Now it is time for just a short blog listing a couple things I’ve been learning here in Puerto Rico:
1) How to avoid getting stung by jellyfish in the Caribbean – stay close to the shore. In fact, just don’t swim. Three of my teammates have been stung. Apparently vinegar helps the sting, but pee is still the better remedy.
2) Make peace with the many ants, spiders, and unknown bugs crawling on every sink, counter, wall, and bed.
3) How to tie rebar into cages and grids for the laying of concrete.
4) How to get extremely dehydrated lifting/carrying/tying rebar 6 hours a day for 2 days, resulting in feeling very sick for over a day. I recommend water to remedy this.
5) How to say the F word in at least 10 different ways in Spanish, thanks to our team trip to the movies to see Lone Survivor. Subtitles teach you lots of new Spanish words. Who knew?!
6) Developing a thankful heart, even when your ride is 3 hours late, or when your many many bug bites are all itching relentlessly, or when your team has to take care of you because you went and got yourself uber-dehydrated.
7) The importance of loving those who feel rejected by their people and are feeling hopeless and discouraged by the direction of their lives.
