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