Hi everyone
well we have been home 2 days now and if you're anything like me you will just about have caught up the sleep (and finally got rid of the sunburn....) and now comes the daunting task of real life again!!
Keeping in mind that there are undoubtedly a number of people who have presentations to give in the coming weeks, at BB or other church groups, i felt it would be useful to have a place to upload all of our photos from the trip, because not everyone had digital cameras or took perfect photos (what is that giant finger doing in the middle of the group...)
i've had an imageshack account i have never used so i thought it may as well have a purpose. if you have any photos from india go to:
imageshack.us
and click "log in". The username is sir_m1ke and the password is 8jKeu61
From here just click "Upload image" on the right and work away!
the sight can also host videos if you feel you have one that could be useful
i will regularly go through the photos and if there are any which are very similar to another photo, ill take it off. This is just to stop it getting too cluttered, its not a reflection of you photographic skills!
Apart from the images, the other pressing matter is staying in touch! ill email Glen and get him to send around a list of everyones email addresses again, and this blog is here for everyone to stay in touch. Likewise, i know a number of us are big into our computer gaming, so ill send my xbox gamertag around and if you have an xbox stick your gamertag onto the email and forward it- get a COD clan going or something (no grenade machine guns Simon, but there is a barrett...)
Anywho, see most of you at the reunion im sure! hope everyone is well
All the best
Mike
Wednesday 2 September 2009
Sunday 30 August 2009
Yes we are still here folks!
Apologies for the lack of comunication the last few days- the beach was just to good to leave! We are al safe and well, standing in Mumbai airport at the moment at internet kiosk, really frustrating to type on this keyboard!
see you all tomorrow at Belfast! 12.30!
see you all tomorrow at Belfast! 12.30!
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Working in Chinnamankulam
Final full day of work complete with only a half day tomorrow. It is safe to say that everyone is pretty drained but again, each individual has put a lot of effort in and we have done some good work. Thanks to God! Someone was pointing out the other day that there hasn't even been a minor incident so far on this trip. That is quite remarkable considering the flights we had, the crazy roads and the heavy duty work on site. God willing, we will return home saying the same thing!
We were down to 3 teams today, Team Glen, Team Dave and Team Ryan. The other two teams (Michael and Donald) split up among the rest. Each team got plenty of work done and it is very rewarding for us that we have contributed months worth of work inside 2 weeks! With much appreciation, the sun hasn't been shining as brightly over last couple of days which makes working conditions slightly easier. Having 'Sammy', one of the local engineers connected with Maha Semam, has been a comical experience for Team Ryan. Only English words spoken are Come, Please, Brother, Stop, Start, Thank you, No and Yes. It makes for an entertaining yet slightly frustrating days work. We have compared him to 'Burns' from The Simpsons much to the agreement from the whole team.
You'll never guess what we had for lunch today? That's right....rice, chicken, naan bread and some suspicious looking sauces. Everyone has got to the stage where eating has become a chore to provide energy rather than for enjoyment. Roll on the Ulster Fry! (that isn't a hint to parents to get the frying pan going for our return home) The highlight of lunch these days has been the Tropicana carton drinks which are very popular among the group and also watching out for people falling alseep in their chairs. Yes! At lunch time!
It is fair to say Winston (Habitat India rep) has been nicknamed 'Winston Spielberg' with his great zeal for the camcorder. We are hoping his constant footage this week will make for some great movies in the future. Watch this space!
Meanwhile, back on the Disco bus...we finished watching a 2nd movie in which Raghavan actually plays 10 different parts. Rather entertaining and provides much needed sleep for some team members. I won't go into detail about the pole Peter! It is great to see everyone getting on so well despite the tiredness and there hasn't been any real arguments.
Overall, Chinnamankulam has been very different from Kottakudy. The people don't seem to be as friendly but we respect their personalities and their grateful of the help all the same. On another note, the women work extremely hard and barely stop from morning to night!
We have a busy day tomorrow with a half day work and the Closing Ceremony in the afternoon where we get a chance to thank the locals and vice versa. As well as this, BB Northern Ireland will get a chance to show off their singing talents (or lack of it) All will be revealed on our return. We then leave for our 8 hour train trek to Chennai and a couple of much needed R & R days.
