An Affirmation and a No-show

I got the good and the bad today.

First and foremost, Amalia has “okayed” the use of the wall we had originally planned to use. She was skeptical because she didn’t exactly understand the project. In fact, she hadn’t yet seen the layout. So today, Valeria and I explained the project, showed her the design and all the tiles, and the goal that it’ll be enjoyed by all of the families when they enter the dining hall. I guess she really liked the idea. So much so, in fact, that she asked me to paste it in the center of the wall (of the wall you immediately see upon entering) so that it’ll serve as a centerpiece for the entire dining hall. Her concern was being able to put up pictures, since they’ve had previous plans to make the room slightly more attractive with pictures—so the mural will serve as the center point. What could be better than that? I was thrilled and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders; but I did my best not to appear too happy or too relieved so that Amalia wouldn’t rethink her decision.

However, the worker never showed up. We had set the time for 11, and by noon, we hadn’t seen him. Luckily, Maria knew where he lived, and Valeria and I went to his house. He wasn’t there. His daughter said he “would be coming soon.”

A lie. The daughter walked to el comedor about 20 minutes later to say her dad couldn’t make it today because he was doing other work, but would be there tomorrow. Wrong answer.

Valeria (she did most of the talking to make sure NOTHING was misunderstood) made it very clear that he HAS to be here tomorrow, or else we’ll find someone else. We told her the deadline for finishing it was Thursday (even though we have until Friday, I’ve learned it’s best to make the deadline earlier to take into account any problems, such as today’s no-show). We need all of those days to work since quite a few layers of different materials need to be applied to the wall prior to putting up the tiles, and they all need to completely dry. Even once the tiles are put up, they need between 24 and 48 hours before applying the grout. That takes a week.

After helping with the cooking and eating lunch, I stopped by the house once more to double check that the daughter had reached her dad and he knew to come tomorrow at 10am. According to both the daughter and son, it’s a sure thing.

Valeria will also come tomorrow to explain to the worker the importance of coming each day (she’s a saint).

I’m very happy that Amalia now approves, and she has even offered other options for workers if Don Flores (the current one) doesn’t pull through. I hope this works out...