2nd day of the project work and workshops

Photographers and BLOG authors: Jenna and Michael

Blog Entry for Tuesday, August 6, 2013

The second day of work on the project saw a lot of progress. All the logs were finally moved to the construction site. We split up into two groups again, one peeling the bark off the giant eucalyptus trees, the other carrying the peeled trees down to the field where the classroom for Kuska will be constructed. We were accompanied by local workers, ranging from ages 14-40. The workers were really accustomed to hard labor; two of them were able to carry one of the massive logs that would have taken four Groton students to carry. In the last hour of the morning, Sam, Becca, and Lily (our non-Spanish-speakers) broke off to learn Spanish with Senora Viacava. Stefano and Becca also befriended a friendly bull near the construction site and named him Bessie.

The help of the workers really sped things up, and at the end of the morning all the logs were peeled and carried to the construction site. All that remains is to dig and start building the foundation of the classroom. We went back to a hot lunch with our homestays satisfied with what we had accomplished.

In the afternoon, we once again met to open workshops with the local kids, this time at the Telecentro. The kids (7-12) are on vacation, and normally they would not have the chance to work with the materials we provide, and all of them came and left with smiles on their faces. Some of them even asked to take some of the materials home. Arts and Crafts continued to draw and make bracelets. Music and Drama had a great time singing and dancing to Matt’s guitar. Sports and Games left for the stadium, where they more or less successfully taught the baseball game “pickle” to the kids, who eventually learned how to play the game correctly. After pickle, they played Duck Duck Goose, which Ryan renamed Duck Duck Tackle after he made a desperate leap for Stefano. Math and Science, who did not have an attendance the day before, gained a very enthusiastic audience with their paper mache volcano.

At the group discussion in the evening for the day’s events, we all agreed that we loved working with the kids and the workshops were a great way to reach out and connect with the community. Vicky also announced that the next morning, we would be taking a break from our work and visiting the Sun Temple. We left for our homestays, glad that we had a break to relieve our sore shoulders and excited to visit the Sun Temple.

Leaders of the Day: Danny and Ade