The van arrived at 6:30 am and we piled into the back and headed for the site.
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| Heading to the work site! |
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| Keeping hydrated |
We are now ready to start pouring the concrete. The ground has been levelled. The footings poured and the outside wall erected. The stone has been raked evenly and the rebar is in place.
We are ready for the concrete. The mixing box is made of a plywood base and a skirt of wood about 6 inches high. Heather and Schaana throw thirty shovels of sand into the box which is raked evenly across the bottom.
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| Mixing all the ingredients |
Then a bag of cement is dumped on the sand and raked smooth. Three wheelbarrows of stone is raked smooth and four pails of water is poured over top. Michael and Miguel use shovels to mix up the ingredients and voila! its ready.
Debbie, Diane, Schaana and Heather form a conga line of pails of concrete.
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| Debbie, Diane, Schaana and Heather forming the conga line! |
I use a wheelbarrow for the pour. Robin has decided that she has a future career as a mason and is placed under the tutelage of Nario and Romeo. She and Romeo trowel and level the concrete.
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| Robin leveling the concrete |
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| Group work shot |
We repeat this process all morning until half the floor is laid.
At the first morning break, Robin decided that we needed to be entertained. She demonstrated her unique brand of twerking. She sure was shaking and baking.
By the end of the work day everyone was hot, wet, and dirty. We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta. We arranged to meet Jenny at 5 pm to go and see the Cathedral.
"Rick was very exhausted so it turned out to be a laddies trip. Jenny and Gabe were quite nervous about our safety as the Cathedral is right downtown in the most dangerous part of Cebu. We drove down found parking and headed in. It was nothing like I expected. It was very open with a huge courtyard in front, where there seems to be a constant service in progress. Don't these statues look like angel garden gnomes? " - Robin
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| Angel Garden Gnomes! |
Around these statues there were some sort of grottos and fountains where people could light candles. From there, we headed inside which took us to a lovely courtyard with another grotto and fountain.
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| Priest statue |
We headed out, checking out the art work as we went. It was fascinating as it depicted a celebration of the priests bringing christianity to the filipino culture.
Because we are leaving for Bohol tomorrow afternoon, we will pack tonight and eat at the hotel. Unfortunately, we picked the night where they were also hosting a wedding and our dinner was very slow arriving at the table, but once it came was delicious.
Everyone heads to bed early as we have another big pour waiting for us.
Frederick Bagg
DWC Volunteer Participant
Cebu City, Philippines: May 2014
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