Thanks again for your continued support in prayer and also for the number of people reading and commenting on the blog. It is encouraging for the whole team that so many people at home are following our progress. Adios
We were down to 3 teams today, Team Glen, Team Dave and Team Ryan. The other two teams (Michael and Donald) split up among the rest. Each team got plenty of work done and it is very rewarding for us that we have contributed months worth of work inside 2 weeks! With much appreciation, the sun hasn't been shining as brightly over last couple of days which makes working conditions slightly easier. Having 'Sammy', one of the local engineers connected with Maha Semam, has been a comical experience for Team Ryan. Only English words spoken are Come, Please, Brother, Stop, Start, Thank you, No and Yes. It makes for an entertaining yet slightly frustrating days work. We have compared him to 'Burns' from The Simpsons much to the agreement from the whole team.
You'll never guess what we had for lunch today? That's right....rice, chicken, naan bread and some suspicious looking sauces. Everyone has got to the stage where eating has become a chore to provide energy rather than for enjoyment. Roll on the Ulster Fry! (that isn't a hint to parents to get the frying pan going for our return home) The highlight of lunch these days has been the Tropicana carton drinks which are very popular among the group and also watching out for people falling alseep in their chairs. Yes! At lunch time!
It is fair to say Winston (Habitat India rep) has been nicknamed 'Winston Spielberg' with his great zeal for the camcorder. We are hoping his constant footage this week will make for some great movies in the future. Watch this space!
Meanwhile, back on the Disco bus...we finished watching a 2nd movie in which Raghavan actually plays 10 different parts. Rather entertaining and provides much needed sleep for some team members. I won't go into detail about the pole Peter! It is great to see everyone getting on so well despite the tiredness and there hasn't been any real arguments.
Overall, Chinnamankulam has been very different from Kottakudy. The people don't seem to be as friendly but we respect their personalities and their grateful of the help all the same. On another note, the women work extremely hard and barely stop from morning to night!
We have a busy day tomorrow with a half day work and the Closing Ceremony in the afternoon where we get a chance to thank the locals and vice versa. As well as this, BB Northern Ireland will get a chance to show off their singing talents (or lack of it) All will be revealed on our return. We then leave for our 8 hour train trek to Chennai and a couple of much needed R & R days.
Thanks again for your continued support in prayer and also for the number of people reading and commenting on the blog. It is encouraging for the whole team that so many people at home are following our progress. Adios
Tuesday 25 August 2009
more pictures from india
Team Donald, so busy they could'nt stop for a pose..
Morning Break, Lays (crisps) and Tropicana all round...
Team Glen the wall behind is now complete along with the other three, I think we got the fastest masons in India with us...
Team David, must be getting paid by the mile they have to carry everything in as there is not enough room to get all the bricks sand etc to there site....
Team Ryan, new kids on the block this week, had to strat from the bottom, with foundations, expert Chris kept them all right with the big stones...
Monday 24 August 2009
Sunday fun
Sunday morning we went for a visit to the temple in Madurai- the second biggest Hindu temple in the world. Entering the gates, I personally (and im sure other members of the team as well) was shocked at the sight of so many stalls selling everything from toys to bracelets to souvenirs. We had expected it to be quite a holy, reverent place but the initial sight was not promising
Further into the temple, the sense of faith and religion got stronger, with many people lying face down on the ground praying, or bowing at one of the thousands of statues carved into the temple. Also inside we met an elephant and its handler, but again there was a sense of monetary concern over spiritual. The elephant was trained so that when you placed a coin in its trunk, it would reach up and tap you on the head before giving the coin to the handler. Although it was fascinating to see, it was still slightly unsettling to witness what was effectively a money-making operation in a place where so many people were worshiping.
Outside the temple (and fending off the attentions of the very persistent beggars and street traders) we went to a local bazaar, in which you could climb to the roof and get a great view of the temple. The sheer scale of it was boggling, and the amount of time it must of taken to carve the intricate figures was surely only possible through faith in these stone gods.
Returning down the stairs, Hazel decided to stop in the shop for a quick spot of shopping...typical woman! (call me sexist all you want, doesn't make it any less true...) This prompted a large number of the rest of the team to start a shopping spree as well, and a number of the boys got very good at haggling with the shop owners!
