave each of us a pineapple, with a bandana wrapped around it. And to refresh us, gave us cups of fresh pineapple (to die for), and then a glass of fresh coconut juice (also to die for.) The speeches didn’t take as long as programmed, so the games began (balloon stomp, then volleyball.) In volleyball, my goal is not to embarrass myself. I didn't.

Good lunch, prepared by the community for everyone--them as well as us. A major undertaking, I'm sure. Then, it looked for a moment like more games, but we asked whether we could go to the sites and do some work. And we did.

We're working on two houses, both starting practically from scratch. The foundation was dug for one, and half our team spent the afternoon breaking up rocks, making concrete, and pouring it. The other site had the lines laid out for the foundation, which we dug. This involves digging a trench 16" deep, 12" across for the full 120-foot perimeter. We got it all done in a little more than an hour, with pickaxes and shovels (and, no doubt, sore backs and arms tomorrow.) Before that, all of us helped unload 2200 bricks from a truck, which is the amount of bricks we will now lay to build the house. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole process, which I haven't done in previous builds where we worked on multiple sites.

Had one of those food experiences tonight. We went out together to a local restaurant for dinner. Tables of four, with a budget, and we could order individually. I scanned the menu, found several chicken things that had beans with them, spaghetti, and then at least one chicken thing that didn't have beans. Ordered that (I had beans this morning.) The dishes were brought, others first, and they asked me what I had ordered. I replied cheerfully "the chicken thing without the beans." And yes, the waitress brought my dish that was chicken on a plate that was 3/4 covered with.... beans. My tablemates enjoyed the irony, as did I. And much to my surprise, the dish was one of the best I've had in my Latin American experience. Go figure.

Town is really hopping tonight. Everyone seems to be out, walking the main street, families in tow. One theory is tomorrow's a holiday (12th Night), but I don't know whether that's the reason or not. Anyway, it's very lively, and very family oriented and just fun to be part of, even minimally.

All for now. Time to go back to the hotel and get some rest. Tomorrow, I expect to be breaking stones and helping pour concrete in the foundation I helped dig. Looking forward to it, actually.

January 6: Nothing but work

No speeches today, no welcoming ceremony, no games, not even any poems from the La Union poet laureate. So instead, we had a full day of work.

One of the things I like about this project so far is there is plenty of work at all times. The managers seem to have the situation well under control, which is great for those of us who came to work.

I had several new (to me) tasks today. Started out with the crew that was using a sledgehammer to break up concrete into smaller pieces.... of concrete. Seems there are things like pieces of curbing that they have in a pile (from somewhere) which, when broken up, are used in the foundation. (We did something like this in El Salvador, only with natural rocks that we found.) So we took turns (it was a "guy" thing, by direction of the women) swinging the sledge, setting up rows of concrete to be broken, loading the pieces in a wheelbarrow, and taking them to the foundation. Got us all ready for doing the sledge swing at the state fair (though one guy we decided would get the "wimp" bell award for his swing.) I'm looking forward to impressing someone with my swing next October.

Once that was almost done, I was reassigned to the next task: carrying buckets of cement from the mixer to pour into the foundation. At one point, I realized I was the only gringo doing this. Not quite sure how that happened, but so be it and I didn't mind. (I also noticed that I was much older than the other cement-carriers, so I took a just a little pride in this.) That went on until lunch, and we finished pouring the foundation by then.

Lunch was in the home of a community member who was very proud to host us in her home, with her cooking. A very human desire, I think, to take pride in having people in your home and cooking for them. She was most gracious, and the lunch was excellent. The two sofas looked very appealing for a siesta, but we couldn't decide who would get them, so we all went back to work instead.

My first afternoon project was to join the septic system digging team. This involved hand-digging a field approximately 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet deep. The dirt is quite easy to move (very little clay), but still, as you go further down, you're flinging it up higher, especially since the mounds alongside the burgeoning hole are also getting higher. Near the end, only taller people could do this readily. I stayed with it until the hole was about 5 feet deep, by which time I decided to move to a more sedentary task. That was straightening rebar, and then cutting wire. The latter was particularly pleasant because I could do it sitting down, and by this time (it was after 4), I was ready to sit down.

The weather has been fantastic for building. Today was clouds and sun, temperature in the 70´s, with a strong wind. We are lucky.

