I’m beginning this journal entry with the sounds of construction in the background. Nicolas (the bricklayer) is putting the finishing touches on the shower that we are installing on the second level as well as installing and connecting the pila (basically a big sink to wash food, clothes, etc.). The construction on the first level is pretty much complete. With the help of some great volunteers, Ben and Jody (see the picture above), Rocky and I helped with the mixing and laying of the concrete (I have a newfound respect for construction workers!) for the floors and all we need now is to put some tile on the concrete and the office space will be ready to go.

A friend of Chonita’s donated a brand new desk for the office downstairs as well as a propane gas tank for the kitchen upstairs. We are planning on going to Panajachel (just across the lake) to inquire about internet access for the center by the end of the month (I can’t wait!).

The scholarship students from Santiago Atitlan came this past Saturday to the Center to help clean. The Center has been in all states of upheaval ever since the construction began. The scholarship students descended on the center and, under the guidance of Chonita, whipped the place back into shape in no time. The students are a great bunch of kids ranging from about age 9 to 18, in various stages of their education. They asked me about English lessons (the lessons were postponed until the construction is over) and we planned to begin them the last week in August. I am glad that they are motivated to learn, as this makes it much more fun to teach. Not that I would know, being that I’ve never taught English before. If there are any English teachers out there who have any pointers on teaching English as a second language, your input would be greatly appreciated. I am excited and so are the student so together we will figure it out.

The goal for the end of the month is to complete the construction on the Elder Center and to get the rooms upstairs ready to rent out. Then, we will begin looking for renters to rent the newly renovated rooms upstairs. Our long term goal is to make the Center self sustainable. We are working on a partnership with the Hospitalito to send some of their volunteers our way to stay in the Center.

We are also working on some brochures for the Center. I met a really great friend, Carolyn Kirk, when I was in San Marcos. She’s a graphic designer who lives in New York and she designed the brochures for us in her free time. They look great and I’m really excited to get them printed out so we can start distributing them.

Well, I will update this journal again soon to let you all know how the construction turns out (so far so good). I will be in Antigua this weekend to get some (more) dental work done I will try and post some pictures of the finished product, once the dust settles and everything here returns to normal. Please feel free to write me with any questions or comments; it’s always nice to hear updates from home too. rosa@sharingthedream.org

Hasta Pronto! (see you soon) I’ll leave you with a few photos so you can put faces to the names and get a better idea of where I am and what I have been up to so far. More later…

Rosa

Chonita, Rose, Rocky after a loooooong day of construction

(from left to right) Felipa, Chonita, Bernavela, Rocky. Enjoying a nice lunch of tamalitos after watching a parade. It was Santiago Atitlan’s day (every village has one) and the whole town celebrated with a carnival for a week. There was a parade on the actual day and the entire town stopped to watch it.

Miss Santiago, she started the parade