Day Three: Work Day

30cm wide, 50cm deep, 1/2 km long. Pick-axing and shoveling through hard, dry dirt, rocks, roots, and prickly burrs. A day of pure manual labor, today has been incredibly exhausting and rewarding. Staring up a mountain, legs cut-up and a nice dirt-tan covering my body, just knowing that 25 of us had worked together to make this happen was incredibly satisfying. Throughout the remainder of our work week it will be a group of IU and NYU kids, eventually joined by a team from USC that will bring water to 4 families whom have never had water in their homes before. The fact that this can happen in one week, done by a group of less-than amateurs makes one believe that almost anything is possible.

(part of the trench we dug before lunch the first work day)

So many forms of inspiration here allow me to push my body to limits I am not normally physically able to accomplish. Just one hour before lunch today a younger man came along our dig site while we were taking a break. With a friendly hello he jumped down into our trench and blasted through 15 minutes of our labor in less than 5. Through partially-understood Spanish and some good hand signals he was able to communicate with me that the pickaxe he was using was loose and not working most effectively. He asked to use mine while I was resting and handed his over as collateral. I decided to see if I could get his pickaxe fixed and went to find Joel, our resident expert, and former Honduran gov't Water Department employee. Joel used scraps of wood to secure the man's blade. He made sure to tell me, through translation by Alan-a global brigades employee, that the man had carved this axe handle from a tree branch and that I should be sure to use gloves with the rough wood. Getting gloves and heading back up the mountain I saw the man was already 50 meters ahead so I just began using his pickaxe. Soon after someone came by asking to borrow my gloves, leaving me to pickaxe bare handed. Shortly after this the man came back and with concerned look on his face offered me back my pickaxe. "No, esta bien," I told him hoping he would keep working quickly with the better tool. Unconvinced he responded "No, manos bonitas. Da me." This man never stood around long enough for me to ask his name, he was constantly working, head down, arms swinging. Even later in the day with the sun beating down and a new supply of water arriving this man kept working while everyone else went to get some. I carried a bottle back up and questioned "?Tu nesicitas?" and he declared back "Tu nesicitas," putting my hydration needs before his. After some more broken Spanish I was able to convince him that I did have enough and that we could share. This man, wearing the famous John Lennon NYC t-shirt was the most selfless person I have ever met.

Though I don't hope to pickaxe my way through school & life back in the States, I will definitely keep this man in my mind. He, and so many other Hondurans are so giving of themselves and such hard workers. Their smallest extra action or gesture, things that don't happen in the U.S. feed the Romanticist in me. Today after a long work day, driving down the mountain with Rafa, Joel, and other members of "Equipo de Land Cruiser," (the Toyota Land Cruiser owned by Global Brigades and driven by Rafa was beastly, and Rafa was also highly skilled, those of us who frequently rode in it, and cheered Rafa on, became known as Team Land Cruiser) we beat the other cars and there was no one in sight. After some quick radio discussion it was apparently decided that we should just go ahead. (Later I learned this was because Rafa had told Suzanne-the Water Brigades leader that he needed to stop by the ATM on the way back to Rapaco) Speeding along at 100KMH Rafa turned off onto a dirt road we knew we did not recognize. Stopping in front of a building surrounded by many men, obviously waiting for something, we had no idea what to expect. Rafa waded into the group, walking out just moments later. Shortly after the group parted and out drove a man on a dirtbike with a cooler and a bag of ice cream cones mounted to the back of his bike. Within minutes we were all eating Neapolitan ice cream from skinny orange cones purchased for 25 cents each. We asked Rafa how he knew this man would be here and he explained that the building was a bank and these men gathered daily at 5pm to get paid. The ice cream man comes here to sell his product to those with new money.

Though the actions and gratefulness of the Honduran people continues to affect me, I am more impressed with Global Brigades as an organization. The openness of this organization amazes me as there is no part of the process we are left out of and no question we can not ask. The willingness to take any suggestions seriously and the lack of bureaucracy is impressive. Today Michelle and Julie who work for GB in their offices were along on brigades, taking pictures, asking questions, and gaining firsthand knowledge in order to make the organization better. Michelle came to our after-dinner meeting and asked our opinions of the organization and for any type of input we might have. This effort to stay grounded, I think, is vital to Global Brigades being able to continue their good work at the same holistic level.