Today is Epiphany (King's Day in Mexico), a big holiday for Catholics I guess. I understand kids get gifts today. The son of our homeowner was very proudly playing with his King's Day gift. A remote-controlled military police vehicle, labeled "UN", and a Hummer. Makes me so proud.

The most eventful part of the drive home was seeing the dead boa constrictor alongside the highway. We had seen it yesterday as well. It was still dead today, just more fragrant. The mind boggles at what lies ahead of us in the next days.

Fireworks were going off before dinner. Couldn't figure out what was going on. Then, while having dinner in our hotel, the "parade" returned from the church. It was the King's Day parade. One vehicle with Nativity scene, about 40 people walking behind, one playing a drum badly, then a few more vehicles with families, and occasional fireworks explosions. Someone said (with tongue in cheek) "think of it as Mardi Gras" since we had just been talking about New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

Town is distinctly quieter tonight, so I'm thinking it was about Epiphany last night. Still going to go out and take a stroll before hitting the bed. Tomorrow promises to be another good workday.

Happy Epiphany to all.

January 7: Deeper and Wider

Another day of great weather and good work. It became clear first thing this morning that I was expected to resume work on the hole. So I did. The work was getting harder, partly because our muscles were tired from the previous day, partly because as it got deeper and the piles of dirt around it got higher, it got harder and harder to throw the dirt onto to the growing piles, and partly because we reached our first rock shelf. Only the pickaxe would work to break up the rock, and I can tell you from experience, the pickaxe vibrates directly to the shoulder.

Mid-afternoon, the supervisor came by and measured to see how we were doing. While much of the hole was almost 2 meters (6+ feet) deep, it turned out not to be wide enough. Needed to be about 8 feet square, rather than the 7 or so. So, much additional work. But by late afternoon, the locals were "inviting" us to leave the rest to them, so they could square it up, level it, etc. We were pleased to cooperate.

During one of my breaks, I was invited to go along and help load 50 kg. bags of cement onto the truck. This gave me a good chance to see more of the community. It's fairly new--established in the late 30's, electricity in the 60's, potable water in the late 90's--and is home to about 1,000. Most of the work is agricultural, working in (or possibly owning) the pineapple farms in the neighborhood. There is a mix of housing in the community--everything from quite nice places to shacks, some of them side by side. In short, the usual cross-section of class and economic position. There is a primary and secondary school, some small shops, a taxi that runs to Isla and beyond. The streets, of course, and the road leading to the community, are not paved. But the community still has a nice feel to it.

The houses we are building are the 2nd and 3rd Habitat houses in the community. They are fairly typical Habitat houses. They are about 21 feet square (440 square feet total), divided into two parts. In one part, there are two bedrooms (each about 9x7) and a bathroom. The other part is the kitchen/living room/eating area. They will have running water and the septic system we're digging, which is more than I've seen in other places. I expect they will have electricity; at least, it's available in the community.

Our family consists of a couple (both previously married and divorced) and her three kids--a boy 15, a girl 12, and another boy 10. All except the 10-year old work daily with us, and they are hard workers. It must be very special to watch your house being built, to feel the enthusiasm of everyone working on building with you.

Took time to stroll around Isla last night. A couple of things I didn't see--I didn’t see people talking on cell phones or hear any phones ringing. I did see lots of pay telephone booths, and people using them. I also didn't see trash on the sidewalks, or trash cans. And I didn't see graffiti on the walls, anywhere. I did see numerous sidewalk cafes, many with a large haunch of beef or pork on a rotating spit, being cooked/kept warm by an electric heater. A couple of places, I saw someone slicing pieces off, putting them in tortillas, adding " stuff" and serving it. I guess this is sidewalk fajitas, in their original form. I haven't sampled any yet.

The big excitement in Isla this weekend is the local baseball team (yes, it's the Isla Pineapples) is in the semi-finals of whatever league they play in. Today was game 3, and they won and they are ahead 2-1 in the series. Tomorrow, they could win it all and go on to the finals. Or if they lose, they'd play next Saturday in the climactic 5th game. We can hardly wait.

A bit about the group. It's noticeably different than others I've been on. Older, in the first place. Four couples (including Ron and Gloria, the leaders) are retired and older than me. Two more people are my age or older. And then there are 6 kids in college or graduate school. And a couple of others in between. Don't feel nearly as old as I did in the Mongolia group, where I was definitely the senior citizen. (Although I must confess I really don't enjoy talking with the old folks that much--too much discussion about medical ailments, doctors, and trips they have or are taking. I find much of that less than interesting and spend as much of my time as I can with the others.)

