Some odds and ends...

While we´ve told you about our work and the days we´ve had here in Costa Rica, we thought we could also add a little more information about some of the other aspects of this trip. We want you to have the full picture! So here´s some stuff we haven´t fully explained...

EARTH:

We are lodging at Earth University, which is a large school about 50 minutes from the church in Estrada. The students come from all over the world and study sustainable agriculture. The rooms where we are staying are quite nice, and while there is no air conditioning, it´s quite cool at night. We eat our breakfast and dinner in the cafeteria here with all of the students, and the food is great! There´s also a small store where we can get snacks at night. The school has a pool and recreation area (though the pool is kind of buggy), AND they do our laundry for a small fee! That has proven invaluable after the long hot days. Here are some pictures of the campus:

The Heat:

Um, it´s pretty hot here. Not Sahara Desert kind of hot, but still the kind of heat you´d rather not be digging in. We thought the bugs were going to be our biggest enemy, but it´s definitely the sun - the bugs aren´t actually that bad. We´re pretty amazed with ourselves and how... special... we look at the end of each day. You may not want to see these, but here´s some pictures to prove it. Meaghan´s sunburn after day 1 with lots of block on, and Michelle, still sweaty after spending over an hour in an airconditioned bus.

The Work:

I know we´ve told you about the kind of work we´re doing, and you´ve seen the pictures. Our writers up until this point have been extremely gracious and positive when they have talked about our digging experience. But we need to tell you, digging this foundation is HARD WORK. We get to the site at about 8:30am, and we dig until about 4pm, and we are shoveling heavy, clay-filled dirt and heaving it up over our heads onto huge piles of dirt. There are moments throughout the day when we are all certain we can´t possibly lift one more shovel of dirt, but something will keep us going - the laughter of the children that will someday enjoy this building, an icecream break, or good conversation with the other members of our group. By the end of this week, we will have done nothing but dig. One of our work project leaders told us today it would take five of his men 15 days working from 5am to 5:30pm to finish this work if we hadn´t been here. That makes us feel pretty good. It´s hard, but gratifying, and we keep joking about how important a firm foundation is for a building. Here are some of the less glamourous pictures of us working in the trenches:

The Children:

We´ve mentioned them in our other blogs, but we are completely enamored by the children in the neighborhood. They approached us tentatively on the second day, and we enjoyed a game of soccer with them. This morning they came to the site more quickly, and there were more of them. They brought more of their friends thoughout the day, and they watched us work, followed us to the store, played with us, and sang with us. It´s so meaningful to spend time with them with the hope that they will enjoy the building that we are helping to provide. In our tough and tired moments, it´s impossible not to be uplifted by their beautiful faces...