Good morning everyone! Before I proceed with the usual update, I have to take time talk about zampopos. Zampopos are ant/spider-like insects that are as big as the tip of your pinky finger. They were out and about yesterday at El Farito because it rained a lot last night. Biologically, they are parasitic; they eat the leaves off of plants (pretty vicious little creatures). Our contractor tried to convince us that they were harmless by picking one up in his hands. It turns out that Zampopos don't sting like ants, they have these little incisors on their heads that they use to cut things. The zampopos we encountered were not the normal kind, no, they were warrior zampopos. After he put the warrior zampopo down, we saw that the zampopo had drawn blood, and not just a little, the cuts were gushing blood. Personally after seeing that, I was pretty much done with being anywhere near any type of dirt at the community center, which was pretty much unavoidable. Fortunately, as the day went on and I realized the amount of work that needed to be done, I got over it. Insects are everywhere here so I am slowly, but surely getting used to them rather than freaking out every time I see something flying around or crawling on me.
Anyways, yesterday was an extremely productive day for us. We got to El Farito at 6:55 am because the contractor wanted to make sure that the slab would be poured exactly how we wanted it. Laura spent some time talking to Uriel, our contractor, about the placement and also an alternative flush option. We were able to connect the potable water at the center to the bathroom so that people wouldn't have to fill up buckets of water to flush the toilet. It was during this time that we had our learning moment about the warrior zampopos. After speaking to the contractor, we moved the dirt that was relocated yesterday across the street to Jesenja's restaurant. We spent from about 7 am to 12 pm moving dirt across the street. While the rest of the team was moving dirt, Katrina, Rosie, and myself mixed concrete for the contractor to use for the trenches that we dug two days ago. All of the tasks that needed to be done yesterday were pretty strenuous, but I am really proud of the team; we pushed through and achieved a lot. Because of our hardwork and ferocity, I would say that when it comes to getting work done we are as terrifically infamous as the zampopos. We are no longer the PUC Nicaragua team, we are the FIGHTING ZAMPOPOS!!
Anyways, yesterday was an extremely productive day for us. We got to El Farito at 6:55 am because the contractor wanted to make sure that the slab would be poured exactly how we wanted it. Laura spent some time talking to Uriel, our contractor, about the placement and also an alternative flush option. We were able to connect the potable water at the center to the bathroom so that people wouldn't have to fill up buckets of water to flush the toilet. It was during this time that we had our learning moment about the warrior zampopos. After speaking to the contractor, we moved the dirt that was relocated yesterday across the street to Jesenja's restaurant. We spent from about 7 am to 12 pm moving dirt across the street. While the rest of the team was moving dirt, Katrina, Rosie, and myself mixed concrete for the contractor to use for the trenches that we dug two days ago. All of the tasks that needed to be done yesterday were pretty strenuous, but I am really proud of the team; we pushed through and achieved a lot. Because of our hardwork and ferocity, I would say that when it comes to getting work done we are as terrifically infamous as the zampopos. We are no longer the PUC Nicaragua team, we are the FIGHTING ZAMPOPOS!!
Shortly after lunch, which was at Jesenja's joint, the contractor was ready to pour the concrete slab. The whole team took turns piling the materials, mixing, and transporting the concrete. This was probably the most physically exhausting task we did the entire day, but of course the community kids made the afternoon fun. Actually before lunch, some of the community's teenage boys asked if they could help us move dirt. They helped us for about 30 minutes before lunch, and we told them that we were going to eat lunch so they could stop. I was the one who told them and they laughed at me and continued to work. I think that I did a pretty good job of saying it in Spanish, but Rosie and Madeline were pretty unsatisfied with my attempt. Either way, it was a huge help to have them moving dirt with us, we only had to work for about 15 minutes after lunch to finish moving the dirt. Once we started working on the making the concrete for the foundation, some of the little kids came into El Farito. An INCREDIBLE kid named Leo (age 5 and comes up a little higher than my knee), who's always at the center, asked us if we needed any help and pretended to do work with our empty wheel barrel. He put all of our water into the wheel barrel and then brought it to us. This is definitely not the only completely adorable interaction we have had with the children, but I wanted to give y'all just a little taste.
Leo wheel barreling our water bottles.
The last event of the day was dinner in the Cedro Galan community. Manna has this program where they pay community members to prepare dinner for their family and whichever visiting group Manna is hosting. We split up into three groups and went to three different houses. Everyone had their own experience, which I will leave them to tell you later. Also out of respect for their homes and families, I didn't take any pictures of my community dinner. I will say though, that my memory of this particular activity will be one that I will cherish forever. A meal and a conversation; something so simple, but taken for granted in our everyday lives. This week take the time to unplug from the world around you and plug into the lives of those you love the most over dinner. I feel a little like Oprah, but I promise it will be worth it, and you will hopefully stress less about the things that, in the end, don't really matter.
Much love,
Jade Jackson
P.S. Sorry for being late with this post, and watch out for the post about our weekend adventures tonight. There are so many pictures. :)
Much love,
Jade Jackson
P.S. Sorry for being late with this post, and watch out for the post about our weekend adventures tonight. There are so many pictures. :)