After a relaxing weekend we were looking forward to getting back to work. This week we have thrown ourselves into it and so be prepared for lots of talk about woodwork and building. I think we'll probably only blog twice a week while we're here so we don't get too detailed and boring.
This week's work has been really satisfying and started with a bang, as on Monday morning it was time to raise up the structure of the house. Four new building volunteers had arrived over the weekend who are going to be working on Project 9 while we get on with 8, but for the morning they were with us helping get the house up.
So when we arrived that morning all that existed were large pieces of timber, which we started off by nailing together into shape and adding some hoists.
Then before we could go any further there was a short ceremony to take part in. The ceremony asks the spirit of the land to approve the raising of the house and watch over it in the future.
Then with permission granted it was all hands on deck to raise the three large frames upright. They were really really heavy and it did take 10 of us to do it.
But it went very smoothly and soon they were all up, all level and the task of joining the cross beams began. Doing the middle ones was relatively easy however the ones at the top involved people climbing right up to hammer them together while balancing precariously. It was incredible watching the guys climb up there and how blase they were about being 15ft off the ground.
It was excellent when those were done though as it held the whole structure together. So it really felt like lots of progress was made on Monday, it was amazing to suddenly have a house like shape to transform over the coming weeks. I think the family were pretty excited too as it was starting to seem more real.
So when we returned on Tuesday we got on with the rest of the cross beams that didn't go up the day before. Progress was slower on this as however neatly and accurately we may (or may not) have chiselled none of them seemed to fit perfectly and there was quite a lot of adjustments to be made.
While taking a short break from this task later in the afternoon, we spotted that the kids had set up a volleyball net between this house and the one we finished last week. Its funny, you see guys playing it everywhere (despite the heat) its really popular here.
By the time we left on tues there was only one beam to finish Wednesday morning, and we got that done pretty quickly. Then we got going on laying the joists for the floor boards. We did this in pairs and Rob and I each volunteered to take the task of balancing on the cross beams to hammer them in. Rob was much better at this than me though, as although I can smack in the big nails when I've got a straight aim at them, hammering them in on a diagonal while perched was harder and after I'd bent a few I begrudginly swapped with Ray and supported them while he hammered.
I was glad when the joists were finished and it meant we could pass the floor boards up to balance on them. Even just laying them across made it look like more progress had been made, plus it meant we can walk about on that level now which is essential for putting the roof on, and having the roof on will mean some shade for us to work in. This week it is really hot and without the roof there has been no shade to work in; it is a sweaty dusty business!
We were pretty tired after work on Wednesday, mostly from that heat, but unfortunatly there was no swimming (/cooling down) for us today as we had some jobs to do in town. We needed to buy some things from the market and go to the bank. It was also a good opportunity to pop into the Blue Pumpkin cafe in town for an ice coffee and a pastry. They have a really exciting selection of cakes in there and the sugar and caffiene boost, cooling fan and comfy lounge seating reinvigorated us. It was a highly recommended place in the Lonely Planet so we thought we'd take a look. The lounge upstairs was very white and had a massive long sofa. They sit you there and then put a little fold up table on you. It was very luxorious!
On Thursday morning we were starting to feel a bit of tiredness catching up with us (also after a slightly later night the evening before as we went for a big meal). However we were all eager to keep making progeress so threw ourselves into it. Aaron and I got to work on nailing down the floor boards as it involves a little bit of being a perfectionist. All the boards are uneven and to make them line up the edges have to be chiselled and planed. Then once they line up you have to put three nails into each joist. I like nailing so I'm happy, but it is a repetative task. Meanwhile Roy helped Pek and Sune finish the stairs and put the structure up to support the roof and Rob went back over to project 8 to work with the family on making the final wall that we didn't quite finish in time last week.
So after another satisfying day we all tuk tuked hom. Rob and I had a shower and a little lay down and went off to meet Sadie and Bruce at the airport as they are coming to visit for five nights! Unfortunately their plane arrived a couple of hours late but we still headed into town to show them the main centre and to get some classic Khmer food. We also met up with Ray, Sarah and Aaron and they joined us for a few beers before we all headed off to bed. It is amazing to see them, it's such a surreal experience collecting people you know from foriegn airports. Its so lovely to have them here and we're looking forward to spend some proper time together over the weekend.
We had one more day of work to do first though. Today we returned to the floor board task on which we are making slow but neatish progress. We had the best food so far for lunch today, we bought noodles, pork, mushrooms and bean sprouts and were made a gorgeous lunch, the only problem was that she had it ready by 9.40 am - a new ridiculously early record. We wondered if we'd confused things by buying noodles which they eat for breakfast. But all the same it was delicious. We also had some more chats with Pek and Sune today and learnt a bt more about their families which was nice. The six of us have worked really well together this week and feel comfortable together I think.
After our early breakfast we had a long second half of the day but we plugged on happily and before we knew it the project 9 volunteers had turned up to look at the house and then we were in the tuk tuks heading off for the last time this week. We picked up beers from the market on the way home and drank one in the tuk tuk which took the edge of a very hot day.
We met our Canadians back at the guest house at 3pm after they came back from visiting the temples and we took them with us for a cool down and catch up at the pool. Tonight there is a dinner on at the guest house which everyone is coming to and afterwards we're going to go for a drink in town and hopefully meet up with Charlotte (Matt's sister) who is also out here volunteering. We have a fun weekend planned which I feel we deserve as we've worked hard this week. I'm really looking forward to spending time with Sadie and Bruce and doing some exploring with them. Right now I am late and so better head upstairs for a shower.
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