It's also heavily West Coast in geographic origin, especially San Francisco (where Ron and Gloria are from.) Not that it really makes any difference. We all have a real, simple common interest in building community and building communities. And that has no geographic boundaries, and not many age ones.

We're off from work tomorrow. A day of rest, spent going to a nearby lake. The locals wanted us to go for 2 days "to see it all." We opted for 1 day. Will tell you later whether they were right or wrong.

All for now. I think I might be over my 5-peso limit.

January 9: 3 Up…..

Happiness is arriving at the work site and finding that the septic hole now has other things in it, like a concrete platform at one side. This is significant. It means the hole is done, and so are we. (Yesterday, we passed several cemeteries. We decided that if things didn't work out, we could get employment as experienced gravediggers.)

Happiness also is finally getting to put up the cement block bricks. We got to that point around noon today, after moving some dirt (the dirt we took out of the septic hole) into the house to raise the floor level. And moving the bricks from one pile into two pile, based on their size (some are 11 cm. deep, others 12 cm. deep--quality control is a problem at the brick factory.) I got pressed happily into laying the brick, based on my proximity to the person assigning the tasks (certainly not on my prior experience, which she is unaware of.) I really enjoy this and, thanks to my teacher in Chile last year, fairly good. I was working under the watchful eye of not only the overall manager but also the homeowner. They both gave me the thumbs up. Three courses (rows) are done, with perhaps 11 do go.

Saturday, some stray dogs showed up at the work site. I showed up that evening with numerous bites all over my legs. Not sure there's a connection, but....

This is the time of the trip when people begin to go down (i.e. get sick). One yesterday, a couple in weakened condition today. So far, I'm fine. I'm reading David McCullough's book on the building of the Panama Canal. According to him, while yellow fever and malaria got all the press attention, more workers actually died from intestinal problems and pneumonia. I' m not sure I'm consoled by this news.

This is also the time of the trip when some of the volunteers begin to think they know how things should be done. And tell other volunteers. Like me. I adopt my usual strategy--smile, look stupid, and go on doing it my way after they turn away. Works most of the time

Some of the local ladies volunteered to do any laundry we might need. I gave them two well-used t-shirts and a couple of pairs of sock. The t-shirts came back incredibly clean, and ironed. They are wonderful people. I don't think I better get used to ironed t-shirts, though, unless I plan to iron them myself.

Yesterday can best be described as "always an adventure." Our day off began in the way so many Habitat days off begin...with a discussion about vehicles. We are a group of 19. We arranged for a 16-passenger van and a car to transport us. After some time, a 10-passenger van showed up, with the 3rd seat removed (making it a 7 passenger van, with space in the back for more.) After much animated discussion, it was determined we would use this van, and one of the trucks we use daily. For reasons I can't figure out, I ended up in the back of the truck, along with 3 others, plus a local.

We were headed for Catemaco, a resort community on a lake in the mountains about a 2-hour drive from Isla. So I was dressed for that. The trip up wasn't too bad, except it was quite cold in the open truck. Fortunately, Corinne (another with us) had an extra fleece, which covered some of my arms. (Note to self¨: never leave home without fleece.)

Our first stop was a waterfall that was quite beautiful. And, since it was 240 steps (they said) down and back, it got the heart pumping and me warm. Afterwards, several got a snack of fresh pineapple, some with chile powder on it. What a terrible waste of fresh pineapple! The locals bought bags of fresh coconut with chile powder. Even the chile powder couldn't make something good out of that.

Got to Catemaco, had lunch in a beautiful lakeside restaurant with coconut trees shading us. Had to remind myself this isn't real life. But it sure is nice.

After lunch, took a boat ride around an island with some notable things on it (don't remember them--witches maybe?), then stopped and took a guided tour through a beautiful ecological preserve. Then back on the boat, past some baboons on another island, then back to the vehicles.

The trip back was also an adventure. Back in the back, again, but this time, another person offered me his windbreaker (since he was an inside person) and someone else found a pillow I could put on the grate over the roof I was using as a seat. For a little while, this was actually quite comfortable, watching a beautiful sunset.

We stopped at another Habitat site where 60 homes were built last year, mostly during a blitz build in June when 2000 volunteers descended from all over the world. Got ready to go, discovered the truck was jacked up. They were wiggling one of the wheels (never a good sign.) Finally, they lowered the truck (without having done anything) and told us to get on. Went off a little further, truck stalled going up a hill. After some fiddling, finally got the truck going again.

