Happy Birthday, Jesse! Let the Block Party Begin!

Happy Birthday, Dear Jesse!!!  We can't say enough about how important Jesse is to our undertaking so instead we will express deep appreciation to Nanda, Gui, and Shelley Maeve, who have loaned us their family member for the time we are here.  We know you miss him, but we couldn't possibly do it without him. Thanks a million.  And happiest of birthdays to Jesse!

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Well, well, well.  Things can really pick up from one day to the next.  We got up early to get to the worksite, under the expectation that the chimney craftsman would be there.  He was.  He and his crew had already established the base of the chimneys/stoves before we even arrived.  They also had a pile of fresh bricks that seemed poorly organized to us so we bucket lined them into better working order as our first job.  We also started laying the foundation for the other two rooms of the new kitchen building.  You see, last night, we decided to do all of the rest of the jobs that were on our list of options for the week. All of them.  That means finishing the kitchen we've been working on, raising the walls for the other two rooms attached to the kitchen, and doing reforestation work in three different sites.  Knowing that part of our Friday is devoted to getting ready to break camp, we are going to have some very hard days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

When we seemed to have reached the end of our tasks for the morning, two trucks pulled up. One was full of tree starts that will go to a different elementary school, a project across from Simon's house, and our camp.  The other was full of bricks.  Big double-sized bricks.  700 of them.  The trees drove off without our help but the bricks were our problem.

We set up two bucket lines and started moving the bricks faster than even we usually do.  But then Henry wisely advise us to stack them so they could be easily counted. We struggled with a few different strategies but then one of the delivery guys showed us how to cross-hatch them in stacks of ten so they could be counted more easily.  We became a stacking machine.  Megan, Aidan, and Matt were in the truck lifting them off the bed and throwing them to the two waiting lines.  They were indefatigable.  Jesse expressed his happiness that he was spending his birthday this way; Lindsay called it his "block party." The rest of us fanned out in two directions and watched 68 stacks of ten emerge.

68.  Not 70.  Henry was right to have us count.  The truck guys were sure they knew where the other twenty bricks were so they offered to bring them when they bring the sand or the blocks.  Those loads  are still coming this afternoon, so we have our work cut out for us.

We all feel the days draining away but we still want to maximize our appreciation for every minute that we are here.  We'll do the best we can . . .

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The sand came. So did the 20 missing bricks.  But we needed the blocks before we needed those other things.  So we waited.  But not all of us.

Some of us followed Henry and a local woman through a cornfield and up through a series of paths over creeks and streams up, up, up to a new river ravine that we haven't seen before.  According to Henry, this very steep, very thickly wooded slope was the place where Simon wants some of our new trees planted.  That group thought he was nuts but made the attempt to carry the trees down the slope.  Before they got very far, they realized that this plan was seriously flawed.  One got in some stinging nettles, one got to a rock face where there was no way down, one got stuck in the brush.  They quickly called it and said that this was not a job for us (or anyone?).  They all made it safely back to the top and found their way back down the paths and through the cornfield and back to the school.  Three trees got planted and the rest will be planted by locals who get the plan better than we did.

The blocks finally came too.  So the non-bushwhackers waited, unloaded them, and finished the foundation of the other two rooms of the kitchen building.  We worked HARD today.  All of us.  We're proud.  And ready to do it again tomorrow.  There will be a purple bike tonight; we'll check back in after the induction ceremony!

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The night just kept getting better and better.  By the time we got to Jesse's birthday cake, we were all so tired and wound up at the same time that we got totally slaphappy. The camp folks came in dancing and singing again, which got us all going.  We got out a laser light and started holding a dirt disco that turned into musical chairs and some stargazing. We should all sleep well tonight, which we need because tomorrow is going to be another jam-packed day.

But we added a new purple biker first: Paul.  He has been a little under the weather for a few days with this awful head cold that has plagued a few of us.  He missed our hike on Sunday and has had to take it easy on other recent days.  But as of today, he was back in full.  He was quick to pick up every possible job and stayed with some of the more monotonous ones longer than most of us could stand.  He is also hilariously funny and keeps us laughing, so we appreciate him for more than just his work contributions.  Welcome to the Order of the Purple Bike, Paul!

 On our walk from camp to the school we were able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro very clearly.

 This is the old kitchen at the school. The kitchen does not have any chimney and is very basic. The new kitchen we are currently working on will hopefully improve the situation.

 Just because it was Jesse’s birthday doesn’t mean he gets to slack off. Get back to work, Jesse!

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 We had a giant mound of sand we had to sift through, but we only had 1 shovel. We took line shifts so we all had an equal share of work.

After waiting for our cinderblocks for much of the day, this is the crew that dropped off the blocks for us. They were getting paid to unload the blocks but when they saw us ready to get to work they decided they could take the afternoon off and just have us do it. Jesse told them if they refused to work (since again they were getting paid) that we would not work either.  To prove our point Nate put one of the cinderblocks we already offloaded back on the truck. We came to a compromise where we both unloaded the blocks.

 The lights of Moshi can be seen at night from our camp.

 Brushing our hair is always a struggle… especially for Matt.

 Surprise… a sunset picture again!

 After moving 700 bricks off the bed of a large truck Matt, Megan, and Aidan (the A team) posed for a picture beside their work.

We continued laying bricks for the other two rooms that will be attached to the kitchen today.  We finally all got the chance to lay the mortar alongside Ferdinand and Barnabas. 

 Matt and Aidan getting bricks off the truck and starting the bucket line

 Nate and Anthony sifting the new sand that got delivered
 

 The new trees that are ready to be planted and find a new home

 The first location that we wanted to plant the trees. Unfortunately it was too dangerous to get to the bottom of the mountain.

Marlina’s arms after a day of catching bricks from the truck.