We had a remodel of 2 houses affected by the earthquake of a few months ago. WE were there while the miners were trapped, found alive and eventually rescued which was awesome. The family we build for had a sick child who could not come home from the hospital until we upgraded the house. WE added walls where there were sheets and painted and floored cement floors. A remodel can be harder than construction. The couple from Ireland were my favorite. I enjoyed my roommates this time and it was a great trip. I brought Jerardo a Sounders soccer jersey and he made me dinner in my hotel. The city is beautiful, I hope I can come back to Chile.

The build in Trier near Auckland was special as I was able to see my exchange student of 15 years ago Therese Nable Suvula who is now married with 2 boys. IT was so great to see her and know she is happy having moved from the Philippines to New Zealand.

The group is again diverse, many just out of college, and the Bain boys who were spoiled MBA students. The couple who led the group from Florida were very warm. We had a “stick” wood build for a family who are Maori and the father was HIV positive, they had a child who was not thankfully. The build site was modern, the house lovely and I got to put on the roof and insulation! loved the area and hope to come back someday.

Our hotel is lovely but the bus ride to the site is an hour away. The site is a coastal community that was devastated by a tsunami. We are building or repairing 6 houses in a self contained community of fishermen and families. The amazing thing is this community is not poor because of the fishing. The men fish, give a fish to each family per day, the rest are sold in the nearby market. The money is “managed” by a group of women who determine the needs of each family. Microfinancing at its most basic.

The kids are always around laughing and getting into trouble, one steals my shirt. Still the people are so hospitable and they give us a going away party like I have never seen before, dressing us in Sari’s and beads and doing our makeup and making us the stars of the village.This was one of the best HAbitats ever.

The build is mud brick and the location very remote. It is a muslum country and it is Ramadan while we are here. I am here with Jean Ann French, and 18 other people ranging in age from college graduate to 60 year old Canadian. The group is diverse and cliques soon form. We are living in a big house all together near the capital city. The build is about 30 miles away by bus.

The people are curious why we are here, the males particularly watch the females work and wonder why we do it. I enjoy having the kids around and having them help us. We build 4 houses for needy families.  It is by far the most unusual country I have ever been to with Habitat.

Going to Turkmenistan after was also amazing. The country is dedicated to the previous leader who spent all his money on buildings and statues of himself made of gold. I could not go anywhere without a guide, fortunately my guide was awesome. One day he took me to a family wedding that was incredible. The flea market was awesome, they sold camels!

It was the last trip for Jean Ann and myself, bittersweet but incredible experience.

We are doing a wood construction of a 4 plex and mostly working outside in the snow. We are framing windows and plastering and putting in sheet rock, and working on scaffolding much to the fear of some of the women. Me I love it. We have a nice hotel, but the worksite is primitive. The assistants are wonderful and keep us entertained. I am so lucky to be a part of HAbitat for Humanity here.

We plan to take a 3 week trip around Eastern Europe after the build. Four of us in a rental car will go to prague, bratislava, poland, and end up in vienna, the trip was amazing and the borders easy to cross, though many people were amazed we were travelling without a man!

The build is brick and mud construction and the weather is hot, 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity. I am so happy to be sharing this experience with my son. I think everyone should take their 16 year old on an experience like this one with HAbitat to show them how the rest of the world lives and get them away from video games!

LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY THE BREATHS YOU TAKE

BUT BY THE PLACES YOU GO THAT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY

Chaing Mai, Thailand

Spring 2003

My introduction to Global Village came from my friend Jean Ann French. She was a student in my Marketing class at City University in Seattle, WA. I was recently divorced after 24 years of marriage and looking for an adventure. She was leading a trip to Thailand and asked me to join the team.

Global Village is the international arm of Habitat for Humanity which also operates in the U.S.A. Started by Millard Fillmore and popularized by Jimmy Carter who still participates in builds today. You sign up for a group, depending on time and place you want to go. You meet at a designated airport many strangers. You are guided by a local leader and also by local construction managers who teach you all you need to know to help build a house for a poor family. Often the construction is bricks and mortar you  mix yourself, sometimes it is wood construction depending on the location. You pay your own airfare, and a small stipend to Habitat and usually stay in decent hotels and meals are provided. You work Monday to Friday 8-5 in the village with the people who will be living in the new house. You get to know the family and the other people in the village. The local Habitat affiliates are instrumental in integrating you into the local culture. You take excursions on the weekend to local sights. You may travel on your own prior to or after the 2 week experience. For more information see habitatforhumanity.org/globalvillage.

The first trip we met the group in Bangkok and spent the day in the city. A hugh metropolis filled with exciting tastes and smells. They have a night market where everything is available for sale. They have food on the streets that smells so good, but Americans are probably not going to be able to eat them without consequences! The first days you get to know the others in your team. This team was mostly younger people, 20-30 year olds from Canada, California, Michigan, Hong Kong…people from all over the world and all walks of life sign up for these adventures.

We travelled to Chaing Mai in Northern Thailand and spent our first day in the village on Monday. We were building a small home for a mother and daughter, only a 2 room place, as it was part of a larger compound where the family met in one house to cook and use the bathroom. The mother cooked lunch for us each day and the daughter helped with the work on the house.

This was my first Habitat but it was Jean Ann”s 5th adventure so I took her lead. We became fast friends and still travel together to this day. I really enjoyed the hard work in the heat and humidity. It somehow humbles you to work that hard for someone who has so much less. We looked forward to the good meals everyday and the conversation with the locals.

In the evenings we would go to the night market in town. Eat meals together and talk about our lives. I always enjoy the energy of youth. On the weekend we visited temples and learned more about Easterm culture, religion and customs. It helped having a couple of people from Hong Kong with us to explain rituals such as shaking sticks. This ritual is done in a temple, you shake a tin filled with sticks, each with a number on it. Once one stick falls out you read the number and then go to a drawer filled with wishes and pick the drawer that corresponds with the number for your fortune. My fortune was quite good, you will be successful in whatever you try, but my friend had a bad fortune and was shook up for days.

We purchased silk and paintings from the locals and even bought carved horses from the local women who painted them to make money for their village.

The last day when we had completed the roof and door for the house for our family was most touching. I stood in the doorway with the daughter before the dedication ceremony that Habitat always performs to bless the house for the family. I welcomed her to her new home and she started to cry. I thanked her for her help and told her how grateful I was for this experience at this time in my life. She said she couldnt believe Americans would take their vacation time to help her family. I told her it was a priviledge.

This trip came at a time in my life when I needed something new after a sad divorce. I vowed to return to these trips as often as possible to renew my spirit and contribute to the world in some small way. It took a few years, but I did take my second trip, to Ecuador with my son in 2007….stay tuned.