Monday, September 6, 2010
In the House EWB Built
September 3rd
Today we had our first day off in 10 days!!! We started out by going this small resort called the Monkey Hut on Laguna de Apoyo. This lake is in the crater of a dormant volcano and the water is so clear and somewhat warm. There we swam for a little bit then we had lunch.
Later we went to an artisans co-op and learned how the authentic pottery is made. A few of us then got to try at the wheel and paint some pieces of pottery. We were also able to purchase some of the works of art for our own.
The bus was then going to drop some of us off in Masaya to catch a bus to Granada. A group of us were going to spend our weekend off in Granada and an island called Omotepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Well the bus got lost and ended up running out of gas so that the people who needed to get to Granada jumped on an Express bus to Granada. Apparently “express” in Central America does not really mean express as we proceeded to stop at every street corner.
Finally Maliha, Jeremy F, Jeremy H, Alyssa, and Erica made it in to Granada. We checked into a hostel and Maliha got a hotel. We had dinner at a restaurant and then called it a night.
September 4th
This morning we got up and headed to Malihas hotel for breakfast. Afterwards we went to our favorite smoothie place in Granada, where you can order any combination of fruit that you like. We then walked around a chocolate factory called Choco and the artisan market in the central square. We walked around the big yellow cathedral in the middle of the square.
At noon we got a car from Granada to the ferry dock in San Jorge to take the ferry to Omotepe. The car ride was about 1 hour and a half on we had to stop for road construction? We got to the dock with about a half hour till the ferry was leaving. We took the ferry to Omotepe where we called a car to take us to our hotel, Hotel Villa Paraiso, located on the isthmus of Omotepe.
That night we had dinner and went swimming for a little bit in the lake.
September 5th
We again spent another few hours swimming and relaxing by the lake, reading and playing dominos. Then our car took us to a different ferry port on Omotepe for our return ferry to San Jorge. We then hopped on a bus from San Jorge all the way to Managua (another “express” bus) and finally made it into Managua at about 8:30 pm. All in all it was a nice weekend.
Ill give an update on what work went on while we were away this weekend and let you know what has happened thus far.
September 6th
Upon getting to the site today we were excited to see that the masonry walls had been completed, cut to match the slope of the roof, and the bolts installed for the roof installation. They had also started cutting out the slab for the footings for the columns.
Today we finished digging and filling in the footings for the columns. We also almost completed grouting all of the masonry walls, something we can finish easily tomorrow morning. We also began cutting the studs for the wall.
Today we had our first day off in 10 days!!! We started out by going this small resort called the Monkey Hut on Laguna de Apoyo. This lake is in the crater of a dormant volcano and the water is so clear and somewhat warm. There we swam for a little bit then we had lunch.
Later we went to an artisans co-op and learned how the authentic pottery is made. A few of us then got to try at the wheel and paint some pieces of pottery. We were also able to purchase some of the works of art for our own.
The bus was then going to drop some of us off in Masaya to catch a bus to Granada. A group of us were going to spend our weekend off in Granada and an island called Omotepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Well the bus got lost and ended up running out of gas so that the people who needed to get to Granada jumped on an Express bus to Granada. Apparently “express” in Central America does not really mean express as we proceeded to stop at every street corner.
Finally Maliha, Jeremy F, Jeremy H, Alyssa, and Erica made it in to Granada. We checked into a hostel and Maliha got a hotel. We had dinner at a restaurant and then called it a night.
September 4th
This morning we got up and headed to Malihas hotel for breakfast. Afterwards we went to our favorite smoothie place in Granada, where you can order any combination of fruit that you like. We then walked around a chocolate factory called Choco and the artisan market in the central square. We walked around the big yellow cathedral in the middle of the square.
At noon we got a car from Granada to the ferry dock in San Jorge to take the ferry to Omotepe. The car ride was about 1 hour and a half on we had to stop for road construction? We got to the dock with about a half hour till the ferry was leaving. We took the ferry to Omotepe where we called a car to take us to our hotel, Hotel Villa Paraiso, located on the isthmus of Omotepe.
That night we had dinner and went swimming for a little bit in the lake.
September 5th
We again spent another few hours swimming and relaxing by the lake, reading and playing dominos. Then our car took us to a different ferry port on Omotepe for our return ferry to San Jorge. We then hopped on a bus from San Jorge all the way to Managua (another “express” bus) and finally made it into Managua at about 8:30 pm. All in all it was a nice weekend.
Ill give an update on what work went on while we were away this weekend and let you know what has happened thus far.
September 6th
Upon getting to the site today we were excited to see that the masonry walls had been completed, cut to match the slope of the roof, and the bolts installed for the roof installation. They had also started cutting out the slab for the footings for the columns.
