Day 4: Bricks and Mortar

So today is Friday and it is our last day at our current build location.  When we first arrived we were told our goal for this week was to finish the foundation of the house and I think we are right on track.  Since we arrived at the hotel in Rach Gia we've had the same breakfast each day with slight variations...eggs, eggs and more eggs.  We decided today that we would request a more traditional breakfast and have Pho.  What a great change...I love the flavour...however at the build site we realized it might not have been such a great idea as we were all starving by 9am!!!

We headed out on our boat for the last of our trips along the river.  I am going to miss this so much next week when we will be traveling by bus.  Every day I see something new and it's such a nice way to relax on the way to the site.  No major splashes today...I think our driver was being a bit more cautious with the boat wakes this time around.  We arrived at the work site around 9:15am ready for another hot day of construction...and it was HOT!!  I've found this build to be much more exhausting than my build in India even though the temperatures were about the same, but I think what it is, is that there is almost no shade all day long.  Thank god for the conical hats we got the first day on the site.  These are warn by everyone in Vietnam and now I know why...they are an excellent way to keep the sun out of your face and neck and provide a bid of shade.

Our team broke up into two groups when we arrived.  The first group needed to finish up the concrete for the foundation from yesterday and the other half of the group started laying bricks...yiipppeee!!!  Once you start laying bricks you see what appears to be so much more progress.

I decided to finish up the foundation.  We started by mixing a batch of concrete and then started again with our chain line.  We've become very good at this after doing it for a full day yesterday....what a workout!  The rest of the team got instructions about how to lay bricks and the consistency needed for the mortar....laying brick is much more challenging than many people think.

By 10:30am, we had finally finished the foundation...right on time for break.  Breaks are always a welcomed event.  Lots of native fruit...I've decided I love their grapefruit and Vietnamese pear...I could eat them all day long. We also have a wide selection of chips and cookies...some very interesting flavours...and snacky foods.  Many days we also have homemade desserts...all very gelatinous...this has become the word of the day.   We've decided if you don't like coconut or gelatinous foods you might have some trouble living in this country.  Today we also had what I would describe as cream puffs....delicious!!!!

So after we fueled up...and had lots of water...we were ready to get to work.  Now that the foundation work was complete we all needed to start laying brick.  I was pretty excited because I have never done this before.  I was given a quick lesson and headed off with my mortar, bricks and trowel.  First of all, it was excruciatingly hot laying brick in the direct sun.  Within seconds you were dripping with sweat...very attractive I must say.  Second, I really had no idea what I was doing.  Seemed like we were putting an awful lot of mortar on the bricks, but the foremen kept coming around telling us to make them higher and "more, more"...so "more, more" we did.  We were supposed to lay the bricks in a specific pattern and also have them lined up with a plum line that was tied to two polls.  Easier said than done, but we all did our best and did a pretty good job overall.  The good thing was that if anyone was doing something wrong they would soon let you know.

The owner of the house was also helping us with the bricks and mortar today.  She would carry bundles of bricks to the areas where we were working and when we would run out of mortar she would bring us knew containers full.  This was another thing we had to make sure was right...the consistency of the mortar.  Half the time mine was too runny and I had to keep adding sand to my mixture.  Then sometimes since it was so hot out, it would start to harden a bit in the tray and it would be very difficult to mix back up...at least it seemed difficult when you had absolutely no energy left.

At noon, it was lunch time, so Ngan told us to break and made sure we all washed our hands....good thing she is around to take care of us!  Once we were all washed up we headed to the house for lunch.  Delicious noodles with vegetables today, some sort of chicken in a tangy sauce, rice (of course), melon soup and pineapple for dessert...I love the pineapple here.  I barely made it through lunch without falling asleep.  Every day after lunch we lay down for a bit of a rest, but today was the first day I actually fell asleep...out cold for a good 20 minutes.  I blame it mostly on the heat and maybe a bit of dehydration.

Semi fueled up, we all headed back to the work site around 1:15pm for another hour of brick laying.  The past couple days most of us have been very tired after lunch, so we are certainly not as productive in the afternoon as the morning, but we all do what we can.  Liz, Savina and I all decided to sign a brick and lay it in the house to mark that we were there....love this idea!

 By 2:15pm we cleaned up again and this time we had a special presentation to make.  Since this was our last day at the site, we got together with the home owner, some of the women from the local Women's Union who were helping with the food preparation, as well as some of the Habitat for Humanity Vietnam staff.  Some words of thanks we expressed...including the fact that we had no injuries on site...this brought on applause from everyone.  We then presented the home owner with a small gift from the team...a wok and spatula for her new home...as well as a framed photo of the picture we took as a group the day before.  Jennifer said a few words of thanks on our behalf of the team and some of the team members has a few words to say as well.

What a great day...and so rewarding when you get to see the expressions on the family's face when they see the beginnings of their new home.  What sometimes feels like such a small thing on our part, is in reality a tremendous gift to them that will live on for years to come.  We have made it possible for a family to have a home where their children will grow up safe and healthy.

At the end of the ceremony, we took some photos, packed up, said our goodbyes and headed for our boat.  We boarded our boat as a team for the last time and as we were heading out, one of the guys who helped out the day before...he worked incredibly hard...was on the hill waving to us.  He wanted us to take his picture, so he made all kinds of hilarious poses.   I love the people here, they are so kind and have a great sense of humour.

We all enjoyed our final trip along the river in the rush hour traffic...one time we even had a boat rub against ours as it was passing by it was so busy.  I still can't get over how much people acknowledge us when we sail by.  Almost every time people will stare, then smile and wave, and shout Hello.  One time yesterday, a few kids who where swimming started screaming they were so excited to see us.  It's an odd feeling, but we are all pretty receptive to this and wave back with a big smile and our own Hellos.  I might actually miss this when I leave Vietnam.

We arrived back at Rach Gia at about 4pm and jumped in our taxi.  While waiting for everyone to get in our cab, we noticed we were actually rolling backwards to the river and our taxi driver was standing outside.  We all started yelling...Liz and I were sure we might die if we rolled into the river since we were in the very back with no doors...and then our driver jumped in the back seat and pulled on the emergency break.  Lots of  "Oh my God's" were heard by everyone and Jennifer and I thought perhaps it wasn't a good idea to have both team leaders in the same cab....who would lead the team if we were both gone!!!  But it's not an adventure without a few exciting happenings.

Once back at the hotel, Ngan arranged for our taxi in the morning...we are heading to a nearby island for some well needed R&R this weekend...and we made arrangements to meet up for dinner at 7pm.  Tonight's meal...pizza!!!  I might even take a little jaunt through the supermarket while I'm there.  The supermarket here is quite the experience in it elf.  Once again we are a spectacle....people taking pictures, lots of stares and possibly even touching your skin.  We'll have to see what happens tonight.

Happy International Women's Day!!!

Until tomorrow....
Lisa