After luch we went to a local palace, cue yet another flood of beggars and traders assaulting us. The palace itself was wonderful to look at, but contained very little of interest and simply gave Craig and Nathan a place to play chasees...around 8th Century stone carvings....
The night included a trip to the American College nearby, where there is a Methodist church service in English. The service itself was very ritualised and caused some boredom, but the sermon was the opposite- the minister was a good, enthusiastic preacher who spoke about the plurality of the world, and how mankind seems to naturally seek multiple beliefs and morals. This really impacted considering what we had seen that morning in the temple, with so many people worshipping such a huge pantheon of gods.
So that was our "day of rest" (HA!), only 1 week left. The boys are still all keeping well and eating like horses, with seemingly an endless supply of naan bread at the hotel....
thank you all for your continued support and prayers, every member of the team appreciates it immensely.
we also havent had a moments rest from Simon since England won the Ashes......
And Hearts lost to Rangers....not that i was expecting anything spectacular, but Peter and Richard have had a smug grin on their baeks since it...life is tough as a Jambo...
Further into the temple, the sense of faith and religion got stronger, with many people lying face down on the ground praying, or bowing at one of the thousands of statues carved into the temple. Also inside we met an elephant and its handler, but again there was a sense of monetary concern over spiritual. The elephant was trained so that when you placed a coin in its trunk, it would reach up and tap you on the head before giving the coin to the handler. Although it was fascinating to see, it was still slightly unsettling to witness what was effectively a money-making operation in a place where so many people were worshiping.
Outside the temple (and fending off the attentions of the very persistent beggars and street traders) we went to a local bazaar, in which you could climb to the roof and get a great view of the temple. The sheer scale of it was boggling, and the amount of time it must of taken to carve the intricate figures was surely only possible through faith in these stone gods.
Returning down the stairs, Hazel decided to stop in the shop for a quick spot of shopping...typical woman! (call me sexist all you want, doesn't make it any less true...) This prompted a large number of the rest of the team to start a shopping spree as well, and a number of the boys got very good at haggling with the shop owners!
After luch we went to a local palace, cue yet another flood of beggars and traders assaulting us. The palace itself was wonderful to look at, but contained very little of interest and simply gave Craig and Nathan a place to play chasees...around 8th Century stone carvings....
The night included a trip to the American College nearby, where there is a Methodist church service in English. The service itself was very ritualised and caused some boredom, but the sermon was the opposite- the minister was a good, enthusiastic preacher who spoke about the plurality of the world, and how mankind seems to naturally seek multiple beliefs and morals. This really impacted considering what we had seen that morning in the temple, with so many people worshipping such a huge pantheon of gods.
So that was our "day of rest" (HA!), only 1 week left. The boys are still all keeping well and eating like horses, with seemingly an endless supply of naan bread at the hotel....
thank you all for your continued support and prayers, every member of the team appreciates it immensely.
we also havent had a moments rest from Simon since England won the Ashes......
And Hearts lost to Rangers....not that i was expecting anything spectacular, but Peter and Richard have had a smug grin on their baeks since it...life is tough as a Jambo...
Movie Madness!
The great policeman Raghavan- he can smell buried bodies from 2 miles away!!
And the film we went to see the other night- "Kandasamy"- henceforth known as "Revenge of the Chicken Man"
And the film we went to see the other night- "Kandasamy"- henceforth known as "Revenge of the Chicken Man"
Sunday 23 August 2009
One week down!
Howdy all
Well its the start of the second week (Sunday is the first day of the week, don't argue) and work has finished in the village of Kottakudy. Im sure Glen will get the photos of the houses up, all 3 teams got the houses up to roof level and succeeded in finishing the floors.
Tired from the week, we worked a half-day on Saturday and took the rest of the day to act like tourists (bum-bags and all). First, we visited the two houses built by the 2007 team, with Glen, Hazel, Chris and Donald getting to see their hard work changing lives. we also experienced the joy that was the Indian dual-carriageway, in which traffic pretty much ignored all road signs and drove BOTH WAYS on each side of the carriageway! when its a bike or a tuk it's not as scary, but when a large lorry is flying towards you....
last night we also got to experience an Indian blockbuster movie, which (according to WInston and the hotel staff) India has been waiting for for a long time!! The film was entirely in Tamil, without English subtitles, and so my basic understanding was purely from what was on screen. So here is my synopsis of the plot:
1) The hero dresses up (and acts) like a Rooster, and goes around scaring criminals. Yeh. a Rooster. complete with crowing......
