Bathroom Down, Bathroom Up

1.26.19

We got to go to work without rain pouring down on us.  We tried to put some fresh laundry out in hopes that it would dry for once.  We shall see.  We also ate more leftovers for breakfast.  Our fridge is full and we need to empty it.  Strange combinations emerge.  Lots of rice and beans.  

Our workday stretched beyond a half day to an almost normal workday.  As has been the case lately, some of us stayed focused on Jose’s house while some of us bounced from job to job trying to meet more of the requests of the community.  We won’t be able to do all that we are asked, which is unfortunate but is also a sign that we have built some trust here in our short time in San Isidro.  

Our plan was to work until a slightly late lunch (1:00 or so) and then knock off for the day and do some souvenir shopping.  But we got into our jobs and Luis got excited about some other things that could get done and the next thing we knew, we had set our workday end as 3:00.  Of course, that time stretched over closer to 3:30 or more.  

But we got to do some cool new jobs, including installing a water purification system at a local spot where the neighborhood comes to collect water from a hose.  We attached a solar powered water purification system to that tap and showed the neighborhood how to use it to get clean water.  They tasted it and said it was definitely better than what they had.  Special thanks to Karl and Mary Beutner, whose generous donation funded this system and two others (including the one that we use to be sure our water supply is safe!).  

Some more of us also got to do demolition, as we ripped out a bathroom with only two hammers and our bare hands.  Demolition is unfortunate when it is a sign of decay or neglect, but when it is necessary and desired by the homeowner, it can be really fun.  

And at Jose’s house, we framed out the bathroom, put up the walls and actually cut the doorframe from the main house to our new addition.  Don’t get too excited, because what we built is pretty simple, but it was really exciting to make the move that truly meant we had added a room to the house.  

We have one more day in San Isidro (more like a half day on Monday, as we have lots of stuff to pack). We have lots of loose ends to tie up before we can say farewell there.  

When we left today we returned to Old San Juan, the scene of last weekend’s festival of San Sebastian. Things were MUCH quieter this time and our main focus was on quick and efficient souvenir shopping over dancing and people watching.  We ate our dinner in town too, but most of us did so pretty quickly so that we would have more time to walk around.  

We found some shops filled with only arts and cultural items made in Puerto Rico and we found others that had piles and piles of stuff that most of us could afford to bring home for ourselves and our loved ones.  We spread ourselves across both kinds of shops to see how things played out.  

We tried to come home really early (around 7:45) but Luis (who is our bus driver as well as our community liaison in San Isidro) couldn’t bring the bus to our arranged meeting place due to some kind of public event, so he had to park it and walk in to where we were and walk us back out.  That long delay meant we didn’t get home until about 10 and most of us just decided to hit the pillows as soon as we could.  A few went to the seaside to soak in the night vibes on the beach (but they should also remember how many sand fleas we have encountered there after dark). 

We aren’t working tomorrow (unless it’s on advance packing) and we have a couple of cultural events on the agenda.  We’ll tell you more once we make final decisions.  Our time is ticking away . . . !