By this time, it was dark and getting quite cool. Back up to the roof, bundled. Off we went, slowly, since the truck was a little questionable. 3 hours later, after having covered ourselves with a tarp to try and get a little warm, we arrived back in Isla. Wednesday, we get to repeat the trip (that's another story.) We've been promised two vans. We'll see. But it all was really a fun trip, the ride notwithstanding. And it's things like this that make all of these things so memorable. When else would I be riding on the roof of a truck through the countryside, seeing beautiful scenery and then an incredible sky?

Time to go get cleaned up before dinner. Best to all.

January 10: Brick juggling

Another day of great weather and good work. Couldn't ask for better on either account.

We put another 5 courses of brick block on today. Got out to the work site a little earlier than usual (the hotel is finally getting our breakfast when we asked), so we worked a full day and got back a little earlier, too.

I spent part of the morning working with one of the local young men. That's always fun, especially when there is no common spoken language between us. He seems to be in the learning mode, as in "trade," and I was quite willing to be his student. We had a lot of fun together.

After lunch, I was working with Gloria, one of our co-leaders. I had been told by another person who has been with her before that she really likes to be in control of things, as in even the work site, going over the head of the local supervisor, even when she's wrong (she's an architect by profession, so that might explain many things.) I was her assistant, and I was really quite good at it (assisting, rather than doing, that is.) The real bonus, though, was that I managed to get her to change our plans for tomorrow. The original plan was for us to drive to near where we went Sunday, work a half-day in the brick factory, and drive back. This didn't make sense to anyone else. So I quietly suggested we consider an alternative---skip the brick factory and work here instead. She finally agreed to poll the group, and I think it was unanimous. Anyway, at least we've won for now and won't take another long ride to work in a brick factory rather than on our job site. Not sure about Thursday, though.

Food is always an interesting part of Habitat trips. The food thus far has been generally good or very good, and plentiful. We have breakfast each morning in the hotel. It varies daily but is uniformly good. At times, it looks like something I wouldn't want (i.e. beans) but surprises me each time, once I get one bite. (I've also learned that chiles serve two purposes: they add some "hot", and they cover the underlying flavors, whatever they are.) They even did pancakes one morning, which were actually almost as good as Papa John's.

Lunch each day is on site, at a local's home, prepared by the women. It is very good. Often a soup, then a meat-based entree, then dessert (one time, flan, which we raved about and are hoping for again.) Today for reasons I don’t know, we asked for vegetarian. (Three of us are vegetarian, 16 of us are carnivores, and there is always a special meal prepared for the vegetarians.) So it was a variety of vegetables, including carrots, squash, zucchini, cactus, and several other unidentifiable ones. Drink was hibiscus punch (I'm not kidding.) And mercifully, there was rice and beans (when did I ever think I'd be grateful for beans?) Actually, it was quite good, just not filling for me.

Dinner is usually in the hotel, and it's okay. With beers ahead of time, it becomes better. Twice we've gone to a local restaurant, which is excellent, but apparently more expensive than our budget regularly allows. The first time we were given an 80 peso ($8) allowance, the second time only a 50-peso allowance. Apparently, we're paying less in the hotel.

Sick bay continues to grow. Several more downers today. Two actually went to the local doctor, got medications, and all for no charge. This led to an interesting discussion about national health insurance, civilized countries, and the States.

The end of the workday involved helping unload another truckload of brick blocks. Formed the usual line, with us passing from one to the other. The unloading began with young locals on the truck, throwing them one to another and then down to the line. As we got further back in the truck, they asked for another hombre to join them. Naturally, I volunteered. So we had a 4-man line, throwing brick blocks one to the next, then down to the ground. Lots of fun actually, and with rhythm, no harder than passing them. Of course, there were the usual guy games (faster, faster), sudden stops because they ground line was falling apart, etc. etc. We didn't finish before I had to leave, much to my regret, and theirs. Did make me feel that somehow, in another life, I could have been a juggling partner. Maybe some day Mark, Ethan and I can try that.

