Day 3 - Work Begins

Up at 5:15am, Breakfast at 6 and the bus leaves at 6:30. At the work site by 7am. Group gathered for introduction to the families and lots of pictures were taken. Then to the site of our house. We were surprised to find our house already started! About 4 ( I will have to check the pictures to be sure) rows of cinder blocks were already done. First job Corrie and I had was to fill in (with cement) the "U" shaped blocks that had rebar going through them. From there I was introduced to working with the rebar - attaching "C" shaped metal "bands" with a fine wire. From there I went to assisting the masons by filling in the vertical spaces between the cinder blocks with mortar. Of course to do that I had to get up on the scaffolding. Well, from the pictures Corrie had last year, I really did not intend to get up there, but it is not as bad as the pictures looked. It really was pretty stable. Break time was at 10 and we took full group pictures at that time. Then back to work until lunch at noon. Overcast all morning and lots of sun in the afternoon - temps in the low 90's! We finished work about 2, collected and cleaned our tools, and then took the bus back to the hotel. Our family stayed with us and helped all day. It was a really great day!

Back at the hotel, Corrie and I hit the pool for relaxation, checked our email, showered and had dinner. Bedtime will be about 9 tonight because 5:15 comes early for our second day! Stay tuned for more news tomorrow!

Corrie has decided not to blog this trip ... just letting me do it! Manana ...