Day 20 - June 14 - Roof beam Formwork Completed and AMAZING sunset

Hello folks!

Today was HOT. It was probably in the low hundreds/upper ninties and there was minimal to no breeze. It's slowly cooling off tonight, but we are all definitely looking forward to our drive to Kerala tomorrow for a change of weather and scenery.

In the AM, several people went to town to look for an ATM. It took a while to locate one that accepted their cards and had enough cash inside. It seems to be a recurring problem that we empty the ATMs we visit. The other half the team went to the site to check progress. Last night they poured the final section of the columns and they were removing the forms when we arrived. Kiera and Arvind spent some time with Murrgan measuring the walls to make sure the rebar for the roof beams was in the right spot. They drew on the brick wall to diagram the supports and overlaps. Meanwhile a few of us were chatting about our lives and some future plans. I'm really enjoying living and working with the team and it will be really sad to part ways in 10 days.

In the PM, everyone headed to the worksite to check out the progress that had been made on installing form work and supports for the roof beams and the roof slab. Things are looking good! We should be able to pour the concrete for both at the end of this week/beginning of next week. This is great news for us because that means the concrete will be able to cure a few days under our supervision (and buckets of water) and maybe we can get some plaster and paint on the outer walls of the building.

Tonight we played a fantastic game of ultimate frisbee. I had an amazing time running around with the kiddos and my fellow team members. And to end the day, a group of us walked home with a glorious sunset as the backdrop.

- Caroline