Moving Bricks
On the afternoon of the first day, eight of us were tasked with moving a large pile of bricks from the dirt road into several rooms of a half built house. It became clear that teamwork was going to be our strongest ally in achieving this goal. Within minutes we had organized ourselves into various roles and over the next few hours honed and perfected our brick-moving process all through the power of communication, flexibility, and hard work. And laughter. We had so much fun that our fellow volunteers working on the roof that day surely had to be jealous of the amount of laughter that came from our group. And if that didn’t get their attention, we tried our best to rub it in with our team huddle shout outs of “Masons!” The final hour of work was our finest moment. Under the leadership of Foreman Hoa and fueled by Turbo Kyle working the dragon head of the brick pile, we raced against the clock and successfully moved every last brick. I felt proud to be part of such a great team.
Picking Tangerines
During the afternoon on the second day, we helped pick tangerines for one of the village families. After lunch, we took a short walk out of the village and made our way up the mountainside, which was dotted with lush tangerine trees bursting with fruit. After a quick lesson on how to properly pick the fruit, without harming the integrity of the branch, we scampered up the steep hills of the orchard, armed with clippers and baskets, and began tackling the trees. As I moved from tree to tree and soaked up the extraordinary countryside spread out before me, I had one of those all too rare moments in life where I felt like I was glowing from the inside out with happiness. Gratitude surged through me. How lucky am I?! Sometimes it is the simple things in life that helps put things into perspective.
Hot Springs
On New Year’s Eve, we were treated to an afternoon at the Bushuiwan Hot Springs near Conghua. The resort had the most amazing assortment of spas and pools that I have ever laid my eyes on. A few of the ones I sampled were the Wine, Coffee, Tea, and Rose pools which all smelled and looked like wine, coffee, tea and roses. We ran around the resort like kids on a school field trip trying various health pools, fish spas, pools of ice and fire, waterfall/rushing water baths, and even watched a show at the main pool complete with dancing, singing, and acrobatics. As we pool-hopped, the staff worked overtime to offer us fresh towels, sunhats, an assortment of free drinks such as water, tea, or soda and even free cigarettes!! Yes, you read that correctly. Boxes of free cigarettes were the centerpieces on all the tables at the cafe. Two other highlights for me was an $8 back/shoulder massage and getting a cucumber facial while lying in a sun patch on a reclining chair. Pure bliss!
New Year’s Eve Karaoke and Fireworks
A few of the guys really outdid themselves and helped organize a fantastic NYE celebration for us. They found a karaoke bar one night on their ramble around town and reserved a room for us. This was my first time of doing karaoke in the traditional manner with your own private room. We were given snacks of chicken feet, dried fruit, calamari, and tangerines. Armed with courage from the buckets of Harbin beer, everyone sang and danced to songs from the limited library of music. Biggest surprises of the evening: Paul busting out some serious singing and dance moves and all the guys singing to Backstreet Boys at full volume without having to read the lyrics. We rang in the New Year along the river setting off a slightly dodgy, definitely dangerous box of 49 fireworks, Roman candles, and danced with sparkelers. 2011 certainly started off on the right foot!
My Fellow Volunteers
Without a doubt my favorite part of the build was meeting such spectacular people. I would have counted myself lucky to walk away from the experience with a few acquaintances. And feel so blessed that I made friends instead. We bonded in a way that was reminiscent of youth summer camp or the first week in the dorms. Besides having the common interest of philanthropy and the love of travel, everyone was open to meeting others, and genuinely curious about each other. Sadly as an adult, those types of encounters tend to be few and far between, so I was more than pleased by this unexpected turn of events. Above all else, everyone I met inspired me with their zest for life, their personal accomplishments, and helped light a fire under my feet; a fire that I hope will continue pushing me to do great things! Here’s hoping that our paths cross again someday soon.
Anyone up for a build in India???
YES! I will totally go to India for a build...
ReplyDeleteAmazing work! Pleasure to read
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