We hitched a ride to work on Monday with our boss, Luis. That afternoon we walked the site and our boss explained the foam panel system to Aldo and I. He left us on site after lunch and we settled into our "home" for the next few weeks. We live in a storage shed with the Maestro, but there is a TV and stereo that is a new addition since my last visit. Elvin, the Maestro, took us to town and got us beds for our stay. He promised to get us mosquito nets, but we still have yet to see them. We bought our own this weekend because the nights were unbearable without them.
Insects cloud the sky here, and electricity is sporadic. If our fan doesn't work, then we don't sleep because we are being feasted upon. Somehow, we still enjoy it and keep on going. Not to worry, Aldo is taking a tablet regimen for Malaria.
Tuesday we worked on some cured foundations and marked the lines for the walls. We drilled rebar into the foundation and did some cleanup around the site. It was overcast, but the heat was still oppressive. The caliche soil reflect the sunlight and exponentially increases it's affects on our sunburned bodies. I think the Caribbean Sun had a bad day and took its anger out on us. Wednesday and Thursday were spent placing the walls of our very own house with Vladimir, our instructor. I think we lost about 20 pounds each from sweating! The workers kept laughing at us because we would take short breaks to recover every hour.
The walls and ceilings are made of foam panels are enclosed in wire mesh. After the plumbing and electricity is installed, the whole deal is sprayed with concrete and sanded smooth. A little paint and some windows rounds out the package. We put the walls up in 2 days, the whole house takes a month from start to finish, including concrete cure times.
Our house
A finished house
The neighborhood
A little about the work ethic here... Workers are paid by unit of work rather than hourly. Every three weeks, our boss pays for how much progress was made. The workers typically work 10 hours a day but many stay until dark to make the most of their time. They work hard in order to finish their portion of the work early and start on the next one. Many of these guys are our age and have several kids. They are all poor and can't afford basic goods that most people I know take advantage of (myself included).
Our friend Giovanni has 3 kids and works overtime as a mechanic. We noticed he wears a sweatshirt every day in the brutal sun and we asked him if it was hot. He told us it was and we asked why he wears it, to which he responded "because I don't have anything else." Vladimir's wife may very well be delivering their first child as I write this, and he will probably be at work tomorrow to make his wages. Our buddy Omniki took a nasty spill off the truck on the way to the beach. At first, Aldo and I laughed along with the other guys, but then we realized the gravity of the situation. He may have fractured his wrist. If so, he won't be able to work. The thought of worker's compensation here is a joke, and he can easily be replaced. If it doesn't heal, he could be out of a job and it will be nearly impossible to find another one soon. These are some of the heart-wrenching things we came across this week.
On a lighter note, every one of these guys is nicer than the next. The treat us like friends and are happy to share stories and techniques. We are lucky to have them as influences in our lives.
Friday we left around noon to get back to Santo Domingo on a gua-gua (bus). It is amazing how many people were shoved into the minivan that got us home, about 14!
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