Moving into the 20th century

A lot of things have been going on here in the neighborhood. Believe it or not, the city is finally putting in sewer lines in the Colosio. I kept seeing trucks with huge pipes drive through the neighborhood but I wasn’t sure what they were. Then, I found where they were storing the pipes and equipment for the work.

It is hard to tell when the work will be finished. Public work projects like this seem to take a long time to complete here. For instance, the pipes in the picture have been sitting there for 2 weeks now and I haven’t seen anyone working in that time. However, when it is completed, it will mean a lot less contamination and pollution from poorly-made baños (bathrooms). Many (if not most) bathrooms in our neighborhood are outhouses. Some are barely standing with an old blanket or cloth of some kind as a door. Here is a picture of one of the better outhouses in the neighborhood:

When it rains, especially with the torrential rains during the summer, you can smell sewage as you walk down the street or dig into the wet earth. I don’t know how our neighbors will go about getting hooked into the sewer lines or even if they will be able to afford to. But this is certainly a step forward.

These things remind me of how blessed we are back in the U.S. Yes, there are still people living like this in the U.S. but not you or I. I appreciate little things now like a single electric heater to keep me warm (kind of) when it is in the 30s. I appreciate blankets, hot water and shoes without holes. I appreciate a solid front door to keep out rain and wind. I am paying more attention to the little blessings of God.