Sorry about the delay in writing about the final day of the build. Once it was over, I started acting like a tourist and online time has been limited.
So … I woke up on Friday morning and had a feeling of panic and sadness. This was the last day of the build. Clearly, the house was not going to be finished, and so I felt panic that we had to get as much done as possible, and sadness that I wouldn’t be there to see the completed home.
Kris took this picture of me at the entrance o
f the build site – the last time we’d take that long walk from the buses to the site.
Iwalked through the neighbourhood – noting that it was now looking like a neighbourhood. When we first arrived, there were only foundations and a few rows of blocks. It was a construction site and could have been anything. Now, you could look down a street and see homes where people would soon be living. It was the first of many warm feelings I felt that day.
The next came when we arrived at our home and discovered that Sriwilai and Manop were not the only members of the family on the site – they’d brought their two b
oys - Peerawit 12 and Yochuwa, 8. Seeing
them work on the 
home was truly heartwarming sight. And knowing that soon they’d be living in this home in this community made me feel that we’d really accomplished something worthwhile, It was great to see them pitching in. Clearly they knew how important this was.
The big buzz first thing in the morning was that we had to get the front of the houses cleaned up because JC was coming. We’d been told that Jimmy and Rosalynn would be going to each house to have a photo taken with the crew and homeowners, and we had to be ready for that.
But we still had lots of work to do, and we didn’t want to just hang around doing nothing. So we continued working away until we got the word that they were moments away. There was lots of scurrying and preparation so that Jimmy and Rosalynn wouldn’t have to waste any time. We were set up in a group, with a gap where the two of them would stand, and we sat until the dynamic duo arrived along with the photographer.
We’d been told that we weren’t supposed to take pictures, but I
managed to get this shot surreptitiously. Eventually, I’ll get a copy of the picture with Jimmy, but this is as good as it gets now.
When they arrived, they devoted all their attention to the homeowners – which is as it should be. Jimmy’s all about the end result – we’re not there for any glory, we’re there to get the job done.
Unfortunately, he and Rosalynn are getting on so they weren’t able to work as much on the houses as they normally would, but when they’re working they’re working, not posing for photos or playing celebrity. Jimmy gets it.
The photographer snapped one photo and they
were on to the next house. I hope I didn’t blink!
Then we got back to work, trying to get the house as close to finished as we could. Only the shell would be completed. After we leave,
more volunteers will come and finish up – painting, putting up a wall inside that partitions off part of the house, installing the plumbing and setting up the electrical. They’ll be compact but efficient little homes, complete with Air Conditioning, which we all know they’re going to need!
So we got done what we could. The
fascia had to be put up – that’s me up there with Abby and a friend or relative of Sriwilai’s.
The stuff was very hard, so we had to drill holes in
to it before we could get the screws in. This is not my forte.
Eventually I let others take that job over and after learning the process from Amy and Liz, Victoria and I started putting in windows. What a great feeling that was – to install a finishing touch like windows, which we knew they’d use every day. The design of them was quite simple and together with Jackie and Abby, we were able to install all the windows by the end of the day. That was so cool!
The work continued until we heard music approaching, and suddenly there was a parade winding through the streets. It was
so beautiful, it brought another lump to my throat – once again, they were so appreciative of what we were all doing. There was such a sense of joy bubbling up in the whole community.
As the afternoon drew on, Vajra kept letting us know how much time we had
until the “dedication”. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but finally, when we’d done as much as we could before going to the closing ceremonies, we all gathered in front of the house and we formally presented the house to Sriwilai and Manop and their sons.
It was incredibly emotional for everyone as we 
realized that from this point on, this home was theirs. Those boys were going
to grow up here, knowing that it had been built by people who, earlier that week had been total strangers. What a meaningful message about
the power of people to help each other.
Sriwilai talked about what the week and the house meant to her and their family. And then she presented each of us with a gift of a fabric bag made in the traditional way of her people – there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
We hung around talking about how wonderful it was and how much we’d enjoyed working together as a team. I think we didn’t really want to leave the house. Chances are we’ll never see it – or that family - again.
We took pictures of each other and hugged and finally left our little house and went to the big tent where the closing ceremonies were happening.
We were pretty sure that Jimmy wouldn’t be there, since he’d made his big appearance in the morning. But we were wrong. And as we approached the tent, it was clear we were hearing the last part of his speech. Vajra apologized for keeping us so late that we missed Jimmy and I said, “What we were just doing at the house was way more important.” And it was. And Jimmy would’ve been the first to say so.
The closing ceremonies were fun. After Jimmy’s speech, a dignitary from Chiang Mai introduced the entertainment, which started with
another Thai tradition. Throughout the tent, Thai men stood up and pointed golden cylinders into the air. On cue,
they set them off, blasting thousands
of curly, colourful papers into the air. It was another memorable sight as the brightly coloured papers showered down onto us.
More Thai dancers and entertainment continued as we ate our final meal in the big tent and finally said our goodbyes to our team members.
When we got back to the hotel, I met up with a few people who were sitting in the bar. A couple of women said they were going to get a foot massage. That sounded like an awfully fine idea, and before long there were six of us trooping next door
and getting mass foot massages. Yet another great Thai tradition! It was much more than a foot massage and lasted for over an hour - all for about $12!!!
And from this point on, this was the kind of Thai lifestyle we were going to engage in.
Stay tuned for more traveling adventures.
