May 19: The intensity of work takes it toll.

May 19, 2009

“Jess! Jess!”

It’s 7:30 in the morning and Kayla’s knocking on my door. She tells me that she’s been sick over night. My heart sinks as I wake up to realize that four out of the nine of our team members aren't feeling well. I tell them to stay at the hotel for the day and take it easy.
With only five of us to work, we know it’ll be an intense day. Today, we smash the large rocks from yesterday into smaller rocks with hammers and mallets. Whenever we think we’re done, we discover more large rocks underneath. It is a frustrating and exhausting process.
After a couple of hours, I feel blisters form on my hands. By the end of the afternoon, my blisters have popped. But in the end, we finish. And the satisfaction of breaking every rock somehow makes me forget about my hands – as raw and red as they may be.