Exciting news on the hotel front. We got our light bulb replaced in the bathroom (one went out the other day and we requested it be fixed) and as a bonus, they put a showerhead in the shower (it previously was just a pipe.) But the best news is they remembered to turn on the power to our air conditioner. We don't really need the cooling, just the air moving and the noise. We didn't have it last night. I was awakened out of a sound sleep 4 or 5 times by outside noise--delivery trucks with loud boom boxes,going, a train whistle going through, etc. etc. They remembered to turn it on today, so I might have a better night's rest.

All for now. Time to go drink and have dinner, in that order.

January 11: It Always Happens

Yet another good day. This is getting (delightfully) repetitive. We did manage to dodge the half-day ride up and back to work for a half day in the Habitat brick factory. Turns out Ron (co-leader) was the only one who really wanted to do this, so he conceded, gracefully. In trade we got a half-day of work at our local site, with the afternoon off, or, if we wanted, we could work the whole day. You know which I chose.

This whole process only really works well with the right kind of construction supervisor. Not only does he have to schedule things, supplies, etc. He also has to walk an incredible balancing act--trying to get volunteers involved, even if they have no skills; training them, teaching and encouraging them; and most of all, sacrificing efficiency and possibly perfection to the goal of building community. We have two sites, so two construction supervisors. One (mine) is excellent. The other, apparently, isn't so good. The first day of block laying, some of the volunteers dove in immediately, did it wrong, and it all had to be undone. That led their supervisor to limit the kinds of work the volunteers can do, leading to hurt feelings, standing around, etc. I'm lucky I got the one I did.

Turns out apparently I am regarded by all as being qualified to lay block. Always a nice feeling. So that's what I did all day. Turns out I also have a natural advantage that is coming in handy, as always. Height. As we go up, the corner and end blocks have to be lifted fairly high to be threaded over the rebar. Having watched me do it, the locals have decided I'm just what they need for every one of those assignments. Talk about job security. As long as I choose countries with people of shorter stature---don't think I'll do to the Dinka area of Africa.

Think about preparing lunch for 20 people every day. In a small kitchen, with minimal appliances. And very small refrigerator. Going to the store each morning to buy the supplies, cooking up a three-course lunch with the freshest of ingredients. Washing up in the back with a hose. Serving it in your living/dining room. And smiling all the time. That's what happens daily. They are an incredible group (probably about 4-5 local women) giving an extraordinary gift. We are appreciative. And the lunches are delicious.

It always happens. I get physically invested immediately. Hard not to, when I dig for 2-3 days. But sometime, unexpectedly, I realize I'm emotionally invested. To the local community. To the people I'm working with. To the area. To the house that is slowly rising from the ground. To the family that works with us, watches over our work to make sure it's right, and drives us back and forth. I realized this morning--I'm emotionally invested. It will be hard to leave them.

We're on our own for dinner tonight. So I'm off to my favorite restaurant for a leisurely dinner, including flan. Happy full moon, everyone. It's beautiful down here tonight.

January 12: Transition

We marked a transition in the build project today. We finished the walls this morning. The next step is laying a concrete band on top of all the walls, inside and outside walls, to support the roof structure. This involves building rebar cages, as we did for the foundation, which means lots of cutting, forming, etc. Followed by rebuilding the forms we use to hold the cement while it dries. The hope/dream had been to finish it today so we could pour today, dry overnight, and resume building. But we didn't make it. By a fair amount, actually. So tomorrow first thing we'll finish that and pour the concrete.

The lulls this afternoon gave me a little time to wander over to the other site and see how they're coming along. Theirs is a bigger house, but they've had more workers, too. They were a little behind us, partly because their supervisor wouldn't let the volunteers do many of the tasks. Today, our supervisor went over there to train the volunteers, and their work went much speedier. They are still behind us, but not as far.

"His mother's on the scaffolding, his father's in the hole." That's the answer to my question "why is Aldo crying?" (Aldo is a delightful little boy, nearing 3, whose parents both work on the build site.) I think it's also a great title of a country music song.

There are an incredible number of small auto parts stores along the main street of Isla. I don't have any idea what this signifies.

Over time, we get to be more and more of a known presence in town, and a bit of a curiosity, too. 20 gringoes isn't exactly normal for a town that doesn't get tourists. So gradually, people come up to one or another of us and ask about what we're doing, where we're from, and how can they get to the United States. One guy has been hitting on one of our women, quite persistently actually (followed her to the internet cafe and waited for her) but not threateningly. Another told us he had spent 3 years in North Carolina and had done some volunteering at Habitat. But mostly, they are just friendly and curious.