2) He is actually a head honcho of the Crime Investigation Bureau. He scares the villains into telling him where the money is. Next day, he turns up at the bad guys house, and uses a sledgehammer to take apart the house til he finds the money. Yeh. a sledgehammer... He takes the money, and distributes it to the poor people who leave prayers at Madurai Temple. He is effectively a Robin Hood rip-off
3) One bad guy doesn't like this. He pretends to haved a stroke
4) This guys daughter is a beautiful singer-type person. The father wants her to make the hero fall in love with her, so her can have revenge.
5) The hero falls in love....
6) They end up in Mexico. I don't really know why.
7) The girl falls in love with the hero. He actually uses her to clean out her fathers bank account. He gives all this money to the poor.
8) The police don't like this. They try and catch him out. They fail.
Amongst all of this there were a number of 10 to 15-minute long songs about nothing in particular, a guy who sells coconuts and is apparently hilarious to Tamil-speakers (not much use 2 us...) and a bunch of pizza delivery guys who get beat up....for no obvious reason.
Many of the group remarked that the best bit about the movie was the Mexican wave we started in the interval. What's that? Interval you say? Oh i forgot 2 mention...the movie is 3 FREAKIN HOURS LONG!!!!!!!!!!!
bring back Raghavan.......a DVD we watched on the bus about an old fat cop who goes around kicking bad guys in the head. That was also 3 hours long but was much, much better......
Well its the start of the second week (Sunday is the first day of the week, don't argue) and work has finished in the village of Kottakudy. Im sure Glen will get the photos of the houses up, all 3 teams got the houses up to roof level and succeeded in finishing the floors.
Tired from the week, we worked a half-day on Saturday and took the rest of the day to act like tourists (bum-bags and all). First, we visited the two houses built by the 2007 team, with Glen, Hazel, Chris and Donald getting to see their hard work changing lives. we also experienced the joy that was the Indian dual-carriageway, in which traffic pretty much ignored all road signs and drove BOTH WAYS on each side of the carriageway! when its a bike or a tuk it's not as scary, but when a large lorry is flying towards you....
last night we also got to experience an Indian blockbuster movie, which (according to WInston and the hotel staff) India has been waiting for for a long time!! The film was entirely in Tamil, without English subtitles, and so my basic understanding was purely from what was on screen. So here is my synopsis of the plot:
1) The hero dresses up (and acts) like a Rooster, and goes around scaring criminals. Yeh. a Rooster. complete with crowing......
2) He is actually a head honcho of the Crime Investigation Bureau. He scares the villains into telling him where the money is. Next day, he turns up at the bad guys house, and uses a sledgehammer to take apart the house til he finds the money. Yeh. a sledgehammer... He takes the money, and distributes it to the poor people who leave prayers at Madurai Temple. He is effectively a Robin Hood rip-off
3) One bad guy doesn't like this. He pretends to haved a stroke
4) This guys daughter is a beautiful singer-type person. The father wants her to make the hero fall in love with her, so her can have revenge.
5) The hero falls in love....
6) They end up in Mexico. I don't really know why.
7) The girl falls in love with the hero. He actually uses her to clean out her fathers bank account. He gives all this money to the poor.
8) The police don't like this. They try and catch him out. They fail.
Amongst all of this there were a number of 10 to 15-minute long songs about nothing in particular, a guy who sells coconuts and is apparently hilarious to Tamil-speakers (not much use 2 us...) and a bunch of pizza delivery guys who get beat up....for no obvious reason.
Many of the group remarked that the best bit about the movie was the Mexican wave we started in the interval. What's that? Interval you say? Oh i forgot 2 mention...the movie is 3 FREAKIN HOURS LONG!!!!!!!!!!!
bring back Raghavan.......a DVD we watched on the bus about an old fat cop who goes around kicking bad guys in the head. That was also 3 hours long but was much, much better......
Thursday 20 August 2009
3 working days complete !!
Hi everyone back home and beyond. I trust everyone is well and aren't worrying about us too much!
