Today at lunch, Rory looked over and said "I am so glad I came on this trip."

Me too, Rory.

Day 5 (Marcela)

hola!!! im Marcela Gonzalez im am alumna from Stanstead College, i was there for 2 years and my second year i went to the Habitat for Humanity trip so Ms. Hessian after 2 years of not inviting me she decided to invite me this year.

 we have been building a house for Martha and her family for the past 5 days and it has been one of the best experiences of my life, making other people happy by working with them for something that they will keep for the rest of their lives is a great feeling, i learned how to mix cement, how to put the bricks and the blocks a make a wall, and most important i had a great time with the family and community.

 my main job was to be the translator from Stanstead people to the Mexicans and the other way around, today was my last day and it was sad because im leaving tomorrow but at the same time i was so happy and satisfied that i gave them just a little bit of what i got out of this trip!!! bye

Day 5 (Paulina Chapoy)

hello people or should i say Hola! Hahaha. Today was our fifth day here in Puebla for Habitat for Humanity, we are almost about to finish and its been amazing! I am really happy to be back in Mexico, and specially to see this side Of my country and So many different things to talk about, think about, things we have learned, I have learned, and we have taught too. I came with the hopes of teaching and showing the family what we knew, but most of it, in this trio I have learned more than ever. I didn't only learn how to place bricks, red and the heavy ones, make good cement, lined them up and many other things about building a house, but the most important thing is values, and the importance of a family and our help. How we can all make a change if we really want to. Well maybe not to the world but for the family, we are going to change their lifes in so many ways, I am pretty sure they will never forget this session, because I never will. Today it was a really hot day as always, working on placing the walls, mixing cement, carrying heavy stuff, and something new, the castle thingies (im not sure how they are called) but its the things that connect the walls, you have to fill them with cement. We did a lot of work today as always. There was ups and downs, some of us were tired, some of us didn't feel very well, but we kept going. I have learned so much in this trip, its been so many things that i maybe wont be able to say write all of them down, we all have. I love seeing how the community joins and works together to get something done, and not just something, its something that will change someones life, they eat together joke around share, and all of this has made me realized how thankful I am of everything I have and how much we can do if we try or if we want to. in the past five days ive gotten to know so many people, everyday new and everyday more about them. There is Crecencio, Don Crecencio, he is in charge of the house, the master of building, ive gotten to know him so much and had a lot of fun with him too, him and his wife and two nephews, there is Marta, Cristian and their two kids, the family we re building the house for, they have been so greatful and worked hard too We met most of their family, mom brothers kids, cousins, and many little kids, that me and Emily gave a pack of 8 cookies too and they all put the happiest smile on their face said thanks took of and shared the m with each other they were about 10 little kids! Its just amazing how I felt after that. There are so many things that make me feel so good about myself. I realized there is so many things I can do to make people happy and make me happy. We've all have so much fun together and ive also gotten to know everyone in the group too more than I already knew. Rory and his great attitude always wanting to help, Freddy always making me laugh and everyone else too, Bliss and food, he loves food, he eats anything you put in front of him even if you are not suppose to eat it, its amazing, Campbell with his songs and dancing moves, Jason and his perfection, Emily I love her so much she's become like my sister i love her even more than i did, Celia always working hard and playing with the kids, Ms. Hessian and her everything, she is amazing. I wouldn't be here without her, Mr. Wells, making sure everything is fine .. i dont see them as teachers here, they are like friends and finally Marcela an alumni from stanstead college I just met, and we've become great friends too. Haha there is so many memories I will keep forever, like when Ms. Hessian and Mr Wells asked me to stop throwing cement, and i accidentally got Ms. Hessian on her leg, seeing those smiles on the kids, joking around with Marcela and the community people helping out, haha our Mexicans and many things.! Now i cant wait to finish the house and do our best tomorrow to make their dreams come true hoping I can do it again! Thankyou for giving me this amazing opportunity.

Day 4 (Celia Bormuth)

The work on the house is hard, but it is a great feeling to know that you help people with your work. It is fun to be in a group and try to understand what the Mexican people are explaining to us. Not knowing the language of a country is not this easy, but with hands and feet, we are able to work on the house and do hopefully everything right. The lunch is funny and good every day. I like it to try Mexican food and the different juices. In the afternoon the children come back from school and we try to talk and play with them. At the beginning they were scared a little bit, but soon they start to trust us. All in all is a funny day and I don't want to miss the experience I make here and. The most of the visitors of Mexico only see the side of Mexico which is prepared for them, but at this trip we see the side of Mexico which is real. Celia

Day 4 (Freddie Jackson)

