Mexico Travelogue - Day 12

The expected group of volunteer homebuilders from Boston arrived Friday afternoon, and began work Saturday morning after Matins.  We decided to check on their progress mid-morning, but first drove to the nearby colonia (community) to pick up Chuy’s three children.  Then on to the job site to see what we could see! 

As we approached our destination, several energetic young adults were transporting rocks and sand across a narrow dirt road, then through the entry.  The lot was roomy compared to many others, measuring a whopping 20x40’!

The day's hands-on efforts involved mixing, pouring, and finishing concrete to form a 12x20’ slab - the floor of a new home for the recipients, a family of six.  Enthusiasm and work ethic ran high in this group of hard workers who had also sacrificed time and money to serve a needy family in this way. 

With the help of Fritz jr’s translation, I met the new homeowner - a mother of four with gentle eyes that looked deep into mine from a seemingly a delicate-but-strengthened soul.  A certain quality shone from her face - I thought perhaps a mix of intense tenderness, love, and gratitude.  

As I understood her story, she and her husband had been paying off this lot since 2004.  They’d rented in Tijuana until two years ago, when they moved into a humble shack tucked into the corner of their lot.  I snapped quick pictures of both its exterior and interior.

She is overjoyed with the prospect of a leak-free, secure new home, and is eager to move in upon completion this coming Thursday.  She even has green plants waiting in pots for landscaping - a very big deal!

During a work break, a couple of volunteers interacted with her little boy who was enamored with matchbox cars.  This kind of shared play seemed the best-ever international language, and without a single spoken word.

We stayed until the final batch of concrete had been poured, and the mixing tub was being hosed down.

Then off for more adventure!  We piled Chuy’s kids in the car, and Fritz jr. stopped at a local open-air fish stand.  This turned out to be such a treat, with first-class food in generous quantity. We started with a small bowl of delicious fish broth with lime, served with fried corn tortilla chips and sour cream and/or hot-hot sauce.

While the adults enjoyed tasty and satisfying shrimp ceviche (raw shrimp "cooked" in room-temperature lime juice, then tossed with fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumber, cilantro, avocado and lime), the kids ate fish tacos and fish sandwiches (technically a fish sandwich is "la hamburguesa,"

which sounds like a hamburger but literally means “the sandwich").  Our red-checkered tablecloth was decorated with a Coca-Cola bottle and several Spanish words around the border.  Later in the day Google helped me translate the meaning of those words: “together knows better,” a Spanish version of “things go better with Coke.”

On my way to the outdoor restroom, I passed a fresh octopus waiting in a bowl of water to become someone else's meal.

To top off our time together with the kids, Fritz jr. stopped at an ice cream parlor on the way back to their house.  (It's no wonder they love him to pieces!) I only sampled a spoonful of chocolate, but it matched the very best quality of any I’ve tasted in the States, even home-churned!  I was also interested to see ice cream bars that had been mechanically shaped, but then wrapped and studded with wooden sticks by hand.

Back at the ranch, evening Vespers and a gorgeous sunset announced the end of Day 12 in Mexico!