and LA LOCURA continues...but it's all good (-:

It’s the day after Mother’s Day. Monday…Middle of MAY 2012 Hard to believe we got here in 2010…. Big News I suppose as of late is that we moved—we lived in our old place in this town for just over a year….oddly enough, longer than Matt and I have every lived anywhere together in our 6 + years of knowing each other. The owners wanted to make repairs to the place –like all the holes and leaks where it flooded our house during rainy season last year. They gave us about 3 weeks’ notice, and had another house lined up for us already—so it wasn’t so bad. Plus they helped us move with a truck and found a refrigerator to loan us for the next 6 months. We were really dreading the move for a while, being comfortable where we were and all—knowing the neighborhood and people already etc…. BUT our new house is INFINITELY BETTER, though further from the town center and in what is a somewhat poorer barrio called the “Campo” literally, the country. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The house itself is GORGEOUS with beautiful tiled floors, living room, 3 bedrooms, and a kitchen that looks like one from home (cabinets and drawers!) We have a real toilet versus latrine (rare for our neighborhood where I can see many families from different houses share the same latrine). And shower head; though only seem to get water once or twice a week for a couple hours. Fortunately, we have a big pila—or cement water tank—inside our bathroom and a smaller one for dishes outside that also catches the rain water. The best feature for me is the WINDOW we have in the living room—I realize now how much LIGHT makes such a big difference. In our place before we had no windows---and had to open up the giant garage door we had to let light in—inviting in any passerby from the street. Also, since all the roads are dirt and more like trails in our new neighborhood, there is hardly any traffic—meaning ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sounds have changed. And in a good way. I don’t hear busses and huge trucks blaring music, motorcycles etc., but instead pigs, chickens, moms yelling for their kids, kids laughing, dogs barking etc. We also have a small outside area now (another thing we didn’t have before)—with a mango tree and place to hang our clothes to dry. Perhaps the biggest change of all is the privacy. Sitting in my kitchen right now, backdoor open, light streaming in, slight breeze, quiet except for the pigs---and no one else is here. Recall we shared our last place with a store, and an employee and/or the owner’s family members were always in and out—walking up and down our hallway (guess it’s really theirs’ anyhow), sharing the same water source etc. They had keys to the store and we never knew when someone would be popping in or unloading inventory etc. It is so strange. We couldn’t put our finger on it for a while, but we realized this is the first time in over a year and a half that we have REALLY AND TRULY had our very own space….first 7 or so months spent living with families (incredible and wouldn’t change for the world) and year or so in a house pegado or stuck to a store on the main road. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also, my concern of not knowing the neighbors was silly. Town isn’t that big. Turns out, we already know most of the new hood. And it’s only a couple blocks from the basketball court where I like to play with my kids on Saturdays. I was worried they would be over all the time, but it’s really simple—if I open our window people pass by and call out “Buenas!” or Hello are you in there?—but if I don’t it is an accepted sign that we’re occupied. All in all, WE LOVE our new house and neighborhood, though it is a little further and uphill to center of town. Daily happiness increased tenfold, even though we have to watch where we step a bit more (more animals=more animal droppings) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Project Ahhh the Bottle Classroom. How you have occupied my life. The best news—we have enough bottles full of trash!!!!! Woo HOO!!!! I no longer dream about bottles. The frame is in place—the roof, three layers of bricks, and one row of bottles…everything was going so fast and really well and then BOOM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NADA. CONSTRUCTION AT A STANDSTILL. My foreman says it is bc the welder we had, left, maybe got a better gig (he did already finish the roof)—so we need a new one to finish the window we are putting in…but I’m not sure what’s going on— --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Also, now I dream of sand. We spent an entire day with 10 students shoveling sand from the river banks (the one little machine they have here to do that job has been broken for months and months…apparently needs a part from Germany to work or something….—everything takes longer…) anyhow, we got 2 giant dump truck loads full of sand (to mix with the cement). The mayor loaned us his truck and 2 guys for the day, just as promised. Now our foreman says we need double-another trip—challenge—mayor says can’t loan us the truck anymore. There is only one dump truck. It is used for trash pick-up and right now, to fix the roads before rainy season really hits. He felt bad, but what can he do? 3 or so other people were in line to see him ahead of me, also wanting to use the one and only truck….we all got the same answer…SO now it is time to scour the town searching for someone willing to loan us their dump truck for the day…..wish us luck. All in all, after all we’ve been through during this process, I have faith everything will work out. The Nica community is pretty resilient and will help us come up with something. Other really cool news: Many kids here and in towns further away are using this model of construction as their science fair projects. Also, teachers and the principal from a town about an hour and a half away have requested training on the process. AND apparently, people from a large city 3 hours away are also requesting training on the process. Looks like some seminars could be in our near future, though I would like to finish the project before we start that kind of endeavor (-: And all of the sudden, 6 months almost doesn’t feel like enough….They said it would happen…I just didn’t believe them! That is quite enough rambling for today. Time to pour on a bucket and go teach. And search for that dump truck. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***Quick shout out and congrats to Matt’s uncle who recently got married!!!! We are so happy for him and the whole family—looking forward to many a meal and hangout time when we get back (-: