long field: long week

This last week was “long field” for all the trainees which means that we went in groups of 5 with a language teacher to go visit a current volunteer for a week to do construction projects and charlas, etc. (Charlas are talks or presentations usually in schools) Long field was definitely the longest week I have had here, and while it would take a week to fully explain the details, maybe I can give you a taste of why it was so long for me…
Day 1: We arrived and it was pouring rain, which means that our plans for the week might or might not be completely changed because we can’t do anything in the rain. My host family for the week did not have a light in their bathroom, so they put up a lantern so I could see. Before I was done showering, the lantern exploded, dumping gasoline all over my towel, my clothes fell on the wet floor, and water started shooting out of the wall from behind the lantern. (I’m still not sure why this happened) I told the señora there that I had a problem and she came and took the lantern and walked away, leaving me to figure out how to dry myself with a gasoline soaked towel and dress in wet clothes in the dark. And by the way, I had to use that towel for the rest of the week.
Day 2: It rained all morning, and thinking it would be hot all week, I was not prepared for the cold weather so I sat on the porch in shorts and a tshirt for 4 hours. That afternoon it stopped raining and we went an old guys house to start digging a letrine in literally rock hard dirt.
Day 3: We built half a fogón, the corner caved in because the ground was uneven and we had to tear everything down and start all over again. The old man decided he didn’t want his letrine so far from his house, so we were told that we would have to dig the hole all over again. We also decided rather filling in the hole we already dug, which by the way still had water in it from the rain, that we would turn it into a trash pit.
Day 4: By the end of the day, we finished the fogón and I’m praying it doesn’t fall down anytime soon. Three of us did a nutrition charla in Guarani and I didn’t understand pretty much half of what was said. Three of us finished digging the second hole for the letrine and used, I kid you not, a bowl and a shovel to dig, a coke bottle with water for a level that we set on a piece of wood, and a stick to mark the ground. I was so dirty that night I had to rub the top layer of skin off with my towel to get myself completely clean. I also calculated that we walked a total of 2 hours that day back and forth in between houses.
Day 5: We finished laying the losa (floor) for the letrine, packed up and drove home. I never thought I would miss my community and my family so much and was so excited to finally go home.