Ooookaaay. Today I got pulled from the roof to stay back and help with a project on base. Literally, they need to count all supplies and items in:

– Roofing Tent

– Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Tent

– Tool Room

– Pressure Washing Room

– Supplies Tent

– Blue Conex

Danny, the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, does this every month by himself and it takes him a month. Today, we have myself, Brian, Miledys, Olivia, and Hannah to do it with Danny around to help.

This was a tall order. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of things that are here. We started together in the roofing tent, having to identify the item, what type it is, manufacturer, how many, how many are damaged, who counted it, and any additional notes for each thing. Every freaking type of sealent and acrylic latex bottle and freaking caulk guns and chisels.

We divided and conquered the roofing tent and everyone then split. I ended up in the tool room. I mean, I know some tools. But holy shit. There were SO many. I felt like I was constantly asking “What’s this?” “What is this called?” and “What does this do?” Lucky for me, Danny was hanging in the tool shed working most of the day and he helped me out. It was cool, actually, because instead of just answering me and brushing me off, every time I asked he took the time to explain what it is, what it does, and how it works. It was pretty rad. It’s exactly how all teachers should be. I learned a whole lot today, more than ever. Who knew there were so many types of plyers? Not me. Also, I literally know where everything on this base is and how many we have of it. Including the machetes. FIGHT ME.

After the tool room, I met up with everyone in the blue Conex. This shed was HUUUUGE. It houses all the CGI equipment, plus all the windows and doors.

And every screw type and size. I learned about concrete screws, galvanized screws, hurricane ties, speed squares.. so many things! We had so much to do in this shed and it was hot as hell.

Meatball (who’s name isn’t really meatball) is a local dog that guards our street and hangs outside the base. He’s adorable, kind, walks everywhere with anyone off the base, everything! He came and laid with us while we worked. Miledys, Olivia, and I were in the back at one point counting ropes and fall harnesses and it was steamy.

That was it. This is what we did ALL day. It rained at points, but we just kept going. At one point, while Olivia was counting rakes and generators, she found a tarantula! A little guy who looked super dormant and surprise! He wasn’t. She got him on a broomstick and out of the base, back to his natural habitat. Plus, lots of lizards. Their blue bellies are so much bigger than ours at home!

I felt so gross after today. So many things were rusty, dirty, and covered in I don’t know what. We washed some of the trucks we rent on the island and I helped a little bit with that and just got grosser. BUT! I couldn’t shower yet because tonight, after our meeting and dinner we all played a rousing game of kickball! Haha!

It was incredibly fun and people were pumped to play. I explained how to play to Tom, who’s English with no experience in baseball and Nora, who’s German, with an understanding of baseball with an adorable little diagram. Nora explained to us a game they play at home, which is exactly the way we play Dodgeball at La Mesa. But, it’s not typical dodgeball.

We all headed out to the field behind base to play. Meatball was even out there with us, running around, hanging in the sidelines. Two local kids came out to play with us while parents and other community members came to watch in the stands. We had a freaking blast! It was seriously the best time. Zoë kicked ass and was so committed to it. There were a lot of people from other countries on the teams who had never played before which made it even more fun. Trying to remember all the intricate rules and contingencies was hard. Like, the part where Tashi (who’s Nepalian) circled around to home, scored us point…..and then continued to run around the bases again in the same run because we had forgot to mention once you hit home, you stop running. Whoops. Everyone was laughing, cheering and seriously just having the best freaking time.

We’ve been doing a variety of dorm wars and on Friday, we are playing bamboo tennis which is baseball with bamboo bats and tennis balls. Tonight, one of the staff members set it up so people could decorate their shirts and bats for more points. I went into the dining hall and found Nora making a shirt so I started coloring a bat. I’ll take a photo Friday of it, cause I forgot. I went to bed the latest so far tonight!