One of our favorite challenges is learning the names of the people in the village and as much Chichewa as our brains can absorb! A now familiar name is that of our partner family great grandmother, Chilungula. Chilungula has spent nearly all of her 93 years in Nnima village in Salima district. Of her 8 … Continue reading
Two days of building already under our belt. First chance I have had to buy Internet access and attempt to write a thoughtful blog post. It feels as though our group of 10 has been together much longer. We are enjoying getting to know one another. Working together. Sharing meals. Roommates. Laughing and generally loving … Continue reading
As usual, the week has flown by. Today we had to say goodbye to our village, Celeste and Diana, our amazing construction supervisors Rugerio and Francisco, and tomorrow we will have to say goodbye to our host coordinator Florbela. She has been with us every step of the way and has made our stay here … Continue reading
Having spent the day yesterday in Regua, our batteries were fully charged for a full work day working on Celeste’s house. We awoke to rain and heavy cloud cover; it was cool and perfect build weather since the precipitation quit as we were arriving on site. It’s been heartwarming to see Celeste and her daughters … Continue reading
Portugal’s Duoro Valley is the oldest regulated wine making region in Europe, preceding Bordeaux. Sorry France. Wine estates in Portugal are known as Quintas and as our cultural excursion we visited one of the oldest. The bus ride from Amarate to Regua took about an hour and the views of the hills, valleys and towns … Continue reading
By the end of day three we can usually see a lot of progress made on the house and this build is no different. There are two areas of the house out team is helping to construct so far; the septic system and insulating the walls. Thankfully the pit behind the house for the septic … Continue reading
Light fog and mist covering the surrounding hills disguised our town this morning in what would have been a mystery had we not seen it yesterday. The temperature was about 65 degrees F and none of us minded the cooler weather. We happily resumed our work and made significant progress on the house. I have … Continue reading
Wow. I have been charmed off of my feet. This country is THE most gorgeous have EVER seen. Around every corner beauty awaits. It is like being in a real life fairy tale. We find ourselves walking around with our jaws open, camera lenses shuttering. Our little corner of Portugal is the town of Amarante. … Continue reading
Turns out public transportation in Madrid is cheap and efficient from Barajas International Airport. Getting into the city center below ground has the advantage of both saving time and money. But, first, you have to figure out how to get out at this large and chopped up airport. I had to ask someone to be … Continue reading
Short flight from the east coast of the USA. Check. Warm beach weather. Check. Cool place to stay. Check. No passport necessary. Check. Great food, drink, shopping and fun things to do. Check. Not going to break the bank. Check. Planning a surprise trip for Mother’s Day in May 2015 for me and my bestie, both … Continue reading
Global Staci 