Day 3 was our first day at the worksite and wow! Kudos to previous DWC teams who did some amazing work! The school is currently a single-story administration building and a two-storey classroom building with room to grow. Everything is painted in bright welcoming colours and the space has a really positive feel. At the worksite we were welcomed warmly by Alejandro who proudly wore a hat with a Canada logo on it! He remembered our returning team members from previous years and once our translator arrived, we got right to work! We also received hugs and warm greetings from the school’s next door neighbours. Members of our team who were here previously indicate that the family next door regularly stops by to give hugs and welcome new DWC teams to the neighbourhood! What a great way to start our project!
The remainder of the day was hard work! We moved 516 bricks from a rooftop down two flights of stairs so they are close by where we will be working. Our main task will be building the second floor of the administration building. Half of the team worked on moving bricks while the other half prepared rebar column support for the second floor. It was a productive and exhausting first day but everyone is looking forward to seeing the administration building take shape. We had a fantastic lunch and dinner and other than a slightly dangerous motorcycle ride to get tools and some challenges in learning to properly fit rebar supports, it was a very rewarding first day!
Hablamos luego …
April 14, 2010
Day 4 was bricks, bricks, bricks and rebar, rebar, rebar! We continued to build nine rebar column supports (a multi-step, multi-person process) and we also began to build brick walls for the second floor - very exciting! After a challenging morning trying to get water upstairs and cutting many (many) wires and rebar we settled into a smooth rhythm and got an amazing amount of work accomplished! The sun was hot and we appreciated any sun and breeze
that came our way. We were definitely all ready to head back to the hotel for showers and a quick rest. It was a quick rest as our impromptu cooking class earlier in the week led to an amazing dinner experience…Right next to our hotel is a gourmet cooking school. The interest some of our ladies showed earlier in the week led to a very generous invitation to come to the school for dinner and a cooking lesson! Our gringo posse arrived and were treated to a fantastic menu and cooking lesson. Carlos, one of the head instructors (who also holds a Guinness Book of World Records record for largest trout ceviche serving) led us through a truly enjoyable and fun dinner experience. Carols is a true teacher and showed us step by step how to make ceviche, Pisco Sours, and a Peruvian beef stir-fry (flambé included!). By far our best meal to date. Carols was ably assisted by several of the school’s students and we learned many tips … limes need to be in cold water prior to squeezing to get the best taste, fish cooks in ceviche marinade (seriously!), and garlic can’t be minced using a machine otherwise the taste is lost. Excellent recipe notes were taken and we all look forward to bringing a taste of Peru back home.
Hablamos luego …
Developing World Connections Participant
Pam Kovacs
April 12-24, Peru.
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