We ate breakfast together, and then Larisa and Yikealo went to meet Yikealo's birth family while the rest of us walked to Metekle school.
We were invited into one of the classrooms, where town officials, school administrators, and others were gathered to welcome and thank us for adding a second story onto the school. They celebrated by spreading branches on the floor and preparing a coffee ceremony for us. Then, each of us was invited to stand up and give a little speech. Some of the officials spoke as well, and Weldie translated. The coffee, popcorn, and traditional bread tasted so good! We laughed at Yikealo and Malia, who took pieces of bread the size of their heads.
We spent the day hauling cement blocks, water, and sand up to the second floor. Some used the rickety ramp, but I wasn't very sure-footed and used the stairs most of the time instead. It was heavy, hot work.
We got a few glimpses of the kiddos in the classrooms below. They were thrilled to see Quintin.
Carson, Yikealo, and Malia were given the job of throwing water up onto the walls to keep the cement moist for smoothing.
They took a few breaks to play with the kiddos at recess.
We went back to the hotel late in the afternoon and took showers. We met back downstairs and walked to a traditional restaurant for dinner. It tasted so good, even though the kids weren't too sure about eating meat cut off the carcases hanging nearby.
Back at the hotel, Malia went to Alyssa's room, while Chris, Quintin, Rachael, Richard, Phil, and I met downstairs for dessert. Quintin got stolen away by one of the waitresses, and ended up behind the bar. Everyone loves him here, and today he was hauled around by teachers, hotel desk clerks, waitresses, etc.
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