Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Work--South America, Part 4
Freezing temperatures were one thing, but there was no one willing to work under drippy skies.
Instead, we spent our first official build day visiting an orphanage and meeting the family we were there to help.
The kids at the orphanage were amazing. So cute and friendly. Older kids helped with the little ones. Everyone seemed happy. These kids have nothing but each other and a roof over their heads, and yet they smiled and laughed and played games and were oblivious to the fact that there was anything about their situation that might warrant an outsider's pity.
Which is why I was shocked and a little worried when our local Habitat worker, Claudia, grabbed me by the arm and said, "We HAVE to leave NOW." She ushered us out the door before we had the chance to ask questions. I thought something must have happened or some important and official person was about to show up or something.
Emily, our retiree, was hungry.
Yeah.
So after a lovely lunch at the home of our nice driver, Miguel, we dashed off to visit the Flores family and see the place they are currently living. I'm pretty sure their entire apartment is the size of my bedroom, bathroom, and semi-walk-in closet.
That was all the motivation we needed to get to work first thing on Monday morning.
And for most of Monday and Tuesday, we lined up to haul rocks, buckets of dirt and sand, and hundreds of pounds of bricks up an 6-foot hill to the actual site. It was tedious and exhausting, and I ended up with what I believe was a sinus infection after four straight hours of inhaling brick dust.
But it felt great. Every muscle in my arms reintroduced itself to me. I learned that I really CAN do ten more reps at the gym when I think I can't possibly lift anymore. And when we broke for meals and finally went to sleep at night, I felt like I had really earned it.
I can't remember a time when I've worked as hard.
The tasks were different on Wednesday. Well into construction and seeing the beginning of walls above the foundation, the team divided. Some mixed cement, while others got to use the cement to help reinforce the foundation and the bottom of the walls. I got to fill the floor in with buckets and buckets of dirt. I did a lot of hoeing that day. Kristina Pulsipher would be proud.
Some of us took a little respite on Thursday and Friday for an excursion to the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow.
But on Saturday, we returned, ready to finish as much as humanly possible. We worked hard, but the house we were building was just too big to get done in one week. And since we lost one of our 5 building days to rain, there was only so much we could do. In the end, we felt proud of our efforts and we're very excited to see the pictures of the finished house. Which should be any day now!
Was the work fun? I'm not going to lie. It wasn't. It was hard. But did we manage to have fun while doing it? Absolutely. Like I said yesterday, it's all about attitude and the people you're with. For the most part, none of us complained. No one tried to get out of working or did any less than anyone else.
So would I do it again? It took a week of recovering before I could say this honestly, but, yes. I would do it again and I'm already starting to peek at some opportunities for next year. We'll see what happens.
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Yes! I would be proud. I'm sure you made an excellent ho(er).
ReplyDeleteGood job! I can't wait to see pictures of the finished house!
ReplyDeleteMy muscles got tired just reading about this, but it would be rewarding.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds exhausting and fabulous! I'm in awe at this incredible experience you've had.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I remember when Hubster came home from his first local HFH build. He was sore, and tired, and blistered, but I've never seen such a big grin. I want to be envious, but right now it just sounds exhausting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great and rewarding thing to do.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful experience. You are really living a full life, this is fantastic. So nice to start getting to know you...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! What wonderful, meaningful work!!
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