Last Year's House March 2020

We poured the floor for Marco's house last year.  Due to the Covid shutdown, we were the last group to work with Esperanza between March 2020 and our return in October 2021. Marco knew we were coming, so he bought barbecued chicken, macaroni salad, and various condiment for a meal to enjoy as we checked out his finished house.  He originally had planned to open a hamburger stand in his neighborhood, but it turns out that he's good at welding and fabricating.  He's been making a living making steel gates for driveways, steel doors, and steel frameworks to protect windows on homes.  That's more lucrative than hamburgers.  Here is Marcos and his house.  You can see some of the steel grids he makes on his windows.

If you're a group leader, I encourage you to consider returning to Tijuana.  They seem to be taking Covid more seriously than many areas in the U.S.  You see masks on people even it they are standing alone along the road.  We went in to a gas station to buy ice, and they had a temperature monitoring station and hand sanitizer right at the entrance.  I've seen that at a doctor's office in the states, but not in a gas station.

That's it for now.  Hats off to my fellow volunteers, Steve Schroer, Hannah Gaul, and Lamin Cobb.  They were a great team who made every day enjoyable  I hope to see them all again on our next trip in March 2022.

John Muskopf

Friday, 10/22/2012

 Friday's work included more backfilling of the floor.  They build a ramp of dirt so that both wheelbarrows and a bucket brigade could be used to move dirt.  We started at the back wall and moved toward the dirt pile.  The pile looked so huge that we thought there'd be enough left over to make a driveway or something.  At the end there was a small amount left from what had been the wheelbarrow ramp.  Two big dump truck should have held 28 tons, which was all moved from one place to another by hand.  In the process, we pile the fill about one block high, water it down with a hose, tamp it with a gas powered tamper, then start again.  The neighbors remained great, energetic workers so we were done by noon.  The next group will be able to reinforce the floor with steel fencing and rebars and cover it with a layer of concrete.  There is a group scheduled to the first week of November, and is the only group scheduled for the rest of the year.  Esperanza really needs help.

Above is Francisco and Alexandra.  They will have a good, solid house when it is finished.

Here is the worksite on day one, with the next shot showing how much fill was needed.  We filled and tamped it to within 3" of the top of the top block.

John Muskopf

Thursday 10/21/2021

 

We started backfilling the floor today, starting with dirt which had been removed to create the footer.  We were running out of this dirt when the first of two 14 ton truckloads of fill material was delivered.  We previously had a kind of fill dirt that was a yellowish mixture of clay, sand and gravel.  Today's material seemed to be made of crushed concrete.  It was grey sand and pebbles similar to what you'd get in a bag of QuickCrete.  This photo shows part of the first load of fill.

The fill was easy to shovel, like sand, but a few dozen scoops full were enough to move me to the bucket line.  The neighbors and Esperanza staff have muscles and can move many time more material than I would be been able to.

It's truly amazing how much can be accomplished with a dozen people working in concert.  When the distance became too great to throw the fill into the hole like the guys above, we switched to buckets.  We got into a rhythm, with the shoveler putting one scoop into a bucket which was removed and passed down the line of people to be dumped at the farthest point, and an empty bucket set in its place.  We got the floor about half filled before we stopped for the day.  Many of the neighborhood workers and the owner of the house work the night shift, so they needed to get some sleep before going to work.

Our group has been taking the Esperanza staff for a meal at a restaurant each year.  Due to Covid concerns, it was decided to have a fiesta at the Posada instead.  When we returned from the worksite, staff member, Victor already had a good start on grilling chorizo and carne asada.

 

We had enjoyable meal with laughter and conversation continuing until dark.

John Muskopf

Wednesday 10/20/2021

 We went to the soccer game  between the Xolos from Tijuana and the Chivas from Guadalajara last night.  They are taking Covid very seriously here.  You had to be 18 or over to get in as well as carry proof of vaccination.  At the first point of entry they scanned the temperature of your forehead, and gave to a dash of hand sanitizer.  In the stadium, they had half of the seats taped off to maintain social distancing.  In the men's restroom, half of the urinals and half of the hand washing sinks were closed off.  I've never seen anything like that before.  The majority of the fans, staff, and vendors kept their face masks on throughout the game.  It was entertaining, with several goal saves but no scores.  A 0-0 tie doesn't seem like a good ending.