Today we finished digging and filling in the footings for the columns. We also almost completed grouting all of the masonry walls, something we can finish easily tomorrow morning. We also began cutting the studs for the wall.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
You Are Really Dumb, For Reals
August 29th
Today is the year anniversary of our first implementation trip. It started out raining in Managua, but not in Camilo. We began grouting the walls. We rented a diesel mixer for the grout which after several tries to start, the battery died. Fernando, our NGO logistics man, went to go buy another battery for the mixer and we were delayed grouting for about 2 hours. During that time we cut block, laid out the framing for the windows in the masonry walls, and made a little bridge onto the slab because the rain washed away much of the dirt. Finally, Fernando came back with the battery and we were able to grout about 3 walls before lunch. The grout mix was pretty good 3 parts sand, 2 parts gravel, 1 part cement, and 1.5 parts water. And the mixer definitely helped with consistency. Everyone went through with rebar and the drill (as a makeshift vibrator) and tamped the grout down.
About an hour after lunch it began to rain, nay pour. We had to use the remaining cement so that it didn’t harden to the slab from the rain. Fran almost got in a fight with a drunk guy(just a random drunk guy not the “drunk guy” who doesn’t live in Camilo anymore) that wandered onto the site (Fran totally could have taken him) but he walked away peacefully. Finally we ran out of cement and the rain forced us to end an hour early today. In the end we grouted 6 of the 8 sections of wall that we needed to today so the rain didn’t place us too far behind.
Tonight we go to Chimineas for some Tonyas and dominos. Tomorrow…another work day.
August 30th
Today was a day of challenges. First the mixer wouldn’t start for a few hours, then Chris freaked out about the condition of the grout (classic Chris), then the mixer finally got started but died in the middle of adding water to the grout. Most of the time we sat around and argued about nothing. Jeremy F wanted to take the mixer back to the company and threaten that it was a bad mixer and we wouldn’t do business with them anymore. Fern called the company and told them this and they said “okay, take it back then.” I’m not sure this was the response Faker wanted to hear, so he bitched about it again several times. At our pro-stats meeting at lunch we all felt pretty gloomy about the fact that today put us behind schedule.
Finally, Lester came to our rescue once again! He brought down a good battery for the mixer and the gringos volunteered to take over the grouting operation so that Fran and his men could begin laying the second course of block. Erica and Bismark (SilverFox) ran the mixer while Chris, the Jeremies, Alyssa and Devin grouted the remaining walls. Scott and Megan helped with the masonry laying. We almost completely finished the grouting when we realized it was after 5 o’clock (we normally leave at 4) and we haven’t started cleaning up yet. All in all, the long push in the afternoon nearly made up our lost time.
Tonight we went to Valentis, the air conditioned pizza place for some tasty pizza and discussed our plans for the weekend. Maliha told us funny tales about her early English language mishaps that had me crying and pounding the table. Hopefully tomorrow will be as successful as this afternoon.
BTW Devin is winning the gecko game with 6 and Maliha and Chris got their first geckos today.
August 31st
Today was our hottest day yet. The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky, and it was definitely in the 90s. We had a great day though, the walls are so high now that we need to rent scaffolding in order to finish them. The mixer also ran all day, another first and one of the reasons we were so successful. We had to stay extra today until about 6 pm to reach our goal and get ourselves back on track for completion. Its cool though cuz Chris bought us some sweet road tonies on the way out. Maliha took a trip to Leon today to meet with someone at the University to help with future projects in Camilo.
Tonight there was the craziest rain storm, I don’t think I have ever heard it rain so hard in my life.
September 1st
Today was a bit slower work than yesterday and the day before. We had to rent scaffolding and lifting up the blocks and the grout that high can be challenging. Our walls are about 7 foot 6 inches tall now and Fran believes that we will be able to completely finish them tomorrow.
Devin went and visited his grandparents today who live in Nicaragua. Friday most of us will be going to Masaya, an artisan market, a pottery class, and swimming in Laguna de Apoyo. Chris, Faker, and Scott are staying behind to work a half day help Fran and his guys finish up the masonry and begin laying the foundations for the columns.
The design of the roof has changed slightly, the joists come in 3 meter lengths and our building is about 4 feet too long for that so we need to have a support in the middle of the roof to connect two joists. We are achieving that by placing some small tube steel columns in the slab to hold a beam up. This beam will support the joists as they will be split up on the two sides. To do this we will need to cut through the slab using a concrete saw, dig some 2 foot deep footings, and lay concrete to support the columns. (Yes our original idea we wanted to do almost a year ago). This is going to actual save us time and money.
