"Te amo, Maggie! Te amo..." This sentence means "I love you". This is how Timoteo greeted me this morning after wrapping me up into a bear hug. I blushed and he kissed my cheek. "Gracias, te amo!" is how I reply. I have worked along side Timo for four straight days. He has watched me dig the endless pile of dirt, get a horrible sunburn, be covered in concrete, laugh, cry and push harder than I ever have in my life. We laugh and tell stories about our very different lives. No matter the language barrier we still find a way to connect. Everyday we play a game that my mother taught me. We sit down and say "something good. Something bad and something we learned". I have played this game my entire life at dinner time. Now my entire Habitat team and this amazing family from Guatemala, also plays with me, everyday. I have to thank my mother again. My highlight for today was the best coffee that I have ever tasted in my life!! We all sat down, played my game and drank coffee. I am here and I really am making a difference.
We have also become very close with the family next door. Jan, Sonja, Anna, Julio and Gregorio are the children that fill my days with laughter. I teach them bits of English and they love riding in the wheel barrel, although my back says "No! Stop!", I wave my hand and they pile in to have me push them up the hill again. I do this 70 times and each time, the laugh like it's the first. Anna kisses me and points at my sunglasses, "Maggie! Maggie!", she jumps around and slides them over her face. We laugh and tickle each other. Sonja stands to the outside of the group. She is very sick. She has missed four days of school and did not come out of the house, until today. Her mother keeps her inside, in bed next to the wood stove. The wood stove that is not vented outside. She smells of damp smoke. She coughs, and shivers. Her nose is constantly running. I call her over and she hugs me, "Ola Maggie!" she says and leans her head to my chest. I do not care that this child is dirty or sick, I just care that she gets better. I wipe her face and she smiles. I do not want to leave these families and go back to my life. I want to stay here and continue to make a difference in their lives. No matter the troubles, the illness, or the poverty, they find a way to laugh with me. Everyday, we laugh.
I come back to the hotel and my entire group from Habitat is becoming more like a family everyday. We walk around the market and connect with the locals. I make a trip to the pharmacy and find that their security system is ....
As I am sitting here, writing this blog, an earthquake just shook me like a rag doll, reminding me I am far from home. The lights flashed and the lamp above my danced in the air. Everyone came running out of their rooms, saying "Did you feel that?!! That was an earthquake!!" I am nervous of how the rest of my stay here in Tecpan will turn out.
Security here is a man sitting beside the cash desk with either a sawed off shotgun or a machine gun. I also see everyone here carrying machetes, like someone would carry a purse. I see children, women and men carrying them as they walk along the streets. They wak and swing them around. I smile and thank God I am in a locked bus. The way of life here is very different.
We only have one more full day with my family. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye. I have fallen in love with Timo Taehho and his family. I have fallen in love with this entire experience.
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