I'm hot.I'm dirty. I'm covered in sweat. What a great day I had. :)
All team members were present and accounted for at breakfast this morning which means that my lost sheep had arrived. He took a taxi from Chennai at midnight last night and made the trip in just under 2 hours vs the 3.5 hour ride we had during the traffic of day time.
After a lovely breakfast with SOOOOO much variety I could barely decide what to have we were off for a 40 minute ride to the build site. I still haven't managed to catch the name of the village we are in but I know I will soon. The ride out is nice and we pass a number of rice fields along the way, a coconut grove and got to see about 100 cranes hanging out. You can see the water as well during one point of the trip but we actually build about 2km away from the sea.
Our arrival was a big event for the community as we are the first Habitat team to ever build there. There were village officials, funding partners and members of the community out for our arrival. The homes will be owned by the women and it is a womens group that helped put together the project so we all feel very proud to be involved in this event and to have the ability to help these women acheive some equality in the home. I was given my lei of flowers by the head of the village. It is only proper in India for the head of one organization to be greeted by the head of another organization. I think it is also good for the men of the community to see me as the leader of the team, I'm sure the women see it as a good thing.
The children threw flowers at us which made everyone laugh and smile. One girl didn't want to part with all the petals they had piled on the place and started to cry. We had a welcome ceremony in the tent which is to be our haven for the next two weeks--providing shelter from the HOT sun. Then a quick look at one of the homes that we would be replacing. We met the family who would be moving into the home, 2 sons and the mother. One of the sons is an electrician and the other a mason. The eldest, the electrician worked with us all day. He was a dynamo and never stopped. Once the house is completed he will be able to get married and live there with his wife so he is very keen to work hard and fast. There were a number of jokes made from our team on not rushing cause it wouldn't be as much fun as he is thinking. LOL. We didn't say that to him--it is a very big occasion for him and will be a good thing for the family.
Once again I spent my first day in India digging holes. At the spot I was working we dug three holes and didn't manage to finish any of them. They are bigger than before, 5 feet by 5 feet by 5 feet deep. They had to keep stopping us because they would add water to the hole to help soften the clay. With absolutely no shade over head it was a very hot day. The other half of my team was working on another home and while they got to work under the shade of a palm tree they had to deal with a hill of fire ants where they needed to dig--so both sub-teams had their issues.
I keep a paper diary as I go and update the blog when I have time. Unfortunately you won't get any pictures until I return.
Here's Thursday last week moving forward:
My shuttle arrives at 5:30am for my 8:30am flight to Brussels. UGH. I wonder if I need to check in when I arrive in Brussels--better check. Some people should not be in the service industry. The 'nice' man at the front desk of the hotel was cranky with me for not answering my phone--the 5am wake up. He started calling as I was locking the door. Oh well. How Paris! Within minutes my shuttle arrive and was there early! and we were off ot the airport. There were no line ups and the whole thing went pretty smooth. I made my connection in Brussels and as my bag was tagged for Chennai I can only assume it will find me later today.
There is now just over one hour to go on this 9.5 hour flight. My hip is sore, I'm dehydrated, I need to pee but my belly is full and overall the flight has been good. Within 15 minutes of my arrival I should be re-united with an old pal/team member. She has been travelling for 2 straight days and must be exhausted. I wonder if we can arrange for massages tomorrow. I've fnished both books I brought with me. I left the first at the hotel in Paris and will be leaving the second one on the plane. Sorry Shannon--I owe you a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was GREAT and I can't wait to read the second one when I get back to PEI. So I will need to find a book now inChennai to read over the next couple weeks. Who was I kidding when I was only brought 2 books-but taking more means extra weight to drag around. Ok--more tv before we land.
The last 20 minutes of a flight are the longest. You are almost at your destination and all you can do now is figet. It isn't just me. You can see it in a lot of people, the restlessness. Is it because suddenly you are almost there? That you can't stand? I think its a combination of things.
India at night is dark when flying in compared to North America where orange lights highlight each road and house--here in Indiacities are bright but the spaces between seem darker. In my opinion.
******
It's Friday. Just back from supper. It was a really great meal at Daksin which is located at the Sheraton. It was worth every rupee--all 3500 of them--plus our ride there and back for a grand total of 3900 rupees. Which btw is still under $100--for both of us.
