Back to the Work Project

Blog #9

          Hey there! We’re entering our final week here in Oloika. I don’t think it has really hit any of us that we have less than seven days with the people here. For the first two hours of work and tea-time conversations mainly consisted of what was the first thing that we were going to do once we got home. I know a couple of people are home sick (including myself), but I’m convinced that when we get to Wednesday we won’t want to leave. Everyday children swarm us and give us bracelets and the workers are now playing tricks on us and remember our names very well. I think it’s incredible that in only one week we have made so many friends and that I know that they won’t forget us since they still remember students and teachers from last year.

         

          As an advanced cement-slinger (not actually), our walls on the work site are looking pretty good. The plastering team is the best according to Johnson, the master at wall-making J. We have a lot to get done in last couple of days but I’m sure that we’ll power through.

          Saludos Mami y Papi! Esta es la ultima semena aquí en Kenya. Todavia nos falta mucho trabajo pero ya casi terminamos. Los amo con todo mi corazón y los vere pronto! Ciao!!!!!! J 

Blog #10

Hey -- It’s Cayley! We got back to work today after a beautiful and restful weekend at Losijo. The plaster team, whose job is to throw cement at walls and make them nice and strong, finished a wall they have been working on and started a new one, the carpentry team finished some tables, a door was installed, and other people visited the first graders.

But one thing was unexpected – the Dust Devil. I was innocently chiseling holes next to the window with Chelsea when I felt grains of dust, sand, and wood shavings suddenly whipped into my eyes. The wind picked up all around us. I closed my eyes and covered my mouth because I didn’t really want to eat dust and wood shavings. I didn’t exactly see what it looked like when I was in it but sound and feel of the wild, whooshing wind was pretty intense. After the Dust Devil has past and I felt safe enough to open my eyes, I ran to the window to observe it upset its next victim – the sandy, dusty soccer field. It was really cool to see what we had been in. The wind in a ten foot wide spiral blew the dust up 10, 15, maybe 20 feet into the air. I have never seen anything like it. Except in Wizard of Oz of course. By the way, Tae ranked this the #1 event of this trip so far. That’s how cool it was.

          But for me, the highlight of the day, the Dust Sevil being a close second, was getting my fantastic new hairstyle. While everyone else was slaving away trying to win the Marshmallow Challenge (which Liz will write about), I sat on the living room floor/workplace of a Masai woman named Agnes getting braids in my hair. After 2½ hours of talking to the Agnes and Cindy, my head had been transformed. I have 25 braids and about that many beads covering my head. On the walk back to camp, the friends I had made it the community oohed!!!!!