Day One

6:00 AM Thursday 8/12

We arose early and gathered in front of the Technotel to wait for our interpreters Freddie and Delaney (pronounced like Daylahni). Coca-Cola Light (diet coke south of the border) and coffee were acquired at the small market across the street for the much-needed caffeine burst for many of us. Delaney was the first to arrive and we overwhelmed her with introductions. Freddie was at the mercy of a bus for his transportation, and took a little longer, but eventually made it and there was much rejoicing. We piled all our stuff in the cars and took off for Pencuyut (or Penkuyut as many of the signs say here) with our two new friends. We gradually passed out of the city of Merida and saw less and less traffic as we went. We passed a bunch of black vultures hanging around a dump site, a fair number of curs or semi-wild dogs in the streets, though they look like the kind of dogs people would have for pets -- all sizes and breed combinations. We took one small unintentional detour on the way, but arrived in good time.

10:00 AM

Pulling up in front of the church, those of us who had not been there before had a hard time identifying the property. Next door is a crumbling stone structure and two properties down the street is a thatched-roofed home with a yard full of chickens. The walls of this home and many others like it in this are are made of vertical sticks that can be seen through, there was no door, and the floor was dirt. We later noticed that even in a bustling town like Oxkutzcab, there might be houses like this in the middle of a block full of row homes and stores. Back at the church, we opened the car doors and were blasted with the southern heat.

We all met Ismael, the pastor of the church in which this water system is going. He may not be tall, but he is full of charisma and quiet authority. We toured the grounds, which were very well prepared for us. These guys had clearly been hard at work. The education team set up in the church while the installation team began gathering supplies and familiarizing themselves with all the details of the site.

We all noticed something today. It was hot.

Really hot.

The education team was told that their students (a.k.a. future teachers of the community) would be a little later than originally planned, so Cheryl, Amy and Shawn got things ready and prepared to be flexible.

The local installation support team was ready to go though, so the guys began immediately.

Soon, very small girls started showing up outside the church door and the education team invited them in. They discovered that these ladies were all between 18-21, though they looked to us to be 14 at most. Soon, after a few more young women, one of high school age and one middle schooler, showed up, we had enough to begin teaching. These women informed us that they could not bring children or other students in the afternoon as had been planned, so we rolled with the punches and taught them what we consider to be the most important parts of our lessons. In the process, we all learned about each other and had lots of laughs.

1:30 PM

It was time for lunch! (This is always worthy of an exclamation point.) The mothers and adult women of the church, including Ismeal’s wife Mary (pronounced like Mah-ree with the accent on the second syllable), cooked us some tasty soup with all sorts of things in it, only some of which we could readily identify. Added to that, we had a pile of corn tortillas onto which we poured fresh, hand-chopped guacamole and homemade pico de gallo. Tod, Jim, Brent and Shawn all ate a chunk of habenero to bond with the local men, and sweated even more profusely than before as a result. We ate at a long table in the open air on the church grounds. We were under a roof to provide some shade, but there were no walls. There was no A/C anywhere to be found in Pencuyut, at least not that we were able to access.

The guys felt very satisfied with their progress today. They are optimistically considering the possibility that they might be able to run water through the system tomorrow (knock on wood -- Brent offers his skull). All their planning and knowledge, combined with the hard labor and stone-working skills of the local crew produced terrific dividends.

While the men were finishing up, the education crew and Donna formed a spontaneous women’s circle with the older women from the church who had cooked us lunch and cleaned up after us. I (Shawn) ended up as the only man in this group, which has its plusses and minuses. We all passed around pictures of our kids, the ladies asked if the McPherson boys were single, and my Vibram 5-Finger shoes became quite the topic of conversation. It got to the point where I had to walk around the circle letting the ladies squeeze my toes (Some might consider this a plus. I’m still trying to decide.)

Ismeal joined us (hooray, another man!) and showed us pictures of his two beautiful daughters, for whose looks he credits his wife (I told you he had charisma) and claimed proudly that they were “Hecho en Mexico” -- Made in Mexico.

The men wrapped up their work for the day, we said our goodbyes to everyone, and headed to our hotel in Oxkutzcab which we had not yet seen.

We found it easily, checked in, and made arrangements to meet for dinner.

Delaney and I had each brought a hammock and were given special hooks for hanging these from the walls in our respective rooms. I have to say that this is a feature sorely lacking in any American hotels in which I have ever stayed.

6:30 PM

For dinner, we ate as a group at a tiny restaurant with outdoor seating. We had nachos, burritos as big as our heads, and quesadillas. We were served by a teenaged woman, while an even younger girl of maybe 10 years waved a towel over our heads the entire time, ostensibly to provide a breeze or perhaps to keep flies away. Whatever the intent, she earned a handsome tip for her efforts (which was also most likely the intent). Several of us imagined our daughters in this situation. One skinny cur ambled past as we ate, but he didn’t stop to beg nor concern himself with us at all.

After dinner, some of the group went to a hardware store to pick up some things for tomorrow while others headed back to the hotel, stopping at all the interesting local venders along the way.

Though it was only 9 o’clock by the time we all made it back, sleep was looking pretty appealing so many of us turned in for the night. Another long and successful day completed! Praise be to God.