From Mike Wostoupal

First day was good. We arrived at the school where we are staying. Large. 3800 kids; half in morning and half in afternoon. Poorest of the poor. Kids were a bit awkward at first. We ate and then mingled amongst the kids. The 3 guy chaperones went to the place where 2 houses will be built. Then the kids walked downhill to it, which is just a 5 minute walk. Each is about the size of a parking spot. This house had its slab already poured. The cement is mixed by hand in buckets and wheelbarrows. The footings are being mixed and poured in the second house. The "houses" around it are amazing. Frankly it just is thousands of people basically camping in houses the size of sheds with really few belongings. The stove outside the homes are basically a cement campfire. The banos (outhouse) is a whole dug in the ground with a structure built around it, maybe 3x3 and 6-7 feet tall. Most of those are shanties. We walked back and the kids played with the Honduran children. The kids come up to them and hug and hold there hands. Leaving will be unbearable. The best introduction is a smile. Almost everyone smiles back.

Today the girls will do crafts in the school, help teach the kids (grades are K-8?), and play with them. The boys will split up 5 and 5. One crew will start constructing one home with wood, the others will be at the second house and learn how to lay cement.