First Work Day in Tamahu

Today, we woke up from our first night with our host family (the Filibertos), and prepared for our first day of work. We ate breakfast as a group - corn flakes, pretoasted toast with jam and peanut butter, bananas and plaintains. After breakfast, we divvied up supplies for the stoves we're making and the plastic we're using to weatherproof houses. We all loaded into a bus, which was blasting techno music, and headed up to an indiginous village. We spent some time in the center of the village, getting to know a few locals, and being debriefed about the day ahead. Xavier, the church caretaker and leader of the expiditions to the houses we're working in, showed us how to build the stoves. Each one uses four square posts with a pointed end. Boards are then nailed to each of the posts to form a rectangular box, open on both the top and the bottom. After they were built, we moved them into the locals' houses and filled them with dirt. This structure provides a raised surface for the women to cook on, and prevents children from burning themselves on ground level fires or hot cookware. Aly- I got to meet two families today, although it may have been more, because it was often hard to tell which children belonged to which parents. The people here live very communally, and it seemed like the children felt comfortable moving between houses. I had the opportunity to connect with two kids especially. One of them was named Alejandro; he is a thirteen year old boy who was very interested in helping nail the boards for the stoves and digging the foundations for them. He was very social. The other was a ten year old girl named Claudia-Esmeralda. She was very interested in my hair, and using the shovels. All in all a great day providing a good balance of relationship building and production. :) Lily- Thoughout this trip so far, I've been struck by the friendliness and welcoming air of the local people. The indiginous Mayans proved to be no exception. As we began our trek up perilously steep mountain paths, lugging staples, staple guns, and wood for our stoves, it was definitely a test of endurance just to reach our work sites. Once we were there, we got to work. We built two stoves, plastic-ed two houses, and made friends with countless little children. Although they were timid at first (connecting us to their previous white visitors - a group of doctors who gave them shots) they warmed up quickly. Making faces, of course, helped a lot. Overall, I was struck by the trusting air of the Mayan people. Not questioning our presence, our competence, or our motives, they welcomed us and worked alongside us. The children, especially, were eager to hear us sing the alphabet, or teach them to play pattycake, or engage in almost any other form of interaction. At the end of this day, I'm left feeling satisfied, and contemplative. The words of Eileen and Xavier are starting to make sense: "The real gift is not the stoves, the real gift is your presence, and your attention". I understand that better now, and I hope to continue forging relationships with the beautiful, happy people in and around Tamahu, Guatemala.