Stuck in Traffic?

Do you ever have those days where you just seem to be going nowhere fast?  After a day in the field in Mexico,  I was almost back to the border and ended up stopped in traffic.  I was surrounded by vehicles on all sides and therefore, got to wait it out.  Below is a Google Earth Image of the intersection I was waiting at (Pink arrows are traffic directions).  I was about where the pink spot is.  I wanted to turn at the blue spot and lots of people wanted to go where the green spot is.  People (including a big bus) started lining up for the green spot blocking the other three north/south driving options and then the north/south drivers filled in the gaps.  

It quickly turned into what looked like one of those games where you have to slide cars around in a parking lot to get one out, kind of like these  :-)  http://www.lilgames.com/highway.shtml or http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-146.htm

How was this remedied?  It took a police officer coming and blocking off the green ramp before people would concede and take another route.

Do we ever find ourselves stuck (and maybe holding other people back) because we are determined to do something or maybe haven't considered other options for getting a job done?

Some More From the Build Site

Here are a few more photos from the build started with the last group.  This is a job everyone can get involved with.  Olivia (4 years old) decided her small hammer wasn't good enough.

Baling wire, then tar paper.

The family we are building for has been helping from the beginning.

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At the end of the day, the house has a roof, is wrapped in chicken wire and is ready for stucco.

Troupers and Some Mexico House Construction

When you plan to come work with Amor months in advance there really is no point in checking the weather.  Checking shortly before you come, however, is a good idea.  Memorial Day weekend was the first trip to Mexico I have been on that included a nice cold rain and gusty winds.  It is amazing what a fire can do for you even while it is raining.  This group had high spirits as they gathered around the fire to warm up and dry off.  Their clothes where steaming as they dried.

One person in the group was prepared though.  He used to be a boy scout.

  

The group was determined to stick it out.  Good call on their part.  The rain stopped by 9:15am and the sky was clear and sunny by the time afternoon came around.  They were able to build and stand the walls and roof sections over the slab they poured the day before.

Mixing concrete for the the slab.

Building a walls in the street.  It is a small lot.

More wall construction going on on top of the finished slab.

Walls are starting to go up.

Getting the roof sections squared and attached.

Rosarito Camp - Basic Necessities

 The end of the spring building season and beginning of the summer season has been accompanied with the dismantling of camp in Tecate and building camp in Rosarito.  This time I remembered to bring a camera as we were once again building baños.

The shower house.

Open field, check.  Deep hole, check.  Baño parts, check.

One piece at a time.  This is an art my friends.  Put them together in a certain order and you don't have to fight it too hard, and in the mean time, take care not to fall in the hole.

 Two sets of seven baños.  Done.

Mi Casa es Su Casa

Most of my time in the field so far has been spent in Arizona on the Apache Reservation.  On Saturday I had the opportunity to work with a couple of groups for a day trip.  Both of these groups are "regulars" coming down at least once a month.  How great is that?!  They pretty much knew what to do at the work sites, I worked to get the materials they needed and then got to talk with them, the families we were building for and one of the pastors on our Mexican pastor board. 

Alicia, the grandmother at one of the sites really seemed to enjoy chatting with me...and laughing at my lack of Spanish vocabulary.  She and some of her grandchildren made us some chicken with rice and mole sauce and cool drinks.  They were very thankful to be receiving the house so their family could stay together and insisted that I come to visit saying "mi casa es su casa"..."my house is your house."

One of our pastors helped us get some materials for the other location.  He lived close so I stopped by to see where he and his wife and daughter live.  They are working to finish some of their living areas and he joked that it may be a couple of years, but the invite was there again, "mi casa es su casa."

How humbling it is to have multiple invites and genuine gratitude when we come for a day to work on a house and share a little bit of life together. 

Spiders, Snakes and Snails?

Happy Friday the 13!  The day seems significantly less frightening when it comes in May, nevertheless, an appropriate day to share some of the warnings, dangers and creatures that have become part of this experience.

