I was never very good at Tetris, so perhaps I wasn’t the best choice to help the masons fit the rubble stones together, jigsaw puzzle-like, along the first layer of concrete as we began to build the walls up from the ground. It’s an art form, wedging those hundreds of pieces of various sizes and curvatures into a neat form and then covering the whole thing in wet, sloppy concrete.
Ten minutes earlier Eckhart had looked up at the burning morning sun and said wryly, “We’re going to suffer today.”
It was hot. The humidity has been around 95% since we arrived, and today we had the added bonus of a cloudless sky. I hadn’t seen the group so exhausted as they looked (and I felt) when we crowded together for lunch. We were this tired: Renzo didn’t even have the energy to put on music, and we didn’t even have the energy to protest.
After another brilliant lunch of spiced meats and rice, potatoes and greens, and pineapple-infused cole slaw (plus a mandatory dose of electrolytes), we perked up a bit and took on the afternoon.
We were again splintered into a bunch of small groups and many of us were working with masons. It was a real pleasure to watch these guys work, mostly with rudimentary tools. Half of what they do appears to be by their eye and sheer experience. I haven’t seen a single level since we got here and I vaguely recall spotting a tape measure. Most measurements are done with tree bark that has been broken off to the approximate length. Seriously.
But these are real skills that are impossible not to admire. Increasingly we in the developed world live in societies that place more value in owning something rather than making something. In many circles the old adage has been turned on its head; the clothes do make the man.
So I’ve been thrilled for the kids to witness this level of authenticity, this rugged craftsmanship by people who utilize every drop of every resource around them—like that wheelbarrow I was pushing today, the one with a bent PVC pipe for a tire. And then to watch these masons work their trade and to contribute our help? I think like the walls of that new kitchen or bedroom we’ve been building, our characters are shaped and made by these experiences. I hope this trip has been just a small layer of concrete in our students’ worldview.
Heinrich surveys the day's tasks in the morning heat
Anna Clara and Eckhart show off some teamwork