Where things stand
Construction is progressing, and a new part of the project kicks off in parallel: English and Spanish classes for the villagers.
What happened today
The team continued the digging started the day before — demanding work, where the soil has to be broken up with a pickaxe before being cleared out with a shovel. A fifth hole was dug in the center of the site, intended for pouring cement. Mid-morning, the team paused to share a Sri Lankan meal prepared by one of the village families; throughout the day, residents regularly offered tea and snacks (fruit, small bites). In the afternoon, the team began setting up the metal structures meant to carry the cement across the site — work still in progress.
At the end of the day, around 5pm, the team headed to the temple for a very different kind of contribution: at the request of the head monk, a first English class was given to interested members of the community, with very mixed levels, ranging from near-beginner to more advanced. A Spanish class was also offered for the first time, to two monks with no prior knowledge of the language.
Highlight of the day
One of the monks present taught himself English two years ago by listening to podcasts and videos — and this evening was only the second time in his life he’d been able to practice the language with native speakers, after a first experience the day before with one of the participant’s mothers. Following this exchange, a plan was agreed with the head monk: three levels of English (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and one basic level of Spanish will be offered every afternoon around 5pm, with residents grouped by level.