We ordered the thali which is essentially a set meal, like a table d'hote. One veg one non-veg. They started us with different breads and sauces them some fried appies. You could watch them making and frying them--yummy. There was soup which was a bit spicy but delish. The main meal which was served in 6 or 7 little silver dishes. 1. chicken, 2. fish, 3 mutton, 4 radish, 5 spincah, 6 dahl, 7...I forget already. Plus plain yoghurt, flavoured rice and a sauce. It was all you can eat which we didn't know at first but it didn't matter we couldn't finish what we had. Pistachio ice cream and coffee for dessert. The coffee according to RSC was pretty good. 3 gentlemen played music the whole time and it was a great way to spend the evening. Now with a full belly, I'm off to sleep.
*****
Saturday we didn't do much in Chennai. RSC was feeling the effects of jet lag and we hung out in the room napping and chatting. One of the other team members joined in the afternoon. Supper was at the hotel and it was very nice. In the next few hours I am expecting 5 more team members. They should arrive between 1am and 5am....I hope to be asleep.
******
Sunday morning and shortly after awakening there was a knock at the door --2 very awake and perky team members. Hugs all around. I was very happy to see them and said I would see them for breakfast. When I got to the restaurant shortly after there was another member of the team there and within a few more minutes the others had joined. Intros were made and we were off to a good start. Check out went fine and we boarded the bus to the airport. 3 members of the team were to arrive at 9:30am. The decision was made to head over see if we could meet them and head out. Two were found shortly after our arrival and within another 5 minutes the 11th. The 12th person was still in the US waiting for his flight to leave.
(I had to pay 60 rupees to go into the airport to meet them--only in India?!)
We boarded the bus and headed to Pondicherry. Approx 150km and 3.5 hour drive. It went quite well and people either napped or chatted amongst themselves on the two busses.
That basically brings you up to date from my first post. I will try over the next couple of days to tell you about the orientation meeting and the first day at the build site....both were great.
I'm not really tired (yet), and I've showered so I'm clean, but a few minutes ago I was hot, tired, dirty and sweaty--a very appealing combination. It's amazing the power of a shower.
For those of you who were with me for the first trip to India you know how I spent my first day at the build site--I dug a hole. Guess what--I dug another one. Well, my sub team worked on 3 during our short day. The temperatures are much higher this time and we have no shelter so the work was slow...but we made good progress.
It's almost 7:30pm in Pondicherry and I'm hungry. Supper starts in 15 minutes--gotta go.
Thanks for hanging in with me.
All team members were present and accounted for at breakfast this morning which means that my lost sheep had arrived. He took a taxi from Chennai at midnight last night and made the trip in just under 2 hours vs the 3.5 hour ride we had during the traffic of day time.
After a lovely breakfast with SOOOOO much variety I could barely decide what to have we were off for a 40 minute ride to the build site. I still haven't managed to catch the name of the village we are in but I know I will soon. The ride out is nice and we pass a number of rice fields along the way, a coconut grove and got to see about 100 cranes hanging out. You can see the water as well during one point of the trip but we actually build about 2km away from the sea.
Our arrival was a big event for the community as we are the first Habitat team to ever build there. There were village officials, funding partners and members of the community out for our arrival. The homes will be owned by the women and it is a womens group that helped put together the project so we all feel very proud to be involved in this event and to have the ability to help these women acheive some equality in the home. I was given my lei of flowers by the head of the village. It is only proper in India for the head of one organization to be greeted by the head of another organization. I think it is also good for the men of the community to see me as the leader of the team, I'm sure the women see it as a good thing.
The children threw flowers at us which made everyone laugh and smile. One girl didn't want to part with all the petals they had piled on the place and started to cry. We had a welcome ceremony in the tent which is to be our haven for the next two weeks--providing shelter from the HOT sun. Then a quick look at one of the homes that we would be replacing. We met the family who would be moving into the home, 2 sons and the mother. One of the sons is an electrician and the other a mason. The eldest, the electrician worked with us all day. He was a dynamo and never stopped. Once the house is completed he will be able to get married and live there with his wife so he is very keen to work hard and fast. There were a number of jokes made from our team on not rushing cause it wouldn't be as much fun as he is thinking. LOL. We didn't say that to him--it is a very big occasion for him and will be a good thing for the family.
Once again I spent my first day in India digging holes. At the spot I was working we dug three holes and didn't manage to finish any of them. They are bigger than before, 5 feet by 5 feet by 5 feet deep. They had to keep stopping us because they would add water to the hole to help soften the clay. With absolutely no shade over head it was a very hot day. The other half of my team was working on another home and while they got to work under the shade of a palm tree they had to deal with a hill of fire ants where they needed to dig--so both sub-teams had their issues.
