Day 5 - May 30 - Waterfalls

This morning we woke up to beautiful weather, which was such a blessing for all of today's activities!

Onsite today, we helped prepare the construction framework for tomorrow, when we plan to begin pouring the concrete beams. Several of us continued to tied rebar (the metal reinforcement bars that help to strengthen the concrete), then greased and placed a number of metal sheets that will serve as forms for the beams tomorrow. The hands-on work is gratifying and genuinely fun. One of the younger girls warmed up to us and began to help carry bricks, which was exciting.

Bringing a ball was a great idea- Arvind, Danish, Harsha, and I played soccer with the younger boys in the church yard before leaving the site. They've started to call us "anna" (older brother) and "akka" (older sister). In the coming days, it'll be nice to sit down with the girls and boys before school starts to figure out what they'd like to use the resource center for.

In the afternoon, we drove to the Pappanasam falls. The drive was absolutely breathtaking with the tremendous mountains and lively localities. We stuck out in our shorts and tshirts but a group of girls pulled us under the tiny falls and we had a great time together.

Side notes:

Driving here is like being immersed in Mario Kart! It feels safe because people here seem way more aware of their surroundings and other drivers than we might be in the US (for example, honking when going around a blind curve to notify other drivers of your presence).

We noticed several hydraulic structures today: one of the drivers pointed out a dam near Pappanasam, explaining that it's dry for the first time since its construction. Floodgates are a common sight but we've seen several water bodies at low levels. At the CASA center we do our best to conserve water each day. The changing climate and ever-increasing water needs are intriguing and concerning, at minimum.