El Havillel

5-22

I woke up this morning and for breakfast had plaintains and the corn drink. I'm horrible at compliments so the only thing I could say was that the corn drink tasted like hot yogurt. Justin could barely contain himself. I guess it wasn't really a compliment. Seriously though, gravy + yogurt = corn drink.
I could tell when I showed up that everyone was really tired and worn down a little and I knew they needed me. I got my shovel and started shoveling loads of concrete with the sun beating down on me. It's so hot that we have to take breaks pretty frequently. Sarai is joining us for the day to shovel as well! I'm glad she gets to meet everyone on the trip.

We continued to work until 5pm when pretty much all the kids in the village came to play soccer with us. I thought that we were stared at in San Miguel but in El Havillel we are like Justin Bieber. Children and adults alike watch our every move. They follow us from the work site to Dorita's house (where the women sleep and all of us eat our meals). The men sleep at the church. The church is gorgeous and simple. It's really pathetic that those are the only words I have to describe it.

 You wouldn't believe the living conditions of the people here. They have livestock, mainly chickens, that are allowed to roam around the village-- including the houses. The other night, Zach was eating lunch and was pecked by a chicken! They typically don't bother you though. The bathrooms consist of toilets that don't really flush. If you go numero dos you have to pour a bucket of water into the toilet. Toilet paper doesn't go in the toilet. That's basically the worst thing you can do because it kills the plumbing. Your shower is a bucket of water that you pour on yourself. Sinks are made out of stone, as is most of the house-- with rusted tin roofs. The only things they have that even remotely come from this century are Tv's, cellphones and bicycles. The tv's are older, like the ones I grew up with. I'm wondering what they think of the people they watch on the TV. What do they think about the houses that the people live in? They way they live their lives? What if they knew that that way of living is normal in the U.S.

Card Tricks and Ice Cream

5-21 

My time with Justin, Sarai and the Diaz family have been fantastic. We've played a lot of card games, watched a few movies (they're in english with spanish subtitles! good for me but sucko for the family). My favorite thing we've done though is pray the rosary half in English and half in Spanish with the family. One night it was so late that almost everyone fell asleep but it was so cool that we could do that together. It's amazing how your faith can connect you even past language barriers. 

Little Francisco is absolutely in love with Justin. I think it has to do with the fact that Francisco is constantly around women and having another guy in the house was golden for him. The hammock is my new best friend. I even took a nap in it the other day which I think everyone should experience because it feels like you are sleeping on a cloud. 

Sarai and I had a really beautiful talk with Justin about vocations today that really answered a lot of my questions. It's really nice to get a perspective from someone who has a) found his vocation (Justin's getting married in a month! and b) is younger because we all have to admit that talking to your parents about how they found each other or something can seem a little weird. I've found that sometimes vocation stories have seemed ridiculously surreal. For instance someone coming up to a friend of mine and telling her that he prayed about it and thought that they should pursue a relationship.  Does that happen everyday? I'm sure it happens but it seems so weird to me. Justin's made sense though. He found someone that he enjoyed being around and it slowly the steps toward marriage happened and were right. 

Justin and I have been joking the entire time about taking pictures of us laying in hammocks and eating ice cream and tonight is the night! I've been thinking about the group the entire time I've been here and I can't wait to get back. We might have to pull their leg a little and show them the pictures though :)

My stomach feels better but apparently I'm still not eating a lot of food. I'm trying my hardest to eat as much as I can. I better be ready for tomorrow because the day includes the corn drink--uggggh (I've heard it's a hard thing to drink for us Americans because we're not used to hot drinks in hot places but it's a right of passage that I must endure like my comrades), daily mass and an hour drive to El Havillel. 

****My pictures are unfortunately unable to be uploaded at this time but I'll try to find the USB cord ASAP