Work Day #2 for Gonzaga
Today was our second day of work in Agua Negra and even after such a short time being in the village, I have already grown so attached to all the people I have met the
re (especially the little kids). In the morning, my group was in charge of all of the games we were playing with the kids, so we brought out the skipping ropes and parachute. I can honestly say I have never seen so much excitement over a skipping rope in my life. These kids just LOVED them! We spent all morning playing games with them and I had such a good time playing with them and getting to know all the kids better. Even though there is a language barrier, we are able to communicate through actions and by piecing together words. One little boy showed me all these cool shapes he could make by twisting elastic bands together, and another boy showed me all of his Silly Bandz and taught me the names for them in Spanish.
In the morning we also sang songs like the Canadian and the Dominican National Anthem, and played the Hokey Pokey which seems to be a favourite. Some of the children tried to teach me a song in Spanish and were laughing at how badly I pronounced all of the words. I think the only part I got correct was “Chi Chi Wah Chi Chi Wah Chi Chi Wah Wah Wah” which I say multiple times while they sing the rest of the song! There was this one little baby girl who completely made my day just by jumping into my arms and hugging me. She would fix my hair and then lean back and check to see if it looked good, fix it some more and then smile REALLY big and hug me. I just couldn’t believe how much love this little girl was showing me when I barely knew her, it just felt so good. And really that’s how all of the kids are, they just give you their hearts and you can’t help but love them from the moment you meet them.
In the afternoon we switched to work mode. I can feel my shoulder blades still aching right now, and I’m glad that they are like that because it means I put a lot of effort into the work we were doing. The entire group gave it their all. The house we are building is coming along really well, and it makes me smile when I see so many of the community members jumping in to help out wherever they can. We were mixing cement and it is tough work, and this one teenage guy comes over and grabs a shovel and finishes mixing the cement without even breaking a sweat. He was laughing and calling us all weaklings, which made all of us laugh a lot. Later we were all watching and trying to learn how to throw cement on the walls and smooth it over for a smooth coat, and it took ages to get the hang of, but finally two of my group members got really good at it and it practically looked like it was done by professionals! It feels so good to be helping out this community because all of these people are so in need, yet they always manage to greet us with warm hellos and make us feel so welcome into their community. I can’t wait to finish the house and see something permanent that we have helped change. I can’t wait for the rest of the week to come so I can have more experiences and really just make a positive change.~Rhiannon