BUILD, BUILD, BUILD!

I need to recap. The days are just going by so fast and we are doing so much. The house I am working on is making progress. In fact, we are one day ahead of schedule. The foundation was already placed and we worked on completing the basement. The outline was dug, filled with granite and random rubble, then filled with dirt/mud and finally another layer of rocks, but done in a more structured way. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life. Throughout the whole day, I think of Dad. He must be turning in his grave! I hated going to Home Depot with him. I hated working out in the yard or helping with anything that resembled construction. And now, it’s my choice to do it…and I have to say, I love it!
The family is wonderful. We are working in a Muslim community. The homeowner’s name is Pyari. Her husband’s name is Mohammed and the eldest daughter is Ruksana Banu. She is going to school to become a tailor. Once this house is built, her parents can then find a suitable groom for their daughter.

It’s now March 11th. There is no Internet connection so I’m just writing in hopes that I can post this soon. I am starting to fall sick, but going to push through it and continue working. Last night was “Indian” night. We drove back to the site where we have lunch, Nagalahari Center. The tent was decorated in purple, gold, red, pink, white, and green. The meal was absolutely delicious, especially the paani puri, bhel puri and chaat station! Katie, a volunteer from Portland, Oregon passed on dinner and ate 21 paani puris! Aside from dinner, there were two vendors selling their Kashmiri handicrafts and an up and coming female designer who intends to hire underprivileged women to help her produce her designs. Part of their proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity India. After dinner, we had one dance performance, the Northern Ireland team sang an old Irish song, Home site number 5 sang a cute little song in Kannada (I love you, do you love me), and then two of the house leaders, John and Bunty, accompanied by D.J. on the dholak (drum) sang a pseudo-bhajan! It was a great evening! We headed back to the hotel for Ladies Night at the Ultra Violet Lounge. In India, it doesn’t mean the same thing. We walked in and realized that ladies night meant one free “mocktail”! We were so bummed. So instead, we ordered a few Kingfishers and called a night.

It’s about 7AM now and it’s time for breakfast. My home site is going to start laying blocks today! So exciting! At lunch, we have a speaker that will discuss women’s rights in India. And tonight is Bollywood night! There will be henna, food (Indian of course), and DJ and a dance floor! Can’t wait to bust a move☺

10PM
Just returned from the Bollywood party at the hotel. It was so fun! We had henna artists and tons of food: butter chicken, palak paneer, fresh naan, daal, and so much mithai! The DJ played lots of Bollywood music, but enough top 40 to keep everyone on the dance floor.

So more about the workday: We continued with the basement until the afternoon. At lunch, we had a speaker discuss women’s rights and land issues here in India. It was a great talk. I will post his talks later. After lunch, we completed the first layer of cement bricks. It was a satisfying feeling to see the actual outlines of the room. The last half hour we spent with the family, sitting in what will be their living room. Pyari, Mohammed, and their two younger daughters, Yasmin and Hajida Banu served us fresh pineapple slices with salt and chili…it was delicious! Then we had an opportunity to ask them questions and they in turn asked us. We discussed their children, how they felt about us helping with their home, etc. They are so appreciative of our assistance. They feel very proud knowing that people from so many parts of the world are assisting in building them a home. They now know that they can find a suitable groom for their older daughter. It’s an amazing feeling to know that complete strangers from all over the world have come together to make a community better. It’s very moving.