This morning I had a huge epiphany about my relationships back home. I was lying in bed (after that stupid rooster stopped crowing) and I was watching Karen get up and get ready. She's in her mid 50's, has two daughters in their early 20's, is a librarian in Canada, an adoring husband AND she was here in Africa with us! She has managed to find a mate that supports her in traveling, a job that allows her to take the time off, and she is still following her passion eventhough she is in her 50's. I want a life like that when I am her age! :)
At the site, we were laying the 5th and 6th rows of blocks already. We would lay out a row of concrete and then the skilled workers would lay the bricks and then we would come afterwards and fill in the cracks with concrete. It worked pretty well, we mostly moved bricks around (Have I mentioned that they weigh like 40 pounds!! And are even HEAVIER after a good rain has soaked into them?!) and we continued to make concrete. After awhile, I took a break and began to hang out with some of the kids. I taught a few of them how to play "Cinderella dressed in yella"
and then I had a great time letting them try on my work gloves... they are SO darn cute!!!
Hailey and I got the opportunity to talk more today and we were discussing what her plans are after law school and how she wants to make partner. We also talked a lot about relationships... I shared my epiphany with her and it turns out that she and I think A LOT alike with regards to relationships.For lunch we ate Banku which is cornmeal and Cassava ground together using a "mortar and pestle". It is goey and you eat it with your fingers. I was not super impressed and it has a slight vinegar aftertaste.
On the way back to the site, I shared some of my thoughts with Jennifer about why I thought we should split up the teams. She said that she was going to stick with what the team had voted for. Sigh. Back at the site, the Chief (NaNa stopped by to supervise :)
I was allowed to get up on the scaffolding with one of the skilled workers and at first I was getting really frustrated that he wouldn't let me do anything. I kept trying to help but then he would stop me. Suddenly, it started to rain. The other 5 people on my team ran to the otherside of a house nearby and were out of sight. I was up on the scaffolding and looked at the skilled worker, I pantomimed the question if he was going to get down or keep working. He shrugged his shoulders, I shrugged my shoulders and then grabbed the trowel and started slopping mortar onto the top of a layer of bricks. At first he just watched me, then he motioned over to his friend on the other scaffolding and they were both smiling. It rained REALLY hard and I was soaked in a matter of seconds... no matter to me though, I had proved myself to them. I was the one man (well woman actually) left standing from the team and I didn't run when it got wet. IT rained hard for maybe 10 minutes, and when the rain stopped, the skilled worker motioned for me to grab a brick and put it on the wall. It was the first time EVER that one of them allowed one of us to lay a brick. TRIUMPHANT! I was ELATED!!! :)
(this pic was taken when the rain was starting to slow down). After work I was able to take my first bucket shower in days... HALLELUJAH!!!! That night we all sat around on the front porch drinking wine/beer, journaling and talking. Nana came over and we had a "cultural night" where we were able to ask him questions about the village and their culture. It was really cool!!! He told us that he's been chief for 33 years and didn't want to be chief initially. There is hardly ANY crime in the village and there has never been a murder in the history of the village. He talked about the prevalence of Aids/HIV in the village and how they try to educate villagers to be safe. Right in the middle of the discussion, we heard this loud crack and Andrea ends up on the floor. About 5 seconds later there is another crack and Angela is on the floor! Both of their plastic chairs broke at almost exactly the same time!!!!! We couldn't stop laughing!!!
Before going to sleep, Jennifer and I were talking in our room with Angela and all of the sudden, we see a shadow swoop by and we were like "was that a bat?!" YEP! There was a bat flying around our room!!! It flew out into the living area and Kolfi threw a shoe at it and killed it :( Just another quiet day in KTK :)
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