This place is amazing...the smells, tastes, road safety (or lack of) and basically just everything Indian. Green cross code doesn't apply here and I don't think it ever will. Just imagine the scene, sitting in a very basic internet 'cafe' celebrating my 20th brithday surrounded by little Indian men bobbing their heads at any given time. Can I just say God has truly blessed us so far on this trip and we have full confidence and trust in Him to continue to do so! So thank you for your prayers and we ask for your continued support from afar.
Anyway, back to the day we've just had. The disco bus was in full flow again this morning with some strange Bollywood music playing and the usual mix of sleeping, dancing and general craic from everyone else. Team Donald, who celebrated his 26+ birthday yesterday, made our way to our house to continue on from where we had left off. Today was pure labour, we were flat out moving rubble, small stones, big stones, bricks and sand from A to B from 9.30 onwards! Sundar, who is a great guy and is very easy to get along with, informed us at the end of the day that we had completed 4 days worth of work inside 2 days. They musn't break their backs working here anyway.
As we finished a bit earlier than Team Dave and Team Glen today, we ventured round to inspect their work and see how they were getting on building relationships with the homeowners and the other locals. I can talk on behalf of the team that everyone is getting on great and a serious amount of work has been done in SERIOUS heat! Keep er lit is right!
Must rush on here, a few select and un-named members of our team are hurrying me and I don't fancy walking back by myself.
Over and out and thanks again for your prayers!
This place is amazing...the smells, tastes, road safety (or lack of) and basically just everything Indian. Green cross code doesn't apply here and I don't think it ever will. Just imagine the scene, sitting in a very basic internet 'cafe' celebrating my 20th brithday surrounded by little Indian men bobbing their heads at any given time. Can I just say God has truly blessed us so far on this trip and we have full confidence and trust in Him to continue to do so! So thank you for your prayers and we ask for your continued support from afar.
Anyway, back to the day we've just had. The disco bus was in full flow again this morning with some strange Bollywood music playing and the usual mix of sleeping, dancing and general craic from everyone else. Team Donald, who celebrated his 26+ birthday yesterday, made our way to our house to continue on from where we had left off. Today was pure labour, we were flat out moving rubble, small stones, big stones, bricks and sand from A to B from 9.30 onwards! Sundar, who is a great guy and is very easy to get along with, informed us at the end of the day that we had completed 4 days worth of work inside 2 days. They musn't break their backs working here anyway.
As we finished a bit earlier than Team Dave and Team Glen today, we ventured round to inspect their work and see how they were getting on building relationships with the homeowners and the other locals. I can talk on behalf of the team that everyone is getting on great and a serious amount of work has been done in SERIOUS heat! Keep er lit is right!
Must rush on here, a few select and un-named members of our team are hurrying me and I don't fancy walking back by myself.
Over and out and thanks again for your prayers!
the first pictures from India
This is team Donald on site no. 3
This is team Dave on site no. 2
This is team Glen on site no. 1Tuesday 18 August 2009
And now for something completely different...
Howdy all!
Taking over from Dave and his bare-facts approach...finaly found this internet cafe! keyboard is unpleasantly greasy....
we have just returned from our first day of work on site in the village of Kottakudy (hopefully thats the correct spelling...). this is our village for this week, and we are working alongside 3 families chosen by Maha Semam (google it!). The three families are all agricultural labourers, mainly sugar cane. the men earn between 200 and 250 rupees a day and the women between 50 and 80
work was fantastic, the mini-teams (team Glen, team Dave and team Donald) are each on a site and the craic is fantastic. language barriers are gradualy being worked through...although for the most part the communication is simply pointing and nodding :-D
we are in this village until Saturday (an "optional" work day- there is no option as long as the KGVI lads are on the case!!) so pray for our continued safety on the site, pray that we continue to avoid sunburn and muscle pain and most of al pray for the families who will be living in the houses, that they can use this opportunity to enhance their lives.
plenty more i could talk about, but tea is son and i am starving! il post up some more tomorrow. thank you all for your continued support, and pass this blog on to anyone you know so that the work of Habitat for Humanity can reach more people (even the most computer-iliterate can use a blog...eh, David?)
All the best,
Michael
ps. to all the mums readin this, the boys are eating well and even the most skeptical is eating the Indian cuisine! hunger and hard work is a marvellous combination
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