Today, coming back from the work site, while we were stopped, a loaded pineapple truck drew alongside. The driver shouted "pineapple" (in Spanish) and brought us one from the truck. We took it to the hotel bar with us this evening, and they generously carved it for us. Quite simply, this was the most fantastic tasting pineapple I have ever had. Absolutely dead ripe, sweet, juicy. I may never try another one again.

Tomorrow and Saturday look to be challenging workdays. Once we pour the concrete tomorrow, we'll be pretty much done for the day on that site. On Saturday, we will begin the roof, but the way that is built here, I'm not sure how much of a group effort it can really be. It involves concrete block to support the roof, but it can't be done simultaneously--must be sequential, like a Lego building, and from only two places. So I'm not sure how work is going to be.

We're hosting a huge farewell party on Saturday, probably in the evening. After much discussion, we opted for the broader invitation, which means something like 300 kids will be there (plus adults.) We're buying balloons, candy, pinatas (like, 10 or so), planning games, etc. It will be fun, no doubt, but the planning is involving some of our members and the local people working together. Yet another example of the ways we build community.

All for now. Time to wander the streets a bit before heading back to bed.

January 13: Full Circle

Well, I was half right. The main build task today was finishing the forms so we could pour the bond beam which goes on top of all the walls and supports the roof. And that involves lots and lots of cement, using a bucket brigade to get it up to the top of the walls, and over. And we finished that task before lunch.

But I wasn't actually part of it. Instead, first thing this morning, I was invited to go back to.... the hole. First task was to remove the forms from around the concrete base. But then, it was time to lay the concrete block walls that go fully around the inside of the hole and ultimately, up the full height. So I was back in duty. Happily, actually, although it was quite hot down there this morning (humidity was up) so I was absolutely pouring sweat and my clothes were soaked quickly, for the first time this trip.

Spent the morning mostly working by myself laying the block, with assistants handing down the block and filling the cracks. The assistant maestro came and inspected my work. Tapped a little, straightened a little (made it crooked, actually, according to observers), and pronounced it okay. After lunch, I was joined by another assistant maestro. Talk about performance pressure! But he was quite laid back, enjoyed working with me and I with him, practiced his English, etc. We worked well together, he laying two sides, me the other two sides, in just about the same time (won't talk about competing, but it is a guy thing.) We finished the job, all 8 courses, just before 5. A full day's work, but in a strange way, quite satisfying. I helped dig that hole, and I did much of the block work for it. Tomorrow, we do a cap for the top, and I may also be involved in that, too. But whatever, it's been fun. (One of our team said she was amazed that anyone could get so excited about a septic tank hole. I won't say excited, just committed.)

It must be an incredible week for Elsa, our homeowner. She has a job in town but took the week off to work with us. She is there everyday, opening the day with a reading from Scripture and her own prayer of thanksgiving, bringing snacks for us, pitching in on the actual physical work regularly, and smiling all the time. 8 days ago her "home" was string laid out on top of a flat piece of ground. Today, it is fully formed walls and headers, smoothed floors ready to be poured possibly tomorrow.... and a fully lined septic tank. As someone who has a very emotional thing about his own house, I think it must be incredible to be so intimately involved in building your own, and to see it take shape so quickly. It will be a while before it is available for moving in, since everyone leaves tomorrow, but still, it is remarkable progress.

Cement is very hard on your hands. It's abrasive and dries them out and eventually, actually erodes the skin. Since I don't like doing masonry with gloves, my hands are a wreck. Finally had to concede and have used a surgical glove on my left hand (the one that takes the worst beating).

Tomorrow promises to be exhausting yet remarkable. We have a full workday until 5, then immediately move into party mode. With speeches, games, speeches, dinner, games, speeches, photos, etc. we figure to be there much of the night. And yet, from previous experiences, I know that the farewell party is a really big deal for everyone---the community as well as us. So we'll do it, and we'll do it well, and then we'll all crash.

And of course, we then have 3 days R&R. We leave Sunday for somewhere a couple of hours from here, supposedly on a beach, and veg out for a couple of days before heading back to Vera Cruz on Tuesday. Tough life, but someone has to lead it. And I'm fortunate to be that someone.

