Classrom Project Status Update 2

Greeting from extremely hot and sunny Costa Rica! I seemed to have chosen the hottest months of the year in Costa Rica to build a classroom, but at least we have been safe from the heavy rains and it would have otherwise been impossible to build. Overall things are going very well with the project. We have fully installed the Iron Beam Network with the Zinc Sheets for the roofing, installed the cement base, cemented the large cement slabs together to create uniform walls, and have begun the installation of the electric system.

Installing the Iron Beam Network to hold up the Zinc Sheets turned out to be a relatively easy task. It basically involved the Contractor and another skilled person in welding, essentially weld the large iron beams together, then we shingled the Zinc sheets and screwed each of them in. Most houses in my community, including my house, have a network of wooden beams to hold up the zinc sheets, we have used iron beams which are both sturdier and will last much longer.

Installing the cement base of the classroom required a lot of hauling of sand, rocks, and cements. We initially were planning to get a cement mixer for the job, but we couldn’t find one and ended up mixing about 30 bags of cement, 30 bags of sand, and a large amount of rocks by hand. One crucial step to making cement is water. At the school the water pump has been broken since the beginning of the year, and as well the well has dried up, so there is no water at all in the school. As well my community does not have a rural aqueduct where we can just turn on the tap and receive guaranteed water, every family and house has their own well or shared water well. Therefore we needed to haul by truck every morning 10 to 12 large Barrels of water from our water well at my host family’s house to the school. I don’t know if anyone has mixed lots of cement before by hand but it is pretty back breaking work and you also need to make sure you get the ratio of cement to rock to sand perfect. This whole process ended up taking only 3 days with the help of many community members.

Then the detailed work begins… Smearing on a cement layer to combine the large slabs of cement is very time consuming work. As well for the next week, every day we need to come to the school twice a day and poor water over the walls to make sure the cement doesn’t crack on the walls. We also need to use a sifter to sift through the sand we already have and make sure we have the finest sand which we will then mix with cement and water. This cement layer will further fortify the walls, which we can then paint.

The installation of the electrical system is pretty straight forward we just need to make sure we have our network of tubes through the ceiling which contain wire properly aligned and sent through the circuit breaker. We are installing about 4 power outlets, 2 Light Switches, and 8 sockets for energy saving light bulbs.

Next we need to create a network of wooden beams to then install our ceiling, install all 72 square meters of ceramic tile, weld onto the frame of the classroom two doors, install metals bars and fine netting for use as windows (Actual glass windows tend to break easily in classroom, are expensive, don’t give much security, and restrict airflow). Overall it seems like a lot but things are coming along very well. Next week is the Costa Rican Holy Week holiday and we will not be working on the classroom, but then the following week we hope to finish up all the necessary tasks for an inauguration of the classroom on April 17, 2009 !

All of the pictures will definitely give you a better idea of the process.Since we are building the new classroom near the old latrine, we have been in the process of digging a new 2 meter deep hole further away from the new classroom for the sanitary needs of the school. Pictures show some of that digging as well.

I am very thankful to be able to complete this project in my community. Again this project simply would not have been completed without your generous donations. Thank you very much for your support and I look forward to reporting more on the status of the classroom construction.

As for me personally, I am coming to grips with the reality that my Peace Corps experience here is ending. Of course it will be sad to leave my community and this life as a Peace Corps volunteer, but I have learned so much, met so many amazing people, had so many crazy adventures, learned Spanish fluently, and overall have had the time of my life. I could not have imagined a better experience to have after college. I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to be a part of Peace Corps and hopefully I will be able to use the skills and experience I have had here as a positive jump off point for future explorations and adventures in my life. Tuanis.

Link to Pics : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=48019849&l=92dc0e5d10&id=2206209