We knew we'd need help. We've got some tough women on our crew, but getting four hundred pounds of steel up on the roof and in place three times just wasn't going to happen.
Our House Leader Vaj (who's been great by the way) kept nosing around and advocating for us and finally she struck gold. You could practically hear the Thai Cavalry sound as a group of young Thai men appeared on the scene and just took over.
They reminded me of the car full of clowns that roars in at the circus and tumbles out of the tiny car, calling and squawking in their own language as they run amok. But in this case, they had a very real mission.
They hauled in the first truss, which is a challenge not just because of the weight, but also because of the obstacles in and around the house - like scaffolding that had to be there so we could be at the top ready to receive the truss.
It was just a riot to watch them - and hear them work. They were all yelling at each other at once, apparently giving each other directions like "move left" or "stop", but because they were all constantly calling, it sounded like the were arguing - and I'm sure sometimes they were, as they maneuvered the huge piece in, around and above things.
Vaj was getting quite frustrated because she had a clear idea of how this process should be done, but they had their own way, and with the language barrier, and the fact that she was heavily outnumbered, she had little impact. You can see her in the foreground here.
It was a big challenge, but eventually we got all three trussed up and in place. If you look closely, you can see me up in this shot, helping to hold the piece in place while the guys put the bolts in.
Eventually, and after much stress and noise, we got the three trusses up. Then the crossbars had to go in place. Vaj originally thought we'd just get the guys to do the initial pieces and then let us take over - communication was too tough with them, even though we had an interpeter there. These guys didn't really want to listen to anyone.
But finally Vaj gave in and let them just keep on going. It was incredible to see them scurry up and down the scaffolds, leaping from
one to the other and standing in precarious positions to get the job done.
And then when , the trusses and crossbars were all in place, our team of Thai heroes posed for a quic
k picture with Vaj. And with as much noise and mayhem, the left, ready to take on their next challenge, but leaving us with a roof, ready to be tiled!One other quick story before I finish for now. I met a woman called Sonia Street from Baltimore. She's been on 17 Jimmy Carter builds. But that's notg the thing that makes her memorable. Just over 17 years ago, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter came to Baltimore and helped her build her own home. Ever since, she's been going on builds, mostly in the US. She went to Korea a few years ago and she's in Thailand now.
And next year, she's hoping Jimmy and Rosalynn will come back to her house - so they can be there when she makes her last mortgage payment. Okay, what else is there to say?