We walked past the dog racing track on the way into and out of the stadium.  It's located between the Caliente Casino and the soccer field.  When you are close to the track you can see how fast those greyhounds can run.  Here's a photo of the winners!

Today we will be assembling the framework for beams, and backfilling the floor.  We will need quite a bit of fill as the hole is five layers of block deep.

John Muskopf

Cement and Xolos

One more thought from yesterday's visit to the border - we saw cruise ships docked at San Diego and Ensenada.  When we were at La Playas yesterday, we could see two or three of them off the coast.  You can see the ship in the picture above.

Today's (Wednesday) work included pouring the footer for the house (the homeowners are Fransisco Javier and his wire Alexandra), and moving a pile of gravel so truckloads of fill dirt can be brought in to bring the floor up to the right level.  

Tonight we are going to a Xolos soccer game.  You have to be 18 or over to enter, along with proof of vaccination.  (As they got into the stadium they noticed that they had a bunch of seats roped off.  They took their temperature and had them use hand sanitizer.)  These rules are more strict than the OSU football games this year!!!

Here is a photo of Lula.  She guards the back side of our bunk rooms in the Posada.  She's a Belgian shepherd and has seven pups.  She has a good loud bark at 2:00 am!

  Hannah is holding one of the pups!  They are so new that there eye's were hardly open.

Link to all of our pictures

John Muskopf

Tuesday Blocks and Beach

 Today we finished placing the foundation blocks and wiring the vertical sections of rebar together today.  The floor will be five blocks above the ground on one side.  It will be awkward to pour them all full of concrete tomorrow.  The lot is large and flat so passing buckets shouldn't be too hard.  Lifting buckets above waist height will be tiring for the person emptying them into the blocks.  We went to the beach or La Playas today to check out the border scene.  It seemed to be as crowded as a Sunday with lots of multi-generation families visiting.  We went to a restaurant and most of the people coming in were masked up even grade school aged children.  Our worksite is to the south of Tijuana so we found out there is a new road through a tunnel that gives you a short cut to the beach.

We posted a lot of pictures today

John Muskopf

Monday Market and First workday

We started today (Monday) at the morning street market.  It was as full of vendors as normal and crowded with buyers at 7:30 am.  It seemed like there were more stands, especially meat sellers.  This year for the first that I saw a portable barbershop on the street.  In fact there two of them where guys were getting haircuts as we walked by.  There were a couple of stands selling squash blossoms with their vegetables.  You can buy anything you could get at Walmart at this street sale, but fresher than anything you could buy there.  The meat and fish looked especially clean and fresh.  Hannah and Lamin had pork tamales for breakfast.  The vendor had a pot full of them wrapped in banana leaves.  

Our work site is in Salvatierra, where we've worked before.  One of the neighbors who was helping with the work remembered serving fish tacos to us several years ago.  The family isn't allowed to cook our lunches this year due to COVID so we bought fish tacos from a nearby taco truck.  They were great.  Below are before and after pictures of our work site.  We hope to pour concrete into the footer on Wednesday.

Take a look at our pictures

John Muskopf

 

La Gloria Taco Stand

 

Some of our past Esperanza volunteers may be wondering how our favorite taco stand in La Gloria is handing the pandemic.  They made tortas and quesadillas behind a counter, but the rotisserie, beef head, and brisket were cooked out front where you could point to what you wanted.  You could point to the toppings such as cilantro, chopped onions, or red sauce and they'd put all that on a plate for you.

They've roped off the front section so you can't get close to the cook.  They have a menu on the wall now with prices for everything.  That's a first for me.  They took our order and seated us at a table and gave us a plate of freshly washed radishes and limes.  They brought our food to us and the portions seemed larger than normal.  The food remains excellent.

I forgot to mention the bottle of hand sanitizer on a table out front.  They are coping well.

John Muskopf.