I keep a paper diary as I go and update the blog when I have time. Unfortunately you won't get any pictures until I return.
Here's Thursday last week moving forward:
My shuttle arrives at 5:30am for my 8:30am flight to Brussels. UGH. I wonder if I need to check in when I arrive in Brussels--better check. Some people should not be in the service industry. The 'nice' man at the front desk of the hotel was cranky with me for not answering my phone--the 5am wake up. He started calling as I was locking the door. Oh well. How Paris! Within minutes my shuttle arrive and was there early! and we were off ot the airport. There were no line ups and the whole thing went pretty smooth. I made my connection in Brussels and as my bag was tagged for Chennai I can only assume it will find me later today.
There is now just over one hour to go on this 9.5 hour flight. My hip is sore, I'm dehydrated, I need to pee but my belly is full and overall the flight has been good. Within 15 minutes of my arrival I should be re-united with an old pal/team member. She has been travelling for 2 straight days and must be exhausted. I wonder if we can arrange for massages tomorrow. I've fnished both books I brought with me. I left the first at the hotel in Paris and will be leaving the second one on the plane. Sorry Shannon--I owe you a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was GREAT and I can't wait to read the second one when I get back to PEI. So I will need to find a book now inChennai to read over the next couple weeks. Who was I kidding when I was only brought 2 books-but taking more means extra weight to drag around. Ok--more tv before we land.
The last 20 minutes of a flight are the longest. You are almost at your destination and all you can do now is figet. It isn't just me. You can see it in a lot of people, the restlessness. Is it because suddenly you are almost there? That you can't stand? I think its a combination of things.
India at night is dark when flying in compared to North America where orange lights highlight each road and house--here in Indiacities are bright but the spaces between seem darker. In my opinion.
******
It's Friday. Just back from supper. It was a really great meal at Daksin which is located at the Sheraton. It was worth every rupee--all 3500 of them--plus our ride there and back for a grand total of 3900 rupees. Which btw is still under $100--for both of us.
We ordered the thali which is essentially a set meal, like a table d'hote. One veg one non-veg. They started us with different breads and sauces them some fried appies. You could watch them making and frying them--yummy. There was soup which was a bit spicy but delish. The main meal which was served in 6 or 7 little silver dishes. 1. chicken, 2. fish, 3 mutton, 4 radish, 5 spincah, 6 dahl, 7...I forget already. Plus plain yoghurt, flavoured rice and a sauce. It was all you can eat which we didn't know at first but it didn't matter we couldn't finish what we had. Pistachio ice cream and coffee for dessert. The coffee according to RSC was pretty good. 3 gentlemen played music the whole time and it was a great way to spend the evening. Now with a full belly, I'm off to sleep.
*****
Saturday we didn't do much in Chennai. RSC was feeling the effects of jet lag and we hung out in the room napping and chatting. One of the other team members joined in the afternoon. Supper was at the hotel and it was very nice. In the next few hours I am expecting 5 more team members. They should arrive between 1am and 5am....I hope to be asleep.
******
Sunday morning and shortly after awakening there was a knock at the door --2 very awake and perky team members. Hugs all around. I was very happy to see them and said I would see them for breakfast. When I got to the restaurant shortly after there was another member of the team there and within a few more minutes the others had joined. Intros were made and we were off to a good start. Check out went fine and we boarded the bus to the airport. 3 members of the team were to arrive at 9:30am. The decision was made to head over see if we could meet them and head out. Two were found shortly after our arrival and within another 5 minutes the 11th. The 12th person was still in the US waiting for his flight to leave.
(I had to pay 60 rupees to go into the airport to meet them--only in India?!)
We boarded the bus and headed to Pondicherry. Approx 150km and 3.5 hour drive. It went quite well and people either napped or chatted amongst themselves on the two busses.
That basically brings you up to date from my first post. I will try over the next couple of days to tell you about the orientation meeting and the first day at the build site....both were great.
I'm not really tired (yet), and I've showered so I'm clean, but a few minutes ago I was hot, tired, dirty and sweaty--a very appealing combination. It's amazing the power of a shower.
For those of you who were with me for the first trip to India you know how I spent my first day at the build site--I dug a hole. Guess what--I dug another one. Well, my sub team worked on 3 during our short day. The temperatures are much higher this time and we have no shelter so the work was slow...but we made good progress.
It's almost 7:30pm in Pondicherry and I'm hungry. Supper starts in 15 minutes--gotta go.
Thanks for hanging in with me.
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