Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Wednesday

Blog # 5

          Sopa to you all. I am sitting here after lunch, watching the donkeys pass by with water on their backs. Obviously we have no running water here. The showers are all bucket showers and my mortal enemies, the bathrooms, are pits with canvases surrounding the nearby ground. Thorns will roll into the tents if they are not properly closed. Staying here will make everyone in first-world countries appreciate the systems and utilities that they have at home very much. On the way to the worksite, I am regularly swarmed by the local children here. Being an introvert, I am somewhat disgruntled, but at the same time, intrigued by this. Currently, we are working on finishing the dining hall for the local school. We are making stairs and benches, digging a cistern, and plastering the walls to make them look nice. I am especially interested by the activity known as plaining, in which we use razor sharp blades to smooth and level out pieces of wood that will eventually be used for making benches. Fred in particular is good at these labor-intensive activities. The three boys are heading out to the homestay tonight. Seeing as though how the facilities will be even less extravagant than those we have here, I am filled with anticipation as to how this experience will unravel itself. – TL
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Blog #6

          Sopa! It is officially day nine. Lunch has just ended and everyone seems to have sudden bursts of energy, even after a long morning of labor. So far, we have finished sanding the fourth bench and expect to finish them all by the end of the day. Carpentry is only one of the daily working options and it is amazing think of all that we have already finished in only three days of labor. Today I finally brought my “American bible” for Joel, one of the children in the church we visited on Sunday. As we walked back to the camp from our work site, I was able to show him the book of Joel, named for the prophet he spoke to me so enthusiastically about. He read as much as he could on the fifteen minute walk, sharing the holy book with an older boy in grade seven. The teenager said that if I bring my bible back after lunch, he would really like to compare it with his version, this one in Swahili. I look forward to helping him articulate his complex ideas in English as I work with a partner to finish building another bench. We learn something every day here. –Ysis






1 comments:

charlene said...

We are all LOVING the blogs and photos! Thank you! xoxo, Charlene Geffen

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