My third Habitat build is over and it certainly wasn’t like anything that I had anticipated. Out of our five build days I was unable to do any work for 2.5 of them because of some sort of bug that found its way into my stomach and kept me at the hotel in recovery mode for a few days, and I lost half a day of work because I bashed my toe with a bucket of concrete.
Greg standing in the Pacific Ocean with a huge smile on his face.
But I’m VERY glad I went, of course, and would love to go on another Habitat trip; they’re eye opening wonderful experiences. As with my previous builds, I learned a little bit of potentially useful construction knowledge, I met the family that is moving in, and I saw how happy they were to have our help. I was there for the opening ceremony. I learned about poverty in El Salvador and the work Habitat has been doing. I learned a little Spanish, tried the local cuisine, played in the Pacific, and saw some of El Salvador. And of course, I helped with the construction. Wow! We covered a lot in one week.
And the part of the trip that I appreciated the most, as with my previous trips, was interacting with the other team members. Ok, ok, so I’m not the most extroverted person you probably know, but I love volunteering, and its that common interest that I think brings a diverse group of Canadians together each time I go on one of these trips. And its that diversity that I love and get the most out of.
When our team arrived at the site, the house was well on its way, and we nearly finished the construction in the time we were there. By the end of the week the family will be able to move in to a brand new home, and I’ll be thinking about where I’ll be volunteering abroad for my next adventure.
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