January 15: Work’s Done, Fun’s Begun

Yesterday unfolded pretty much as I expected. We worked virtually the entire day. Main task was pouring the concrete floors for the entire house--a great task for a large crew. My assignment was working with the cement mixer, which meant getting buckets of water regularly, cutting open the bag of cement (using a machete! What a thrill to finally get to use one legitimately!), hoisting the half bag (about 55 lbs.) into the mixer, and repeat as needed (about 25 times.) We finished work about 4, a little earlier than the alleged start of the fiesta. When Gloria asked whether she should find something for us to do for another hour, we pointed out the locals had already cleaned all the tools, put them in the wheel barrow, and taken them away. We think that was a clear message.

Before the fiesta began, I had a little time to wander some more around the community. Passed by the billiards "hall" which, being Saturday, now was alive. Four horses parked outside, eight men inside, two shooting pool, the others sitting around drinking beer. They saw me, waved me to come in. I hesitated, they waved again and held up the beer glasses, and that did it. Went in, stood around with them, watched the pool, and drank beer. Lots of smiles, lots of jokes (none of which I understood), and yet another of those experiences I've grown to appreciate on these trips.

The farewell party is always different in each locality. Two of my others have been fairly formal events, with catered meals, hired entertainment, and all adults. This one was the opposite---heavily child oriented. We bought 10 piñatas for the kids, made in La Union, and planned some other games as well. The locals also planned some games. It's remarkable how long it takes to do 10 piñatas. We had to cut some of the games short.

Balloons + kids = magic. We had bought a package of 100 balloons, four of which were to be used in a balloon relay. So our party master gave me the rest and said "give them out to the kids." Instantly, I was a kid magnet. It was amazing to have all these kids, coming up a several at a time, approaching me with hesitation or confidence, outgoing or shy, depending on the kid. The only bad part came when I ran out---there were well over 100 kids, and I simply didn't have any more. Would have loved to have 1000. Watching them play, in so many different ways, with the simplest of toys, reminds me of how imaginative child's play can be.

A little later, I was sitting on the edge of the stage. A couple of little kids came up and sat beside me, then one of them got behind my back, and somehow, it just seemed natural to play horsey with him. That led to horsey rides for an uncountable number of kids. I would give one a ride, then head back, sit down, let him/her off, and another jumped. After a while, happened to look back to where I was going, and saw...a line of about 15 kids, all lined up, waiting for rides. I decided that horsey was getting tired and began goofing around about horsey tired, slowing down, etc. Otherwise, could have gone on endlessly.

And that evolved into group hugs. First a couple of kids hanging on me, then more, then more, then more. At one point, probably around 15 kids gathered around, all in a mass. Reminds me of just how much kids like physical contact. And how satisfying it is.

Recipe for Mexican milkshake: two scoops of ice cream; two ladles of cream; squirt of malt; mix in old-fashioned milk shake blender; apply directly to the insides of the arteries.

I’ve always managed to build connections to a few of the workers. But I never know it until the time comes for farewells. (After all, we are guys.) This was no exception. At the farewell time, it became clear to me that a couple of us had bonded through our work together in a very special way---the way that comes when you do hard things together, with fun along the way. Yet another unique benefit of doing this kind of work.

We’re off to someplace this morning. Not sure exactly where it is (someone is), but we’ve been assured that it’s a bus that will hold all of us--no more riding outside. Must confess, I am relieved.

My body’s tired. But it’s a good kind of tired. The kind that comes from having fun while working hard, doing work that matters, with people who matter. It’s a pleasure to be good tired.

January 16: Bike Butt

So now I'm in Tlacopalpan, a small community about 2 hours south of Vera Cruz. (Seems like everything I do is 2 hours south of Vera Cruz.) Got here early Sunday afternoon, checked into our hotel which is right along the riverside and quite pleasant, had a great lunch on the hotel patio, and then crashed with NFL on (in Spanish, of course.) Then dinner with the group at a very nice outdoor restaurant on the main plaza of town, which was really jumping on Sunday night. Couples, families, singles---all out in full force, nice dress. Boom box going in the center, older couples dancing. Very much the Mexican scene.

Tlacopalpan is a delightful small community--a UNESCO city---which I learned has something to do with historical preservation. It dates from the (Mexican) colonial times. Lovely streets, lots of attractive side streets/alleys, all the buildings well maintained and very brightly painted in contrasting (and conflicting) colors. A wonderful place just to stroll around, which I did yesterday afternoon and again this morning, before breakfast.