Tomorrow is trash day in Managua, and for those of you that have been there its not a pleasant smell, so hopefully the work day will go fast.
Today is the year anniversary of our first implementation trip. It started out raining in Managua, but not in Camilo. We began grouting the walls. We rented a diesel mixer for the grout which after several tries to start, the battery died. Fernando, our NGO logistics man, went to go buy another battery for the mixer and we were delayed grouting for about 2 hours. During that time we cut block, laid out the framing for the windows in the masonry walls, and made a little bridge onto the slab because the rain washed away much of the dirt. Finally, Fernando came back with the battery and we were able to grout about 3 walls before lunch. The grout mix was pretty good 3 parts sand, 2 parts gravel, 1 part cement, and 1.5 parts water. And the mixer definitely helped with consistency. Everyone went through with rebar and the drill (as a makeshift vibrator) and tamped the grout down.
About an hour after lunch it began to rain, nay pour. We had to use the remaining cement so that it didn’t harden to the slab from the rain. Fran almost got in a fight with a drunk guy(just a random drunk guy not the “drunk guy” who doesn’t live in Camilo anymore) that wandered onto the site (Fran totally could have taken him) but he walked away peacefully. Finally we ran out of cement and the rain forced us to end an hour early today. In the end we grouted 6 of the 8 sections of wall that we needed to today so the rain didn’t place us too far behind.
Tonight we go to Chimineas for some Tonyas and dominos. Tomorrow…another work day.
August 30th
Today was a day of challenges. First the mixer wouldn’t start for a few hours, then Chris freaked out about the condition of the grout (classic Chris), then the mixer finally got started but died in the middle of adding water to the grout. Most of the time we sat around and argued about nothing. Jeremy F wanted to take the mixer back to the company and threaten that it was a bad mixer and we wouldn’t do business with them anymore. Fern called the company and told them this and they said “okay, take it back then.” I’m not sure this was the response Faker wanted to hear, so he bitched about it again several times. At our pro-stats meeting at lunch we all felt pretty gloomy about the fact that today put us behind schedule.
Finally, Lester came to our rescue once again! He brought down a good battery for the mixer and the gringos volunteered to take over the grouting operation so that Fran and his men could begin laying the second course of block. Erica and Bismark (SilverFox) ran the mixer while Chris, the Jeremies, Alyssa and Devin grouted the remaining walls. Scott and Megan helped with the masonry laying. We almost completely finished the grouting when we realized it was after 5 o’clock (we normally leave at 4) and we haven’t started cleaning up yet. All in all, the long push in the afternoon nearly made up our lost time.
Tonight we went to Valentis, the air conditioned pizza place for some tasty pizza and discussed our plans for the weekend. Maliha told us funny tales about her early English language mishaps that had me crying and pounding the table. Hopefully tomorrow will be as successful as this afternoon.
BTW Devin is winning the gecko game with 6 and Maliha and Chris got their first geckos today.
August 31st
Today was our hottest day yet. The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky, and it was definitely in the 90s. We had a great day though, the walls are so high now that we need to rent scaffolding in order to finish them. The mixer also ran all day, another first and one of the reasons we were so successful. We had to stay extra today until about 6 pm to reach our goal and get ourselves back on track for completion. Its cool though cuz Chris bought us some sweet road tonies on the way out. Maliha took a trip to Leon today to meet with someone at the University to help with future projects in Camilo.
Tonight there was the craziest rain storm, I don’t think I have ever heard it rain so hard in my life.
September 1st
Today was a bit slower work than yesterday and the day before. We had to rent scaffolding and lifting up the blocks and the grout that high can be challenging. Our walls are about 7 foot 6 inches tall now and Fran believes that we will be able to completely finish them tomorrow.
Devin went and visited his grandparents today who live in Nicaragua. Friday most of us will be going to Masaya, an artisan market, a pottery class, and swimming in Laguna de Apoyo. Chris, Faker, and Scott are staying behind to work a half day help Fran and his guys finish up the masonry and begin laying the foundations for the columns.
The design of the roof has changed slightly, the joists come in 3 meter lengths and our building is about 4 feet too long for that so we need to have a support in the middle of the roof to connect two joists. We are achieving that by placing some small tube steel columns in the slab to hold a beam up. This beam will support the joists as they will be split up on the two sides. To do this we will need to cut through the slab using a concrete saw, dig some 2 foot deep footings, and lay concrete to support the columns. (Yes our original idea we wanted to do almost a year ago). This is going to actual save us time and money.
