Group 2 - Day 4: Rock Hard Slabs (of concrete)

Concrete squares completed today: 10.

Today began the right way: banana pancakes at the fire station. Nothing can go wrong after that.

Once we finished our breakfast we headed straight for the work site and got down to business. We owe the first team a debt of gratitude for providing a great framework for us to work efficiently. As a result we shattered their record for squares of concrete filled in a day.

Okay, we beat their record by one, but this was progress from pouring 7 squares the first day. It's not that we feel the need to brag or compete with the first team, but it's like a tree falling in the forest when no one is there to hear it-- it's not much of a victory if no one knows you won.

The kids in the village seem to have a sixth sense for telling when the work and the heat are getting to us. Right when we start to feel stressed out or exhausted they come up to hold our hands, sit on our laps, or just give us hugs.

A little affection from them is all you need to relax and keep going. Two of our team members got to take a much needed break for a field trip with some of them. They hiked about a mile down a trail with a whole class to a spot with quite a view.

After our much needed lunch break a few of the group members spent some time coloring with the kids (which turned out to be more marker management than coloring) and playing with those that stuck around. A few of the girls even got flowers braided into their hair.

Before dinner Erin headed to the Bomberos to help prepare dinner. Her and Marcy even got to witness the bomberos birthday tradition of filling the birthday persons pants with water and then continuously dumping buckets full of water on them.