A Beautiful Day

By Erik Stromswold

this post was intended to be published yesterday (Wednesday).

Today was a beautiful day we started with a run through of the construction plan for the day. Me and Nellie were the student leaders and were given the day that required the epitome of precision and extreme team cooperation. We started by getting off to a big jump ahead of the groups and were ahead throughout the day. Today was the first day Timoteo, the father of the family were building the house for, didn’t have to leave half way through the day to go to work. We learned today that he works in the deli shop cutting ham and when the doxa house is finished they’re going to move in and rent out the living space in downtown Tijuana to get a little more income because money is tight for their family. Timoteo was a machine with the hammer and worked non-stop throughout the day. Halfway through the day Timo and I took a break and he offered me a soda. We took a break and sat in the shade and we each had a vintage coke out of the glass bottle.

The work was going better than planned and we were ahead of schedule which meant we got to spend more time with the family. The oldest son and I talked for a little while. I learned that he is a forward in soccer and his “novia” lives just down the street and he is going to add me on Facebook when he gets the chance. Also, the youngest child there grew a very fond attraction to me and he helped me every step of the way through the building whether it was moving wood, hammering nails, or taking a water break he was always with me throughout the day and it’s going to be sad saying goodbye on Friday. At the end of the day all the team finished on time and we had a giant girls vs. boys soccer game. I might add that the boys won 2-1!

So today I’ve played soccer, jumped 20 feet into a sandpit, shared a coke with the father of the house I’m building, and finally have a visual representation of the hard work we’ve put into this house. It was an awesome day.