Quest Overseas - Gap Year Travel

Week two, in sunny Tanzania. To start the week, the team set out on a hideous but ever so rewarding task of digging the trenches for the foundations, back breaking hoing to be done. But succeed we did. Trenches 2 feet deep and 1 foot wide, and as long as Tanzania it felt but we wouldnt let it dishearten us. And before we knew it, after chappatis and rice and beans, these bad boy trenches were dug. And the bad boy rocks needed to be moved in. Guns galore over in Wa'angwaray...looking forward to the weekly arm wrestle and gun show to see how much we have improved!

The bad boy rocks got filled in quickly (much like how fast this blog is being written) and we were on a roll, and a very sweaty one. The grueling task of filling the classrooms up with soil before we can lay with concrete is now underway, and it is turning out just peachey. The fundi are working hard to build up the walls, this is going to get done and its going to be the best foundations ever built. During the week some of the team have headed out to Sinai as well to renovate a store room, lovely work! With some LOVELY lunches to go with. Big up to the Trinity teachers that have helped us out on that too!!

Monday. A new day, a new week, and a new dam site to work on. The site at Nzyee was a dam improvement, not a 'dam-from-scratch' scenario; but that did not mean it would be a small task. The dam required heightening, widening and thickening to improve its effectiveness for the local community. It took a bit of time to adjust to the new faces at the site and the different methods that came with them, but it was also the fallout from two days of lounging about that caused our progress to stutter at first - we needed to get back in the flow or see our schedule fly out the window.

Later on in the week, we all became more proficient on the dam site with our effort and productivity increasing each day, despite several run-ins with irritable and perhaps confused fundis and 'dragon-ladies'. We had a pile of cement ready to roll that then had to be rescued after the intervention of the broad-grinned fundi; also, our assistant team leader was left fuming after having a wheelbarrow of sand emptied on the ground in front of her moments after filling it, and then being ordered to "Fill It."

And here's another short snippet from the Andean Expedition team....

Everyone passed through customs smoothly...until it was Tye's turn, whom Pete had stitched up by packing illegal goods into his bag: cinnamon, popcorn and porridge which were all confiscated! Finally across the border we arrived in Arica, or Deadsville as we called it. The more prudent in our group invaded a swanky hotel and made ourselves at home, using the pools and tele for the big game...VAMOS URUGUAY!! The others meanwhile (Sureyya, Izzy and Pete) had a merry time in the burger bar. Having done nothing all day, we were all so up for another 12 hours of doing nothing on the night bus...

Well...it seems like blog posts from our teams overseas are like buses.....you wait ages for one then they all turn up at once! Here's the latest from the Villa Maria team. Thanks to Sophie for sending this one through!

Monday-Thursday

We arrived and met the secret member of the team i.e. May, unfortunately Adam couldn´t make it due to a family situation. We were immediately accosted by the lovable mascots of the team, Nena and Mina, who proceeded to attempt to eat us at every moment (they love us really...I think). We started and finished building the grand total of one house and finished painting the walls of the recently constructed classrooms for the children. Callum spent most of his time drumming with the children, May and Matt spent most of their time cooking and setting him up with the internet cafe girl, Sophie and I with washing up i.e. scraping dirt off every surface with a laser and Connie with failing at magic tricks and being beaten up with sticks by Ally. Total injuries so far: scraped knuckle and bruises on knees...

In the absence of a blog from the Villa Maria team, here's some photos of what they have been getting up to....thanks Lucho!