My job has taken me on several adventures and new dangers are made apparently regularly.  The roads I travel through the mountains and desert as I go from San Diego to Arizona often warn me of high winds, steep declines and falling rocks.  I also encountered official warnings of flash flooding and cows.  No joke, a regularly occurring sign.

Some of the other perilous creatures we have occasion to encounter in the desert work environment where we work:

Spiders – big ones.  I have not witnessed personally any giants, but have had some small ones crawl up my leg.  Our volunteer groups tend to see more of these (some of a large and furry body nature – read tarantula) in the evening when things cool off.

Wild Pigs (Javelinas – the beginning of which sounds like “have”) – I have also not yet been an eye witness to these.  But again some of our groups have.  They have been woken up by the pigs terrorizing their camp…ramming coolers, shredding bags and eating small children.  One of our long term volunteers narrowly escaped death as he was sleeping in a tent away from the group and the pigs entered the camp coming up through the wash right next to his tent.  It was solely his quick thinking and “playing dead” that saved his life.

Scorpions – I have indeed seen these, almost sat on one the other day.  They move more quickly than I had imagined.  Frightening thing about these…the smaller they are the more dangerous they are as they as they cannot control their venom.  We instruct people to shake out their shoes in the morning clear them of all such little friends.

Lizards - This horned toed lizard came to help us put up trusses one day.  It was very kind.

Snakes – This is indeed a desert work environment we are working in.  This rattler greeted me the other day.  I have learned since taking this picture that when Mr. Rattler is coiled up on himself, he can leap twice the distance of his body length…noted for the future.

Snails - I realize that snails are significantly less frightening than spiders and snakes to most people, but I also know that most people will not willingly touch live snails.  Personally, I cannot be sure of people’s sanity when they eat the creatures, the slimy goo does not convey a savory thought.  I don’t even have to travel from San Diego for these delights.  When it is damp outside, there seems to be several of these fellows hanging out outside of our apartment. 

           

Thanks for reading, may you encounter as many creepy crawlies as you wish today!

Mary

Touch of San Diego

As would be expected, there are several differences in culture when you move from the Midwest to the west coast, then again when you cross the boarder from the US to Mexico and yet more when you go from the west coast to small town Globe, AZ and then to the San Carlos Apache Reservation. 

Wednesday night, after almost three and a half months of my roommate inviting me to run (literally) to the local farmer's market to experience the hippie culture and buy fresh food, I was actually in town and had the energy to go.  There were many vendors, several musicians, dogs (people love their dogs) and people everywhere.  I wasn't terribly shocked by the culture as my roommate thought I might be.  It was nice to buy a couple of bags of locally grown fresh oranges (which have been delicious so far).  Midwest markets don't normally carry such fare.

A few observations:

Travel. U-turns are common, expected, and required.  When you are used to being able to turn directly onto a street or into a parking lot and signs prohibiting U-turns have been your only exposure to such an action, you find yourself seemingly back tracking often and feeling like you missed turns.  While that may also be the case, sometimes turning around at the next opportunity is how it was designed.

Language. I have heard the word "rad" used regularly (the general connotation being equivalent to a Midwest "cool" or "awesome").  I have also, during a sermon, heard a pastor use the words "dude" and "gnarly."

Food.  I have been teased for purchasing canned vegetables.  Although I have had no problem finding canned foods (so apparently there are still people out here that use them other than me), fresh everything seems to be the way to go.  They also put avocados on everything.

Pets.  Half of the stereotype is true.  I have yet to see someone carrying a dog around in a purse or bag for show, but people love their dogs.  From tiny 3 pounders to small horses, they have them all.  There are grooming and accessory boutiques everywhere and several shopping centers allow you to bring your dog with you.  Since there are no yards really big enough to have a dog and let it run around, they have designated dog parks and beaches. 

People.  There are people everywhere.  I know I already mentioned this, but it is true enough for a second mention, and so far I have only met one person who was actually born and raised in San Diego.  They are all transplants.  There are so many people that the sidewalks along the beaches have hours that restrict the times you can bring your beloved dogs. 

Weather.  The humidity here seems to have the opposite effect as in Indiana.  While still dampening, it usually brings cooler temperatures.  Weird.