Greetings From Groupo De Caca!!!

We usually clog but today we shall blog! Yup you guessed it, we are El Groupo de Caca (slash the latrine team). Our first day of poop duty was not quite as glorious as most others, and it wasn't just because we were building a latrine. Our group, as well as house three, did not have an opportunity to really get to know the family we were building for. The only member of the family that was present was the dad, off and on, and two neighbor kids. One of the little pieces of information we were able to learn about them, was that the boy's name is Carlos and he is 15. Our group also had a translator, which was very nice because of our not so wonderful Spanish speaking abilities. Although this was helpful, it made it harder for us to connect with Amilcar, who was the one who actually knew what he was doing, unlike the rest of us.

However, today the caca smelled a little better (interpret as you will)! :) This morning, during a little bit of down time, we were able to interact a little with the kids. It started off as little splashing of some water which lead to: pretend sword fights with shovels and leaves, baseball with tiny rocks, new hair accessories (first dead weeds, then dead flower pedals, and finally 4 beautiful hand picked flowers),  new nicknames, actual conversation, and laughter and friendship. Although at first it was harder to connect with the kids, we needed to remember that they are just like any teenagers you know and you can't just go up and tickle them in the tummy to gain their friendship. We left the worksite with a new perspective on latrine work, new friends and a back full of water. 

Amilcar takning a... break ;)

Luckily, we did not only connect with the kids, but also with Amilcar. Today we did not have a translator working directly with us. Because of this, he had to either speak in very very very slow Spanish or act out what he need or wanted us to do. This lead to us laughing at him and him laughing at us. As the day went along, we were able to understand each other more and laugh and joke around together. We think this connection started when Amilcar clearly wanted help lifting a very heavy platform and no one was coming to help, so we told him "Nosotros estamos muy furete!" (We are very strong). We were able to convince him by a few flex poses, and using the power of 3 ladies, we got the job done. ;) Our friendship increased through, multiple selfies, broken Spanish interpretations, funny poop pictures, and finally seeing his true personality and getting to share ours with him. At the end of the day we learned the true meaning of caca....caca sticks together!!! :D

Can you guess where we are?

Much love,

Buenos Dias (if you are Lilly) Noches (if you are any other member of the caca club!)

Nichole Loosbrock, Lilly Timmermeyer, Emily Fendt, and part-time member Connor Sabatka :)