You have to love normal keyboards....

Hey ya'll!!

OK so I decided to make it one of my goals to teach everyone here that ya'll is a proper way to adress a group of 2 or more people in English. Haha ok, maybe not. All of you non-Texan readers can rest assured that that is not actually one of my goals.

So far our trip has been very successful. I am amazed that everything has gone according to plan and we have had no major glitches or set backs - unbelievable for an EWB trip! We have gotten a lot accomplished in a short amount of time and I have no worries about leaving while feeling as if something didn't get accomplished. All of the technical jobs have been completed! And I was actually interested in the dirt - I now know why Melissa is so obsessed! Haha. The site looks promising so far, at least from what I have seen and heard. The people are all very friendly and helpful. Everytime we pass someone in the village, a wave and usually a casual "hola!" or "buenos dias" is exchanged with a smile. Such enthusiasm and welcome is very promising and exciting!

The men of the village are also very helpful. I'm sure it is just a part of their culture that the men do the hard labor related to large projects, but it is slightly unnerving how much they take over the jobs we are doing. We all appreciate the help and it is definitely nice not to have to do all the manual work in the heat, but I do also wish that we, or at least I, got a chance for a little more hands-on work. Oh well, such is life! At least I still learn by observing! And they all mean very well by it, it is not controlling at all, just helpful. So all is well :)

The language barrier is a little interesting...Haha I realized that I have picked up very little Spanish in Texas. It is most inconvenient when hanging out with the kids, because they try to communicate with you and it's hard for them to understand that I have no idea what they are talking about...haha. But hanging out with the kids is wonderful, and teaching them English is great because they get so excited! I doubt much of it will stick with them for long, despite their avid note-taking, but the excitement is so adorable :) And their obsession with digital cameras is crazy!! We have become known as the white girls with pictures. They always ask for "uno photo!" and will run over to you and push others out of the way to get a view of the picture just taken on the tiny camera screen. One poor kid even got a bloody nose from one espeially crazy round of photos....But he was ok :)

It is interesting noticing the common threads between cultures all over the world. Through my limited travels, it is easy to see that basic emotions are expressed in the same way through body language and the basic gender traits are similar all over, as especially portrayed in the children, who don't hold anything back. This is helpful in attempting to overcome language barriers and also interesting in observing basic human nature, which has always been interesting to me.

Well, that's about it for now. Sorry if this blog is slightly scattered or chopy, but I tried not to repeat too much information that Melissa and Cara have conveyed and I am trying to finish the blog before our meeting with the entire village at 5 (which actually means about 5:30 or 6...haha). Well Adios for now! I can't wait to see where the next several days take us! :)

Kelley