What a day! With half the team still in transit to Thailand and the other half continuing construction, day 5 brought lots of experiences for everyone.
Part of the team woke up early in the morning and drove to the project site. Continuing yesterday's progress, the team finished digging the trenches from the water source to the kitchen. There were fallen branches and leaves in the way but that was no problem thanks to the help of some of the students who graciously cleared the debris before we had a chance to do so. Now that the trenching for the white water is complete, we just have to dig the trenches for drainage of the grey waters.
Digging the trenches went pretty smoothly, but installing the countertop slabs brought a unexpected turn. We had originally intended on installing premade concrete slabs and pouring self-leveling mortar over the connected slabs (like in the picture below). This mortar is to eliminate any gaps or uneven surfaces between slab pieces.
However, when working with the local contractors to understand the best way to apply the mortar, we may have added another concrete layer to the countertop. It turns out our explanation of our thin mortar idea was lost in translation, and we cast a full layer of concrete over the premade slabs. That being said, this didn't affect our project schedule at all, and we put our concrete mixing training to use. The countertop will not be almost flush with the bottom of the window, which will make it easy for the cook to distribute meals during lunch time.
Throughout the day, we took breaks to try to regain our confidence as the soccer stars that we are. We lost- again :( But it was a blast! The kids' endless supply of energy recharges us and gives us the motivation to continue working in the Thai heat. We also taught the kids how to play volleyball today, or as the kids call it "Volé."
In other news, our seniors finally arrived in Thailand after graduating last weekend! Khem met us with beautiful Jasmine necklaces made from local flowers and then took us out for lunch at the JJ Market. We tried delicious street food and bought some fruit and fish to bring back to the church. We then headed towards the church, thinking we would have the chance to sleep off the jet lag on a full stomach. Instead, we visited several stores to buy sink basins, a refrigerator, and some community engagement supplies (actual activities coming soon in a future post).
By now we were exhausted, hungry once again, and anxious to meet up with the other half of our team, so Khem took us out to eat at the famous Texas Hot Pot restaurant with no Texas connection. We once again filled our stomachs and finished the drive home to meet the other half of the team. Upon arrival, our baggy-eyed, exhausted bodies were greeted with energized team members- we were home! We finished a very eventful and productive day playing card games with the other team, PUC Thailand 138, and heading off to bed to prepare for another (or for some of us, first) day of work.
All in all, the group that spent the day working learned 2 lessons: the dangers of not speaking the local language and the importance of being flexible with design plans. The group that spent the day being pampered by Khem and running errands learned to persevere despite feeling exhaustion, a skill that surely will come in handy throughout the project.