I see that Matt has filled you all in on the prowess of the local soccer team - they might have won... with bare feet and enormous enthusiasm, but given we were two to one I have to give Team Nepal (aka Team Tuborg) some credit. Matt's a star on the field, Jason's goal was brilliant and Dean was an awesome goal keeper, even though he's got a rather nasty gash on his foot! It was a great game.
At dinner, we each get to talk about the highs and lows of our day (and nominate a Dickhead of the day), it's a great way to debrief and as you can imagine over the last week every one of us has experienced highs we didn't think possible, along with some moments we'd rather forget.
At dinner, we each get to talk about the highs and lows of our day (and nominate a Dickhead of the day), it's a great way to debrief and as you can imagine over the last week every one of us has experienced highs we didn't think possible, along with some moments we'd rather forget.
Today we were told that unfortunately, even with children there are status differences and while we enjoyed a really fun game of soccer with a bunch of lovely local kids, the one's we're building for were not "invited" to join the others because of status. We were totally unaware of this and for most of us, this was our "low" and one we hope to turn into a "high" tomorrow.
There has been a political strike in the city today which meant that industry, public transport, taxis, and various other businesses were not operating. This was not exciting news for the team because it meant we had to walk to the outskirts of the city to meet our bus and driver. Rajeesh (our Habitat host) assured us he knew a shortcut which would only take us 20minutes. Easy peasy we thought until 20 minutes went by, then another 20 until after nearly an hour we finally found the bus! We all unanimiously awarded Rajeesh DickHead of the day - as you would!
As the houses are now nearing completion, it is just the most overwhelming feeling to know that we will shortly celebrate with these two families the fact that they both have fully completed homes to move into. They may look like small homes to us, but to these families it is everything they always dreamed about but thought they could never have.
There has been a political strike in the city today which meant that industry, public transport, taxis, and various other businesses were not operating. This was not exciting news for the team because it meant we had to walk to the outskirts of the city to meet our bus and driver. Rajeesh (our Habitat host) assured us he knew a shortcut which would only take us 20minutes. Easy peasy we thought until 20 minutes went by, then another 20 until after nearly an hour we finally found the bus! We all unanimiously awarded Rajeesh DickHead of the day - as you would!
As the houses are now nearing completion, it is just the most overwhelming feeling to know that we will shortly celebrate with these two families the fact that they both have fully completed homes to move into. They may look like small homes to us, but to these families it is everything they always dreamed about but thought they could never have.
We moved a huge pile of rocks for House A and attempted a bit of a site clean. And as Matt said in earlier blog, House B is all but completed - I think Annette may have placed the final slap of render onto the 'porch' floor. Thankfully we only made one trip for Padi (water) today which also involved another swim at the local rock pool. The kids are crazy... they just LOVE to show off to us and jump from amazing heights into relatively shallow water which makes me cringe every time. I'm talking kids as little as 5 and 6!! They are totally fearless.
We clocked off a little earlier today and headed off to "Club Turborg" for ... you guessed it, a cold beer to finish the day and another opportunity to spread some Aussie spirit amongst the locals with some true blue Aussie folk songs ... and the Chicken Dance! Hey, it wasn't MY idea, I'm blaming either Jon B or Sarah, or both! Incredibly we were once again upstaged by the kids with their dancing, singing and natural ability to entertain. Sadly, Team Nepal are somewhat lacking in all these categories but we are enthusiastic never the less and we now have spread the famous Chicken Dance as far as Nepal!
So tomorrow the roof goes on House A, along with around 80 rocks to hold the roof down. We'll also paint their doors and windows and complete any small jobs that need doing along with a bit of a tidy up.
We clocked off a little earlier today and headed off to "Club Turborg" for ... you guessed it, a cold beer to finish the day and another opportunity to spread some Aussie spirit amongst the locals with some true blue Aussie folk songs ... and the Chicken Dance! Hey, it wasn't MY idea, I'm blaming either Jon B or Sarah, or both! Incredibly we were once again upstaged by the kids with their dancing, singing and natural ability to entertain. Sadly, Team Nepal are somewhat lacking in all these categories but we are enthusiastic never the less and we now have spread the famous Chicken Dance as far as Nepal!
So tomorrow the roof goes on House A, along with around 80 rocks to hold the roof down. We'll also paint their doors and windows and complete any small jobs that need doing along with a bit of a tidy up.
And then ... WE'RE FINISHED!
Christine