Tomorrow is trash day in Managua, and for those of you that have been there its not a pleasant smell, so hopefully the work day will go fast.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Laying Some Brick
August 27th
Today we layed more and more brick. The site is starting to take on the shape of an actual building!!! Pretty crazy Faker also volunteered (correction I volunteered Jeremy) to learn how to lay brick. Our contractor Fran wanted another man to lay brick and Faker seemed like the best bet, hes tall, he can speak spanish, and hes great with servitude. It started raining in the middle of the day which sent us into a frenzy to bring the bags of cement inside. The 94 pound bags of cement.
We also discovered that day that the man who owns Fanta recently died and now Fanta naranja almost does not exist! At least not in the pulperias in Camilo, so we were forced to buy coca cola and retry Roja...bad choice on the Roja.
August 28th
Again, more brick laying but we have 6 rows of block laid all around and tomorrow we can begin grouting. And yes I know we are working on the weekend, but Master Chris said that it was necessary. We rented a mixer for the grout because of the large quantities and we have to pay for it for the weekend so we might as well use it. Thats okay because this next weekend we will have a long weekend.
Jeremy continued to lay brick today and he seems to be doing a good job. If this whole engineering degree doesnt seem to work out, he could make a good mason. Then he could become part of the freemasons and protect the US constitution from Nicholas Cage. (sorry long day)
We may hang out with Devin's grandparents this weekend who live in Nicaragua close to Masaya. We met them at the airport and they were super nice.
Alright I sign off tonight as two geckos are doing it on the wall above my computer. Check out the sweet pictures were posting...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
First Post!!!
Hey Team,
Finally got to the internet and am able to tell you about our days!
August 24th
We arrived in Managua at 9:30 am. We were really hoping that we could make it through customs with all of our Simpson Strong Tie stuff but we made it just fine and everything got through. We then met with our NGO and went to a nice air conditioned hotel to take a nap and have a meeting. Chris went on a trip to purchase some of our supplies and our safety equipment. No we are not using Jeremy's design for the hard hat even though I loved it.
August 25th
Today was our first day of work. We went through and cleaned out all of the cells and brought down some of the blocks. We cut some of the blocks so that we could place horizontal rebar in there. Today was a pretty short day of work because it was more preparing than actual work. Later that night the team had a meeting and afterwards we went to Chimineas (a local bar) for a drink and Faker almost got kicked out for wearing a tank top, he looked like a dirty gringo. Megan loaned him a rain jacket to cover up which we wore low on his shoulders for a sexy look.
August 26th
Today was a very productive day. We were successful in drilling all of the block than was needed and epoxying most of the rebar. We needed to epoxy some rebar to create a large enough lap so that the new masonry could better bond to the old masonry. We also laid our first line of block today. We took a tour of Barrio Camilo Ortega on our break. The community is located on a steep steep hill with mostly lean to housing. It was sad to see but motivated everyone to work hard. Tomorrow it will be more of the same, laying masonry and epoxying rebar. But so far we are on schedule!
Finally got to the internet and am able to tell you about our days!
August 24th
We arrived in Managua at 9:30 am. We were really hoping that we could make it through customs with all of our Simpson Strong Tie stuff but we made it just fine and everything got through. We then met with our NGO and went to a nice air conditioned hotel to take a nap and have a meeting. Chris went on a trip to purchase some of our supplies and our safety equipment. No we are not using Jeremy's design for the hard hat even though I loved it.
August 25th
Today was our first day of work. We went through and cleaned out all of the cells and brought down some of the blocks. We cut some of the blocks so that we could place horizontal rebar in there. Today was a pretty short day of work because it was more preparing than actual work. Later that night the team had a meeting and afterwards we went to Chimineas (a local bar) for a drink and Faker almost got kicked out for wearing a tank top, he looked like a dirty gringo. Megan loaned him a rain jacket to cover up which we wore low on his shoulders for a sexy look.
August 26th
Today was a very productive day. We were successful in drilling all of the block than was needed and epoxying most of the rebar. We needed to epoxy some rebar to create a large enough lap so that the new masonry could better bond to the old masonry. We also laid our first line of block today. We took a tour of Barrio Camilo Ortega on our break. The community is located on a steep steep hill with mostly lean to housing. It was sad to see but motivated everyone to work hard. Tomorrow it will be more of the same, laying masonry and epoxying rebar. But so far we are on schedule!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Follow This
Hey EWB Nicaragua Team,
Follow this blog during our upcoming implementation trip in August and September for updates on how construction is going and the developments in the community. We will post stories, photos, and ask questions so check it often for news!
Love, Your PM's
Follow this blog during our upcoming implementation trip in August and September for updates on how construction is going and the developments in the community. We will post stories, photos, and ask questions so check it often for news!
Love, Your PM's
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