Day 7 – Final Day of Building!

Today was a bittersweet day as we were so excited to be done with the house, but at the same time, none of us (especially me!) wanted this trip to end. Everything has been so much fun here and working on the house has been so amazing, it was very sad to see it all end. However, dedicating the house to the homeowners was emotional and exciting.

We spent the entire day just mixing mortar and putting in the final bricks. So our only tasks of the day were to lay the bricks all the way up to the top, and around the windows, and clean up. After putting in the last brick, we cleaned up and prepared for the celebration in the evening. We were at the worksite for about 12 hours or so today, but from about 3 o'clock on, it was just celebrating.

So, fyi, the open section of the house is meant to be open like that, we didn’t forget a wall! They do that because of the type of cooking they do, they do it all outside. So the kitchen will in fact be outside. There are a few odds and ends the skill workers will have to complete, but our part as volunteers was over. And let me tell you, what a feeling it was to work on that house from beginning to end. It felt amazing.

Now, according to Thai traditions, since we worked on the house, there had to be a special dedication in order to "transfer ownership" of the house over to the homeowners. So we had a little 20 minute ceremony, and let me tell you, it was EMOTIONAL! The homeowners gave a speech and just said how grateful they were for us coming out and helping them, and how happy they were to have a house they can call their own, and they never thought they would have that happen for them. The real emotions came when our group leader Maris went up and said a few words and handed over the “key.” (Obviously metaphorical seeing as though they don’t quite need a key since there is an entire wall that will not be going up).

This was the 4th Habitat trip that Maris has been on, and she said that it was by far the best. Our group was so amazing with Teamwork, and she said we were pretty much fighting over who got to work more, and we all worked so hard and it was a pleasure to be our team leader. We all got certificates for being a volunteer, and the homeowners also gave us a little gift. (super cute aprons – which I plan on wearing when I use my new Thai cookbook!) Then we got blessed and then cut the ribbon to the house and then started the celebration.

To be honest, when were heard we were going to have to be at the worksite all day and were having the celebration there, none of us were too pumped about it. It is hot, wet, and there are so many bugs there! Not to mention the fact that our 'bathroom’ was just a squatter toilet. (not so much fun for the ladies, let me tell ya). But the people came prepared and we had a LEGENDARY party. All the people around in that village came, the skill workers stayed, and all the habitat volunteers and workers came and we sang and danced all night. Oh yes, I said sang. They set up a karaoke machine, and had music, and we just ate, drank, and danced the night away. Who knew that could all happen in the middle of nowhere?! The best part was the homeowner, who doesn’t speak a word of English was GETTING DOWN on the dance floor!! So cute to see! Everybody took a turn at karaoke (and there are videos of that, and I gotta be honest, its not pretty).

At the beginning of the evening, we also had a vote to decide the our trip’s Habitat for Humanity Hall of Fame. The categories were so funny, and all the volunteers and skill workers voted as well. And, the winners were: Miss Habitat: Maris. Mr. Habitat: Khem. Most Popular: John. Superman: Tim. Power Girl: ME!! Cutest Girl: Jen. Cutest Boy: Claudio. And Jokster: Brian. Melini gave us all costumes we had to wear all night (quite hilarious ones as you can see in the pics). And, finally we ended the evening by lighting lanterns and releasing them into the sky. (If you have ever seen the Disney movie Tangled, it was just like that and fun fact, that lantern lighting thing originated in Chiang Mai!)

Another fun thing that happened during the party was the skill workers who do not speak any English were learning random English phrases and just chanting them at the top of their lungs. They would come out to the dance floor and say “So. Much. Fun!” And just start jumping around and dancing. And my favorite thing they said as we were getting close to ending the night was they came up to us, shook our hands and with their crazy huge smiles said: “Hope. See you again!” I will admit, it did bring a little tear to my eye.

After we had all the singing and dancing we would handle at the site, we piled in our red truck for the last time and headed back to our hotel. We had to say farewell to Ruth as she will be leaving early tomorrow morning, and to Karen who met up with her boyfriend and continued her vacation.

We are down 2, but tomorrow we are spending our final day in the rainforest ZIPLINING!! I can hardly wait!