What the little girl saw

After starting out with demolition, the volunteers to Tijuana from St. John Vianney Parish in Kirkland, WA, changed gears and got into home construction on Wednesday. Their project benefited the residents of a mobile home in Rosarito, a suburb of Tijuana.

This vintage mobile home sits on a parcel of property where Esperanza, a Tijuana nonprofit is constructing a "dream home" for a low-income family.

In the doorway, Dafne, a toddler watches the arrival of the construction team.

Jan Kline, coordinator for the Seattle group, and Alex Cratsenberg, a long-term Esperanza volunteer and graduate of Seattle University, speak with Emma, the ama de casa (lady of the house).

The volunteers set to work continuing the process begun on Tuesday, when they dug foundation trenches.

Even through the ground being excavated lacks roots, it is full of clay and quite thick and stubborn. The digging was exhausting. The first day's work involved piling the dirt excavated for the footings in mounds contained with cinder blocks which will later be used for the footings and the walls of the home.

The dense excavated soil is contained in cinder blocks and surrounded by the foundation trenches.

Wilson found a perch from which he could observe the work. Having no arms or legs, he could only watch.

The trenches needed to be deeper. While Nick Petlow broke up the ground with a pick, Sandy Kubishta shoveled out the loose chunks.

Every now and then there was an archeological discovery -- such as this small toy horse. Someone jammed in a male figure to replace the lost head.

There were other strange sights. As Christine McLeod bowed her head in silent prayer, Sandy Kubishta apparently dredged up a poltergeist, which she flung aside. There was no clear indication of how long the demonic spirit had been lurking in the clay.

Working a project under these conditions calls for bucket brigades, which were organized to move soil, cinder blocks and sand, and which will eventually be used to move the gravel and sand which will be mixed to become cement. Then the cement will be hauled in the same fashion for the home's footings and walls.

A bucket brigade formed to move the earth. Tanya Cairns hefted a bucket of soil to Alisen Barrow.

Monica Dykas recycled an empty bucket back into the bucket brigade line.

Buckets move faster through the line if you reserve the right to toss them. Deana Barrow tosses one to Alex Cratsenberg.

These cinder blocks follow the so-called Hainer design. The blocks have raised areas that help them interlock with one another. Note the rebar that lies down the center. It is hammered into the grooves in the blocks to create a rigid connection. There are ties that hold the rebar sections together snugly. Cement is poured into the hollows of the blocks to create a wall that stands up well to earthquakes. It is a simple and effective technology.

Prior to placing the foundation blocks, the trenches were layered with sand, which Steve Zeller is tapping down.

Karen Maxwell cut wires to tie the rebar, and Paola, a youngster living at the house, helped fold them in preparation for their use.

Afterward, Paola helped Deana Barrow flatted out rebar which had been cut and bent.

The language barrier wasn't enough to keep these two from working together.

 Tomorrow, (Thursday), the volunteers have to three objectives -- build more Hainer blocks at the demolition site where this week's work began; return to this site to continue foundation work; and finally, prepare the "Posada," Esperanza's volunteer headquarters, for its 25th Anniversary fiesta. Wish you could be there!

Love,
Robert, and
Wilson

Demolition!

Sometimes we build homes. This time we destroyed one. Well, sorta.

The assignment was to demolish part of a home so that it could be made, uh, more better, as they say. It's an unusual task for Esperanza, the Tijuana organization that has built homes for hundreds of Tijuanans over the past 25 years, but the 25 visitors from St. John Vianney Parish in Kirkland, WA were up to the task Monday.

Esperanza staff, friends and neighbors attended the pre-demolition meeting with the property owners, Paola, in the red shirt, and her husband, Gustavo, on her left. At times, Gustavo was unable to conceal his deeply-felt gratitude for the help from the volunteers.

The demolition site was situated at the base of a sharp bank of sandy clay. Note the tires which were worked into the bank to make a staircase.

Wilson watched as a army of worker ants set about their work.

As others tore at the roof from above, Tom Nadeau hammered from below.

Stevel Ellis, right, peeled back shingles and pried up plywood. Klaus Schwientek, left, prepared to pitch the plywood to the ground below.

Ben Larson peeled off a two-by-four

An Espeanza truck conveyed the tools to the work site.

Klaus Schwientek, Greg Seiler and Stephanie Larson watched the demolition from above. Schwientek is a diesel mechanic and Seiler an architect.

Mike Kline and Shelly Cerio rip out a doorway under the watchful eye of Klaus Schwientek.

Esperanza staffer Sean MacCarthy removes roof trusses while Eduardo Zabala Reyes of Esperanza climbs up to join Greg Seiler, who is standing on the level where the old structure will be positioned.

Somehow, even when operating a power saw, Greg Seiler has managed to never bite his tongue.

Susan Nadeau doesn't let a little hard work keep her from wearing her fashionable earrings.

Lifting the first wall for the new structure onto the upper level.

Lining up the first wall for the renewed building.

Alisen Barrow and her mom, Deana, fuss over a bemused Karen Maxwell, who received a nail puncture in her calf.

The resurrection: The old wooden structure takes on a new shape and a new elevation.