My plan for the day was to find a beach. We are about 40 minutes from a beach, with a public bus that leaves hourly. So that seemed like an interesting possibility (since it's a beautiful sunny day, temperature probably in the 80s. low humidity.) Inquired a bit more about the beach with someone at our hotel. He advised against it---beach "not clean." I inquired a bit further as to what he meant. He then said "security" which I took to mean not safe from a mugging standpoint. As I often say, I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. So a beach trip by myself didn't seem like a good idea.

Recruited a few more who were possibly interested and decided to get a little more about the bus. Learned there was a "tourist bus" at 12:30, which would go directly there, and a public bus hourly, with many stops. Inquired about the length of trip for the tourist bus. "Two hours." Decided that 2 hours there, 2 hours back, for a beach that "wasn't clean" probably wasn't such a great idea after all.

Next decision was to rent bikes. Hotel advertises rental bikes available. Inquired. Yes, they have rental bikes, but no, "both" of them are already rented. Got directions to another place that might rent bikes. Walked down there with 4 others. Found it, began negotiations. Turns out he actually doesn't rent bikes, more like repairs them (there were numerous bikes outside in various states.) But yes, he had 4 bikes he'd rent. And then, magically, found a fifth. So we were off.

I got the bike with the side view mirror, light (not needed) and goose horn. Haven't had the goose horn since my first bike 50+ years ago. Of course, the seat was much too low, had never been raised, and no, he couldn't raise it. But so what? When in Tlacopalpan....

So the 5 of us headed off, having left an Illinois drivers' license as bond. Headed on a road out of town, along the river, and had a wonderful ride in the countryside. Small houses all along the river, then fewer, then just fields with cows, egrets, a few goats. Quite flat, which made for easy riding. Went about 8 miles until we got to a military inspection point. Decided we wouldn't pass, stopped at a casita that was there to get a nice drink, then headed back to town. Then discovered that we had been going with the wind on the way out, which only meant.....

Did manage to trade bikes with Andrew, whose legs aren't quite as long as mine and whose bike seat was higher. Made it a little less strain on the knees. But no less case of bike butt.

We leave for Vera Cruz tomorrow, about noon, on the public bus. The ride is.....yes, 2 hours to Vera Cruz. Back to our original hotel where this journey started almost 2 weeks ago.

All for now. Time to wander some shops and riverfront before getting cleaned up for dinner.

January 17: Journey’s End

I've come full circle. I'm back in Vera Cruz, at the same hotel, where I started two weeks ago (but without the hookers this time---we arrived during the day instead of at midnight.)

The bus ride up was very comfortable, except for lots of swaying---very high winds hit Vera Cruz today (like, 70-80 mph) and were in our area, too. Some places the road was quite near the coastline, which was interesting to see. But mostly, it was just open road with small communities along the way.

After settling back into our hotel, Munoj and I headed out to find some lunch and go to the municipal public market. Found the latter first. A typical public market, packed with stalls individually operated, selling all manner of stuff. The old bazaar style of place, but not as crowded as some I've been in, which means I didn't freak out from claustro.

We also quickly found the food court and decided it just was too good to pass up. Surveyed the range of places and options, decided that those with lots of people were undoubtedly better than those with no one, selected one, ordered a cubanas sandwich which was absolutely incredibly good---great bread, ham, beef, cheese, peppers, avocado, tomato, chiles, and probably other things I can't identify, all grilled slightly to make the cheese melt. That, and my first Pepsi in 2 weeks, for the princely sum of a little more than $3---and the atmosphere and friendliness came free.

Tonight's plan is for all to gather for a farewell dinner someplace. Tomorrow, I fly to Merida (across Yucatan from Cancun) and Anne flies down. We'll spend six days there together.

And so another Habitat adventure nears an end. I've been reflecting a little on the high points and the low points of this one. Most of the high points involve connections to specific people--Francisco, the head of construction, who approved my masonry and said to our leader "he really likes to work hard;" Manuel, who helped me finish the brick work in the septic tank; the women in the kitchen who prepared our lunch each day and always were concerned that I eat enough (mothers never give up being mothers); the men in the billiards hall who insisted I come in and join them; the guy playing pool whose pool playing I admired; the bicycle man who rented us bikes and decided maybe he should go into the bike rental business; Charles, who placed me in the "really old" part of our group yet invited me to eat, drink and play regularly with the "really young" part of the group. And a few other highs that weren't people--getting to use a machete; and building the walls of the septic tank from start to finish.

And the lows? There weren't any.

On to the next trip. This one's over.