ASB2011

Day 3: Jacquelyn’s Blog

Hey everyone, sorry it’s been so long since the last update. We’ve been so very busy, and the interent cafe is only open until 6 everyday, so we really havn’t had time. For day 3, Jackie Saley wrote about our travels…so enjoy!

Jacquelyn’s Blog
Ok, here I go. I have not idea where to start. My mind is going about as fast as my mouth can go. There is a lot to take in and experience. So waking up at 5 am is a common occurrence to the music and the roosters but today there was knocking. I was one of 4 of us who got up to run this morning with our friend. I can say I have run about every day for about 5 years and this morning was one of the most amazing runs of my life. The smells of the bakery, the people all heading off for their daily activities made out 45 min run literally feel about 10min. Dodging the bikes, cars and all the dogs made me even more intrigued to know everyone’s story. My favorite part was about the half way part of our run where we encountered the largest hill EVER! When getting to the top we saw the whole town from the outside. You can’t describe how beautiful it is here from this point of the hill. The hills surround Antigua; with beautiful quilt like pattern on the sides of the hills/volcanoes/mountains they are all breathtaking. But right in the middle is the little town that looks cradled in the beauty. I must say that before I thought I was a crazy runner (what I mean by that is I wouldn’t be too scared to dodge the cars). Not here though…I need to move on. So breakfast was fantastic!!!! I still can’t give enough thanks about the food they make us. There kitchens are so small and the 10 of us had to be such a task. Off to the hard work. In discussion we talked about working construction on the school a lot and agreed it is the little we can do. Individually we learned so much, but in the great scheme of things it seems so hard to reach the big picture. We all used our all and you could tell by the determination and the lack of breaking. My moment that I will remember doing about 6 hours of concrete mixing and carrying it to the groups that were running low I was exhausted, I looked at the school and couldn’t believe that the little extra effort was helping and how much I take for granted school. Middle school was the most terrible time, with the awkward oh’s and ahs and I keep it in the back of my head because of all the uncomfortable stage of life this is. I am loosing focus but Middle school is so important to find out who you are, and children here don’t have that opportunity. I couldn’t believe it that these experiences were not an expectation of them. I pushed that concrete extra hard for 5 min after my reflection and than got pooped and went back to my normal speed. The day went fast, as we watched the sun go up and over the mountain, as the only thing we could judge as our time. Schedule…what schedule this is mind blowing not to make a to do list by the minute and I love how relaxing it is. The people always in the streets amaze me and understand how happy and trusting we would be if we ate dinner outside our door where you can talk to your neighbor across the stone path. Children playing soccer in the road. This one boy whenever he kicks the ball thinks he scored a goal and runs around cheering like he scored the winning goal every time. Love the joy. Church is so much apart of their culture it’s so moving; you can feel the emotion coming out of their words. Today there was a celebration having to do with lent, our translator didn’t really understand what it was really symbolizing but it was amazing. The candles and processions and singing, kneeling and openness for good will to their neighbors that they go door to door and pray. A good way to explain is like Christmas caroling but with asking for forgiveness from God. The emotion they gave, gave me a little more understanding of their culture. With the language barrier (which I can’t believe how fast we are all catching on and it is a blast) their actions do actually speak more than their words and this is how we can see threw their eyes. The trust factor, I am so fascinated by the trust they have. We bought purses from his 21 years old daughter and since we have not converted our money yet, she told us to take them and pay us later. It felt like credit on trust of the smile. The people here are so patient; I learned a lot about construction and how to lay bricks. Never was he frustrated and threw actions and few words known in Spanish, blocks were laid. All of us did a fantastic job at conquering our struggles. Any who I am skipping stuff but as I am lounging in the hammock, I realize I really need a shower and will come to a close for tonight.