Demolition!

This week we started rehab on houses. These are houses that had flood damage but are still standing and strong enough to be used again. They just have problems with mold in the walls and under the floors. On Monday I was assigned the task of taking down the walls of a bathroom. At first I was using a hammer and other tools. I quickly realized it would be much more fun if I used my hands and feet. It was a great Kung-Fu exercise tearing apart the bathroom with my hands and feet. We also take out tile and ceilings. I realized the value of protective gear (i.e. helmets, eye wear, and masks) when removing a ceiling, especially when I pulled down on one and half of it fell down at once.
The bugs here are probably not as big as Lisa has in Africa but they are fairly large and hungry. I'm joined in the shower by cockroaches sometimes and and meet other large mystery bugs throughout the course of my day. I'm also bitten all day by gnats. They are just as bad if not worse than mosquitoes. They are very smart too. They know when I'm tapped out and wait for all my bites to heal before digging in on me again.
We got to meet a family of pit bulls the other day. At first we were worried since they're pit bulls but the introduction was made easier since we met the puppy first. The two adult dogs were chained up just to be safe with us but they were just as nice and playful as the puppy. There are alot of pit bulls down here too. People seem to really like this kind of dog. Many houses we work on either have a pit bull or their neighbor has a pit bull in their yards.
As of Thursday Lisa should be an official Peace Corps Volunteer (which means shes past her probation period as to how well she'll do in the country). This is very exciting to hear because now if she were to get sick (which hopefully she wont have to worry about) she will be treated in the country and not just sent home.
Next weekend we may be headed to New Orleans for V-Day to volunteer at the event. V-Day is a festival for the Vagina Monolouges and for awareness and prevention of violence towards women. It sounds like lots of fun. Hopefully by next weekend too we should know where our next project is! This will make things much easier for buying a plane ticket home for memorial day.