The Trip so far has been a great experience. We have all been put into a situation with new environment, no building skills and a complete different culture. I have found it incredibly interesting, trying crazy dishes, drinking odd drinks and trying to communicate to locals despite knowing no Spanish (accept the phases "Gracias" "Hola") It has been frustrating at times due to communication barriers but we both end up laughing at each other for having such poor knowledge of each others language. I won't say what everyone else says who goes on such trips because I am sure you have got the picture it is a experience which will change how you look at the world, so I won't bore you. My favorite part of this trip will be the food and trying diverse dishes with odd names and spices, learning how to cook them and getting inspired to use them in the future where ever I go. I believe this would be a perfect team building trip for a sports teams. Having to work with strangers in the same boat, put out of your convert zone, having no communication to the world while working together to achieve the same objective. There are too many memory's and moments for me to blog in 30minutes so the jokes and memory's shared in this Mexican group will become story's, by doing this trip you will re-live these story's and you will understand why I can't put such a fantastic experience into words. Fred

Day 3 (Campbell Wolfe)

when i signed on to this trip i expected it to be a lot of hard manual labour that would be very rewarding in the end and i was absolutely right. in even the first few days i have seen the foundation that we arrived at on day 1 turn into a almost finished product with the simple addition of hard work and can do attitude by the whole group. the experience has been very fun so far and i look forward to the rest of the week. my best experience of the week was digging a 3 foot by 2 foot hole with mr freddy jackson, very satisfying to do. have had lots of fun look forward to many more great experiences!

Day 3 (Rory Butler)

What I have loved about this trip is the people that we've met so far. There is a definite language barrier, but that just makes it more fun. The man directing the construction, Cresencio, probably doesn't speak a word of English, however he has been extremely helpful. He could get easily frustrated with our attempts to cut bricks, (see below) but he doesn't. He'll come over and tap a few bricks, and then offer a thumbs up to show his approval. Of all the people on the site, he is definitely the most helpful. I also like the general attitude on the site. It's work in really hot sun, but the people that we work with still manage to make it loads of fun. Towards the end of the day today, I was spreading some cement on the wall when I heard giggling behind me. I just assumed that someone told a good joke in Spanish, so I kept on working. When I turned to get more cement, all of the workers were looking at me and my cement bucket was completely empty. With this discovery they all burst into laughter. I had to laugh a little too, it was cool to see them having fun. Things like this are what make the trip really fun. It could be just work, but it's a lot more than that. Today was one of the better days. We all know how to lay the bricks and work as a team, most of the time without spoken language. I'm even starting to learn a little Spanish. The sun is hot, the work is hard, but it is still a great time.

Much discussion on our local volcano friend. Although it is meant to be 'dormant' we came to the conclusion that the smoke coming out means it might be a little more awake than previously thought.

Day 2 - March 13 (Jason Cowen)

DAY 2 today was great in the morning a few of us including myself went to a second work site the work was much more difficult compared to the first site because we had to fill in the floor with dirt and we also had to pour a portion of the foundation. I find all of this very rewarding and although there wasn't much of a visible difference at the second site there is a sense of accomplishment with all of this hard work the first site looks great honestly there has been so much done and because we are doing the walls there is a huge visual difference. the people are great even with the language barrier we find ways to communicate generally with signs and demonstrations. all in all this experience is amazing and to think that it is only the first day!! I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and the new adventures that it brings.

Our First Day!

Today was our first day at the build site.. Completely eye opening never before have a been in a place where people are so grateful for having the very minimum. When we first entered the community the family for whom we were building the house for had a huge sign reading "Welcome to our Community". So many thoughts were running through my mind, I realized just how lucky I was to have a safe, warm and comforting home to live. When we met the family and they told us about where they currently live, their children, how they got involved in Habitat, only out of all the things that they told us they were most proud to talk about the gratitude that they had toward us. I was so proud to know that i was making a difference in someone's life and know that it was truly changing more than just my life. I was so excited to get to work and to my surprise it was just a little harder than expecting, it was hotter the bricks were heavier and the language barrier was a little more difficult than i thought. But it became easier, the walls went up fast and together we all learned new words and sayings in different languages "cortar" is what to say when u need to cut the bricks in Spanish and "burk" is what you call someone who is silly in Freddie Jackson English. It was so much fun bonding with everyone even though the family watching was whispering in Spanish about how they need to teach the blondies how to work :D Water fights with Paulina Chapoy and working with Marce and Pau and completely messing up a wall and having to do it over again, meeting all the little kids that i want to put in my suitcase and bring them back with me ... so cute! Its only the first day I'm already having a blast ready for an early 7:00am morning wakeup !!!!