Tom Nadeau and Steve Zeller line up for lunch while Karen Maxwell, recovering from her leg wound, triumphantly squeezes past with a plateful of food. General agreement was that the frijoles were the best they had eaten -- anywhere!

Chris Larson lines up for a meal served up by Paola in a very small and crowded kitchen staffed by friends.

Stephanie Pratt tries her hand with a sledge hamnmer while Steve Ellis gets out of the way.

Steve Ellis persuades the concrete to let go of the rebar.

Nick Petlow operates a jack hammer while Steve knocks down more wall.

Demolition is virtually complete. Now time for cleanup, and then preparation for a replacement structure.

The work site at end of day The doorway at the far wall leads to the kitchen where the volunteers were fed. Atop that part of the building is the reconstructed house, which will gain a new roof on Wednesday. And by mid-summer, a new concrete-block home is anticipated.

The obligatory end-of-day group shot.

Paola hugs Jan Kline, coordinator for the volunteers.

I should add that this dispatch was posted in haste. Any typos are the property of the author.

Love,
Robert, and
Wilson

Sceiler and  Schwientek squaring the corner for the reconstructed wooden building. (This really great photo was taken by Jan Kline. --ed.)

Tijuana!

Late night food runs, fights, dormies, Costco and cops, home builders and a trip to the sea.
Wilson, here. Since this is my first trip to Mexico, Robert let me write the blog tonight, and it's been an exciting two days. We flew out of Seattle Saturday, May 2, getting into San Diego a little after 6 p.m. and then racing for the border, and Tijuana, one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico. The need for housing here is tremendous, so I'm not just here to promote the One World Futbol. I'm also here to watch the team that will be building homes for a poor family or two.
 
For more details about this program, you are welcome to visit tjposada.blogspot.com, which recounts last year's home building project.

This is the 25th year that an organization called Esperanza ("Hope" ) has been building homes in Tijuana, so this trip is going to be extra special.

 Altogether, 22 of us arrived in Tijuana Saturday night. We drove to a compound referred to as the "Posada," which has dining, meeting and sleeping accommodations that will support our volunteer group for the coming week as we build a home for a poor Tijuana family. Before we went out for the evening, we got together for a brief orientation. That's part of the group, below, with one of the ten One World Futbols we brought along for distribution to young soccer players.

The home builders took a moment to get oriented before heading out for a meal at La Gloria Taqueria.

La Gloria Taqueria opens out into the street, and keeps late hours, beackoning evening drivers to stop in for a meal.

From the left, Susan and Tom Nadeau, Nick Petlow, Jeff Vargo and Steve Ellis watch the "fight of the century" for free.

As they dined, members of our group became transfixed with the Floyd Mayweather,-Manny Pacquiao "fight of the century." While Americans were paying $100 to view the fight, Tijuana Taqueria guests were able to watch for free. Well, OK, it was kind of expected that you'd buy some skirt steak or frijoles. But you didn't pay to watch.

As he diced up the skirt steak, the cook had trouble taking his eyes off the fight -- but he finished the night with all fingers intact.

After all the excitement, Robert and I settled in for the night. Although it's supposed to be one to a bunk at the Posada,  no-one even paid attention on whether we were cuddled up together.

Our bed. The luggage goes on top and we get the lower bunk.

In the morning, I got up and prowled around the premises, getting a feeling for the Posada.

I kind of like this table here, where people can gather outside at the end of the day.

Breakfast is prepared about 7 a.m. Keep in mind that you don't drink tap water in Tijuana, and there's such a water shortage that we are limited to one-minute showers.

So how do you make sure the dishes are sanitary?  Easy: We use three sinks. We wash in the first sink; rinse in the second sink; and sterilize in the third sink, where the water has bleach in it. Then we air dry the dishes. No-one has ever gotten sick at the Posada using this method.

Shelly Cerio, an Amazon employee from Bellevue volunteering for the first time in the Esperanza home-building program, cleans the dishes after breakfast.

Sunday morning a bunch of us headed out for mass at Capilla Imaculada Concepcion church. Enroute, I saw the strangest police station. It had a facade, but it didn't seem to have any depth. But if you look closely, you'll see there is a tiny office behind the front door.

The not-so-imposing police station.

I waited by the door for everyone to get into the church before I went in.

Afterward, on the way back to the Posada, I passed the police station and got to meet the only officer who was there at the time. He was very impressed that I don't need a needle or bicycle pump to stay in shape. You probably know I'm made from the same material Croc shoes are made of, so I just naturally maintain a nice round figure.

Sunday was the day to load up the pantry for the week, so we made a run to Costco. Tom Nadeau, a newcomer to the home-building program, consulted with Deana Barrow and her daughter Kelsy, who have participated in past years.

Since I have no need for arms, I got to ride in the cart while everyone else shopped.

Afterward, Tom showed me what you do with those free Costco samples.

After the Costco run, most of the team did the obligatory run to Rosarito, where they did the usual tourist shopping. It's a tradition with the Esperanza volunteers. Rosarito is a separate city, right along the Pacific coast, on the southern side of Tijuana.

At Rosarito, I saw the Pacific Ocean for the very first time! The waves just never stopped crashing.

In the next few days I'll be following the adventures of the volunteers as they build another home -- and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Esperanza's home-building program in Tijuana.

Love,

Wilson,

and Robert