Today was the day, we finally made it to the worksite! After a 20 minute walk from the hotel, we made it to the site and had major deja vu. After spending months looking at pictures of the workspace, we were all super excited to finally be there. Minerva, Petri, y Antonio (Xuchil team members) greeted us with huge smiles and a basket of mangos and proceeded to give us a tour of the space. After walking us through the mesquite flour making process and doing a quick inventory of our materials, we played ice breaker games like never have I ever and talked about our favorite movies (a discussion which was sparked by Antonio’s Avengers shirt). While I was optimistic about my teammates Spanish skills, I was worried that our first day would consist of many awkward silences. Within minutes of arriving I knew that wouldn’t be a problem and moments that weren’t spent in pensive silence while someone drew out a design were full of laughter.
By the time lunch rolled around (2 pm?!) we had gone through the building procedure for the PSD and drying racks as well as eaten approximately 10 lbs of mango, pitaya, and microwaved popcorn. Halfway through our post meal game, a torrential downpour came out of nowhere, thankfully lowering the temperature and exposing a small flaw in our project. On the roof, our structure is going to be placed on a raised slab of concrete, which we quickly realized was slightly slanted in a way that collected water in one corner. This is something we’d have to fix immediately, as any water in the structure would increase the humidity and affect the drying time of the pods. We spent the remainder of the workday brainstorming ideas and using drawings to communicate technical terms that Hannah and I couldn’t remember the Spanish words for. A solution was found, and while having an issue arise so quickly during our time here was unexpected, it was a great opportunity for growth. We often talk as a team about the importance of communication, and seeing how we work under real stress allowed us to address any potential issues early on in our time here.
While our day wasn’t full of manual labor, we arrived to the hotel tired from laying the foundations of our relationship with the Xuchil team and project. The guys went straight to nap and the girls played various card games like peanut butter and BS to unwind. We had another awesome meal for dinner and spent the rest of the night going over highs and lows of the day, discussing plans for tomorrow, and continuing to play card games (loudly while I write this blog post).
Prior to arriving, I was nervous about basically everything regarding our project, but walking around our worksite today, all I could think about was how happy I am to be here and how lucky we are to be working with such an amazing organization full of kind, curious, and open-minded people. I’m so excited to see what days 4-19 bring us.
Peace, love, deet
- Gaby y Team Mexico
Timeline Summary:
8am: Wake up & eat breakfast (tostada with beans, eggs and fruit!)
8:40ish am: Head over to the worksite (walk through Suchil!)
9am: Team meets Petri, Minerva, and Antonio! Ice breakers and games!
10am: Verify inventory of PSD and drying racks
11am: Went through instruction manual of PSD and more community engagement games
2:00pm: Lunch at Carlos’ Dad’s house (papas, frijoles, verduras)
3:00pm: check out rain effects on the slope of the grout for PSD placement
3:30pm: Generated ideas to account for slope of the grout (solution has been found!)
5:00ishpm: Head back to Hotel and have some chill time
6:00pm: Card games with team! (Peanut butter and BS haha)
7:00pm: Dinner! (quesillo tostada)
9:00pm: TEAM TIME