| 10.23.2007 |
| WE LAUGH, WE BUILD |
How often, when talking to friends, do I hear how they are disappointed about a vacation they had just taken because it failed to meet their expectations. They paid too much, didn’t see enough, ran out of time. So far, everything that has happened has exceeded my expectations. Having been on other build trips before, I know that a lot of physical effort is involved. However, part of the time would be spent waiting for things to do. Not here. For the second day in a row, I was thrown right into the thick of things and found myself drenched in sweat shortly. The day began with moving bricks again. According to our foreman, Sal, we were still short another 1,800 bricks. However, because he had to run around with his truck today, we were only able to move one palette. Instead, we were told to start laying down these bricks into the existing structures. The bricks are used to form the walls (no wood here, so no framing necessary) and we have to finish off the corners. We did this for the majority of the day, even when Sal had returned with the truck (much to our collective delight!)
Hendriques is standing on top of the scaffolding. He is holding a hammer and a chisel. “In South Africa, when it is 4 O’clock, this is what happens..” He proceeds to throw the tools down to the ground! The point was well taken. Even if we wanted to continue laying bricks for another 2 hours, we couldn’t. Everyone was booking out and ALL the equipment was being returned to the container to be locked up. The planks on top of the scaffolding were, literally, taken from under our feet. We were curious about how punctual workers kept time of this, coming from a society that encourages (often unpaid, in my case) overtime or extra work time. As we were walking back to our compound, we realized why this was the case. Most people that work in this area don’t live nearby. Thus, they need to catch the bus to take them home. Otherwise, they’re walking more than 10 km.
Perhaps it was the numerous weeks of pre-trip “training” that we did. Perhaps most of us are related or knew each other before this trip. But, it is definitely the glue that keeps us together. We laugh. And because we laugh, we have built some amazing bonds. Yes, I realize that it is early on into this trip but it seems like the chemistry that this team has helps us overcome things that are thrown at us. And laughter is always there.
And now, some pictures (now that I’ve discovered a more stable, high speed connection):
Here is where I lay my head down every night.
Outside of our "residences".
Where the team meets and eats.
Eww. What's that?
Lovely, a BIG African spider!
Playin' some outdoor guitar!
A nice reflection of Prayer Rock off of the guitar.
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posted @ 12:51  |
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| 1 Comments: |
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Nice pictures, and thanks for posting your experiences!
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Name:
Tim Chan
Home: Calgary, Canada
Email: duffshot at gmail dot com
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Itinerary
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10.18 - Depart Calgary
10.19 - Pass Through London
10.20 - Arrive Johannesburg
10.20 - Arrive Masoyi - Africa School of Missions
11.8 - Debrief at Ingwe Game Reserve
11.11 - Depart Johannesburg
11.12 - Pass Through Frankfurt
11.12 - Arrive Calgary |
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Map of Masoyi
Current Weather in Masoyi
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If you are interested in being a part of this journey by contributing financially, and you have a PayPal account, please click on the button. All donations are tax deductible, so please indicate your mailing address. If you don't have a PayPal account, send me an email (addy above) or leave a comment. Regardless of the amount of donations received, I will be going!
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Pre Africa Team Retreat
Trip Pictures
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Nice pictures, and thanks for posting your experiences!