Here are a few photos to give you a snapshot of what I’m up to here. I’ve got more time today so here is a more detailed post!
After 3 and half weeks we’re getting a feel for life here. We work on the building site Tuesday to Saturday. For the first week and a half this mainly involved levelling the ground in the main hall. Our second task was to dig a network of trenches and deep holes for the plumbing. It’s been heavy manual work with pickaxes and shovels but I’ve enjoyed getting stuck into it. I’ve not had any problems with my back, or illness for that matter. As a team we’ve had our share of illness but I think we can be thankful that it’s not been anything too major.
During workdays 3 people are assigned to domestic each day. This means cleaning and cooking for the team. This can be a tough job with 13 hungry builders to feed. During the first week these were pretty stressful, especially adjusting to the Argentinean way of doing things! We’ve getting used to it more and more now and domestic days are nice break from manual work. I’ve loved some of the efforts people have gone to, we’ve enjoyed toad in the hole, roast beef and beef stew and dumplings to name a few.
Accommodation is tight but homely. We have a semi-outside bathroom and shower with hot water. Inside there is a central room that is big enough for us to all sit down on chairs with not much space to spare. On one end is the guy’s sleeping area separated by a curtain, nicknamed the ‘nubbin’. It’s just big enough to fit in a single bed and bunk bed with a narrow passage through the middle, leading to the kitchen. It’s not much but it’s our space. The lack of space is not bothering me to much. Off the main room is two smaller rooms, one for the girls and the other for mark and ellie our leaders. In think I’d rather have our lack of privacy rather than be packed into such a tight space for 8 people as in the girls room.
Our days and evenings off are great to relax. I’m loving spending time with and getting to know the rest of the team. We get up to all sorts of things from exploring the area to evenings in. Particular favourites include late board games with the lads.
This Monday we went to the cinema to see Inception. I really enjoyed the film and the afternoon. The area we were in is noticeably different to the rest of Salt. I couldn’t help feeling rich with so many expensive shops to most people here sounding us. Lunch was a typical Argentinean meal of beef. Ben and I had more steak between us than I’d ever seen before but it was so good.