Thoughts from the first few hours in La Gloria

 

Well it didn't take long to get answers to some of my questions.  We drove by the location of the swap meet and it was full of people.  We stay in a town called La Gloria and there are many new businesses on the street leading to the Posada and on the cobbled road to the south that has practically been impassable.  There's even a stand for fish tacos with outside dining along that road.  I'll post a photo of it.

We drove to Rosarito for supper at El Nido's last night.  They are known for their home grown venison and quail dishes.  That shopping areas nearby were full of vendors and shoppers, most of them masked.  As we were eating it seemed like a lot of people were walking past the front window.  I counted thirty in one minute before I got back to my chicken enchiladas verde.

Most of the people on the streets in La Gloria are wearing masks.  Parents and children hold hands as they normally do when hurrying across the street with masks.  Businesses have signs on the doors that tell you to put your mask on.  A new taco stand, barber shop, pet food store and new buildings going up.  Maybe they'll grade this road in a few years.   

Sunday the group drove down to La Bufadora where there is a famous blowhole!  

Take a look at the pictures

John Muskopf - Pre-trip thoughts

Steve Schroer and John Muskopf leaving from Cleveland.

 Lamin Cobb and Hannah Gaul leaving from Denver

We are on the place in Cleveland on the first leg of the trip.  One of our trip participants, Bud, didn't get a wakeup call at his hotel and cancelled his trip.  We are down to four group members:  Steve Schroer, John Muskopf, Hannah Gaul and Lamin Cobb.  As I sit here, my mind is full of questions.  When we left Mexico last March 2020, COVID was raging in New York and spreading across the United States.  They knew about the virus in Tijuana, but it was a distant threat.

Some of the things I'm wondering about relate to the impact of COVID on the Tijuana region and how much things we are familiar with have changed.  The downtown shopping district was always full of people elbow to elbow waiting for traffic lights to change.  Restaurant workers would stand outside their establishments soliciting customers by offering them free margaritas.  The beaches at "The Playas" were full of fisherman, kite flyers, volleyball players and photographers.  Will those places be the same?  Will the restaurants be closed?  Will the beach be deserted?  How about our local taco stand?  Will the majority of people be masked?  What will market day be like?  Will there be as many stalls full of fruits and vegetables.  Same with the swap meets.

John texted me that they crossed over the border at 4:20 eastern time and were at the Posada at 6:30 pm eastern time.  They were not stopped, as we have been many times, at the border.

Link to trip pictures for the week

John Muskopf

Last group out; First group back.

 Tomorrow morning I will be returning to Tijuana again.  It has been roughly 19 months since I have been at the Posada where we stay.  When I left Esperanza in March 2020 the world was just entering a pandemic.  Covid 19 was on everyone’s mind.  We crossed the border into the USA and stopped for breakfast before going to the airport.  There was an eerie feeling in the airport because so many flights were canceled.  I never anticipated how different the world we returned to would be.

Restraurants were closed.

Mask wearing was the norm.

Meetings were held via Zoom.

Church in person was cancelled.
I expected it to last a few weeks but the pandemic continued to get worse.  It consumed the news.  It was bad for our friends in Mexico too.  Ours was the last group to go to Esperanza that year but there were still families that needed homes.  I stayed in touch with Eduardo, the technician and my friend, he said that the staff was still trying to do their best to build homes but there was so much uncertainty.  So far they were all in good health although they were social distancing and working from home. Then I got the news that the husband of my dear friend Cuquis had died.  I was heart broken.

Since that time I have been fully vaccinated and the vaccination rate in the Tijuana area is comparable to the US.  Esperanza is beginning with a soft reopening of work groups.  And I am so excited because we will be the first group permitted to return.
I am not quite sure what to expect.  There will be changes.  We will all need to mask at the job site.  The families will not be providing our meals so we will either find a local taco stand or eat PBJ.  Our group is small but that is preferable.  

I am not going to guarantee a daily posting but we will do our best to keep you up to date on what we experience.  Please keep us in your prayers.

Steve Schroer

Five are going on the 2021 Esperanza Mission Trip - Steve Schroer, John Muskopf, Hannah Gaul, Lamin Cobb and Bud Ellis.