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Good Progress, and a Visit From an Old Friend After orientation on Monday, we started working at the orphanage on Tuesday morning and the four of us PCC folks and 18 college kids made steady progress, with Jaime leading the way and showing us what to do. It started raining the next day, though, and by Thursday we were working in a mud bath, but we still made good progress. Ben, one of the college guys, got us a large canopy to keep the rain off the structure, which helped a lot. He had to buy several cases of beer from the owner to get it, but the canopy proved invaluable and we had 10 cases of beer, to boot, which the kids made quick work of on Thursday night, New Year's Eve.
The process itself was pretty simple. First we filled a sturdy nylon-fiber bag with dirt, sealed it shut, and put it in a circle on top of an existing bag, staggering the overlap. Then we pounded the whole layer of bags flat and laid down a string of barbed wire to reduce slippage between layers, then we started a new layer. When a layer of bags was finished, we plastered the outside to keep the rain from getting in. The roof would gradually taper inward like an igloo and the building would have a living area below with a sleeping loft above.
Jaime estimated that the whole structure could be built for less than $1,000 in materials and it would be very sturdy and able to withstand strong hurricanes. It was a great concept and as we finished each layer, it seemed to be working.
I was working at the orphanage on Thursday afternoon when I glanced over at the field and saw a familiar face. It was Carlos Jimenez, my friend from Succotz village who'd I met two years earlier during my first visit to Belize when I helped build a library in Succotz. I saw him again last year on Belize trip #2 when I worked with a group of PCC folks in Succotz, but I was really surprised to see him here at the orphanage, many miles from his village. He walked over and with a shy smile said, "Hello, Mr. Del," (Carlos is very formal), then gave me a hug (and sometimes he's not). He heard I was coming back to Belize, so he had taken a bus from Succotz to the ProBelize office in San Ignacio and asked about me. They told him I was working on an orphanage near Georgeville, so he took another bus and found the worksite.
I was touched that he had gone to all that trouble just to see me. But I wasn't surprised, because that's how many Belizeans are. I'd given Carlos my business card on my first visit in 2008 and shortly after I returned to Portland, I got an e-mail from him saying, "Hello, Mr. Del. This is my very first e-mail," which made me smile. As you can probably tell from my stories about Belize, there's a greater emphasis on personal relationships here than in America and less emphasis on money or possessions, which is one reason I always enjoy coming back. Things are just different here, and in a good way.
Our group worked on the orphanage all day on Thursday despite more rain, then we had a New Year's Eve bash on the roof of the ProBelize office in San Ignacio on Thursday night to ring in 2010, something I had also done when I was here in late December 2008 as we rang in 2009. Us PCC folks stayed up until midnight to watch the fireworks and then promptly went back to Log Cab-Inn and went to bed (that's what happens when you get older), but some of the college kids stayed up until the wee hours drinking those 10 cases of beer, which they probably regretted the next day. Some of the girls looked a little sick on Friday morning and had to make a few trips behind the shed, but they were in good spirits nonetheless and got a lot done.
Friday was the PCC group's final day at the orphanage and after putting in another hard (and wet) day's work, we said goodbye to everyone. I'd enjoyed working with all of the college students, and they with us, and there were lots of hugs. The college kids were going to visit the Caribbean keys that weekend, then return the following week to continue working on the orphanage. I was thinking about extending my stay in Belize an extra week so I could help them out, but my sister in the U.S. was having some health issues, so instead I returned to the U.S. after a quick trip down to the keys.
After we said our goodbyes, Gregg, Kate, Charlie and I returned to Log Cab-Inn and hosed each other off – and I'm not kidding. At the end of each day, we were so covered with mud that we literally sprayed each other with a garden hose to get it all off. But despite the mud, it had been a productive week, we'd made a lot of progress, and Jaime and Nancy were well on their way to realizing their dream.
Above left: The caretaker's house is slowly taking shape. It had rained a lot so things were starting to get muddy. Above right: Nancy from Belize, Nancy from Atlanta, Jenna, and Carla taking a break.
Above left: Paul and Jenna laying barbed wire so the layers don't slip. Above right: Glenn, Emily and Carla had fun, did some work and got muddy – but not necessarily in that order.
Above left: Pouring dirt into yet another earth bag. The process was the same: fill the bag with dirt, place it and tamp it down, then repeat the process until an entire layer of bags has been placed. Above center: Jaime and three of his kids. What a cute family! Above right: I was covered with mud at the end of each day and had to wash myself off with a garden hose every evening. But we were making good progress.
Above left: We had a party on the roof of the ProBelize building on New Year's Eve. Adrian's sister from Belize City is cooking up some BBQ chicken. Above center: Having fun on the roof. Above right: Celebrating the New Year, 2010. After watching the fireworks, us PCC folks went to bed. Most of the college kids stayed up all night drinking – and many of them regretted it the next day!
Above left: My friend, Carlos Jimenez, took two buses just to see me. This picture was taken last year in his village of Succotz when I worked there on the library. Above right: By Friday, we had built a wall four feet high and added steps to the top floor (left). This was my group's last day, but the college kids were going to work here for another week.
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