WATER.

So our first team arrived Saturday night (they drove all the way from MO) and were eager to get to work. We had an early morning worship service where our group outnumbered the congregation (only about 6-7 regulars).

I translated the sermon which had me quite nervous through the first hour and a half of singing and praying, but once I got up there I had my own microphone, and as Latin American pastors are (aun los presbiterianos) Josue had a lot of energy so I had fun conveying the word in English and inventing my own hand gestures to accompany the liturgy for the American team. The situation was ideal as I didn't have quite too many people to embarrass myself in front of, the majority of the American group doesn't speak Spanish so I can give it my best shot and only 3-4 people are really able to judge the quality of my translation. Relief. It should be fun this summer exploring the dynamics of this whole translation bit and inventing my own style and expression. It definitely keeps you on your toes- I can't let my mind wander for a minute or it's gone.

The pastor attended seminary in South Carolina without knowing too much English. When he left there were only 6 Hispanic people he knew (talk about lack of community, I won't complain about Barnard anymore!) He said the most difficult part of schooling was learning how to write and think in English because even in grade school and high school, creating your own sentences, theses, ideas simply doesn't happen. Many subjects are taught by rote and originality isn't expected, although some tell me the situation is changing now. Maybe it'll be another Jose Vasconcelos era...

Even though we're right on the border, most people speak Spanish and don't really use English. Some children learn it at school, but already the system suffers from a half-day system and poor attendance. I spoke to my friend Miguelito (8 yrs old) out on the street last night and he reports his teacher is mas o menos, she's okay, but that English is quite boring. We have a bball hoop at the neighbor's house so there's time to play soccer after dinner with our younger amiguitos.

Yesterday we visited the rodeo, charreada where all the cowboys/vaqueros threw their hats and boots onto the course when the horses were skillfully caught and somersaulted to the ground but the gringos couldn't clap... ahh animal cruelty and cultural differences). We did enjoy some nice tacos, potato chips with picante sauce, and water ices (the shaved ice was fresh, the vendor was scraping it off the slab which was attached to the back of his bicycle). The market was interesting, nothing is really central to Reynosa so people hawk Oaxacan leather sandals, fake pottery from other parts of the country, and of course your vast array of plastic Lucha Libre items and wrestling masks. I was lucky to find a nice underground restaurant with AC and Happy Gilmore was on TV so I remained quite content.

CATHOLIC CHURCH DOWNTOWN, W/ FUNKY EERIE LOOKING TOWERS


CENTRAL PLAZA/ZOCALO DOWNTOWN, ONLY SHADY RELIEF THERE IS

Today we broke up some cement slab to excavate and pour foundation. Luckily some old rebarb had been left on site so there was no need to tie and armar new ones. Unfortunately, old bags of cement had been rained on long ago and were useless, but after some local deliveries of stone, sand and cement, we got to work. The gringos decided to mix by hand (at the hottest part of the day of course). Our local bricklayer Lupe just kind of shook his head, (we could've waited until the cement mixer arrived tomorrow but they were pretty insistent and wanted more work). I'm sure we'll all be sleeping well tonight. Talk about back breaking labor, these people were Seven Dwarfing it with their pick axes, buckets and shovels but remain an impressively cohesive team despite the heat, varying job availability, the heat and different degrees of physical strength and capability. We've got one scrawny freshman, five brave adults (3 supportive moms), one young couple and seven more enthusiastic high school youth. The cement eats up your hands, plus the air here sucks every drop of moisture out of your body. It's a good thing I didn't get contacts before I came, that would've been comical. Pues, everybody was pretty well splattered and soaked in sweat/sudor on the ride home, but jovially fighting for the showers, a good tiered after the first rewarding day of work (it's only cold with low water pressure but not cold enough). Tomorrow we can start laying block, good news.

Ah, and did I tell you, I'm driving. That's right Mom, in Mexico even without much practice in Jersey and there's no rules here. Or lines. Or signals. There may actually be emissions inspections every once and awhile, but who knows. I have had several brave passengers risk their lives with me instead of ride their 15 passenger van, but hey I do have AC and more leg room! Our little Corolla is hanging in there... the road isn't paved and after rain there are some giant holes where you can bottom out, or going over hidden speed bumps, but I'm pretty sure the Cadillac converter is still under there... a ver. There's a ton of U turns here, and people park in the middle of the highway division. I don't claim to understand these practices, observances only but still much to report.

Still no batteries, still no pictures, but I found a guitar in the spare room, I'll see if I can get somebody with enough patience to teach me a few cords...

I went through a lot of water back at school but now my thirst is pretty much unquenchable. It's so dry you sweat everything out.