Team Poem...

Our time together,
Has come to an end...
As we finish off,
Habitat Two Thousand and Ten!

We bonded as a team,
Right from the start…
And we built a home,
With sweat, blood and heart!

We had Krista who was lucky,
To have her clothes on this trip…
And Judy who loves her Mai Tais
And wants to skinny dip!

Jennifer didn’t want you to know,
So she even begs...
Don’t tell anyone,
That she has stick legs!

Robyn with her pipe cleaners,
Is now a biker chick…
And Kody who’s considerate…
Even when he’s getting sick! (thank goodness for Kathleen!)

French wanted to “Par taaay”
He’s a little gaga…
But he started to turn on,
Our “Sa wa dee…haaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Of no fixed address” Mark,
A man without any cares…
Amused us when he caused,
A game of musical chairs…

Felix on the roof..
Is solid as a rock,
But introduce him to some Russians…
And he’ll sleep ‘til three o’clock!

Then there’s the Michelles…
Who cause quite a stir...
But of course we all know,
Who the “nice” one is for sure!

It’s tall and beautiful,
And a little bit pink…
“Kally on the rocks”
Is Thailand’s newest drink!

Dayne will pay you to do his homework,
And is always last to get fed.
But give him a few drinks…
And he ends up on the wrong side of the bed!

They look so sweet and innocent,
That Beth and Kathleen…
But give them a water gun,
And they get really mean! (Happy Songkran!!)

Ron A almost got,
A hoe in the head…
“it wouldn’t be the first time”
Is all that he said…

We had Ron S hanging from the scaffolding,
That man does love his beer…
And Rod wants to know…
“Who do you have to F@&%, to get a haircut around here?”

So thank you to David and Jennifer,

For Thailand Twenty Ten....

It was truly an experience,

That we didn't want to end!!

Some more R&R...

Another guest blog by Cooper

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!!!! Since Team Habitat Motorcycle club had such an amazing time yesterday it was decided that we would hit the road again. After much deliberation, consulting the map, we decided to ride to the mall. Off we went once again to terrify to local people of Phuket. We were looking pretty good as the convoy travelled the roads to the mall. Upon parking our bikes we had a small incident (once again we won’t mention any names, Robyn) but one member thought it was better to drive through the mall wall instead of using the front door. She was really desperate to shop. Thankfully she was not too hurt, after scaring us all half to death. She even took home a piece of Thailand with her as it was still stuck in her leg. Our shopping was cut short as we needed to get people home to catch flights. But of course it would not be a smooth ride home. Felix’s bike got a flight tire. We found a bike shop and all stayed while it as fixed because you “never leave a man behind”. Kally and Michelle P even had a chance to spend Kally’s last baht and have a beer.
We arrived back in time to say good bye to Kally and Robyn. Of course there were lots of hugs and tears and even a snort from Michelle P. Once again there was some silence to remanice about the great friends we had made and will miss.

Tonight was Jennifer’s birthday celebration at Shirley’s on the beach with another spectacular sunset. We managed to get Jennifer to do a shooter but we still have not seen her drink David under the table as she claims she can. Sparklers came out to the delight of Dayne as he continued to amaze us with his table tricks. Back to the hotel for one last drink around the ping pong table we went. The competition was fierce but our friendly hairdresser beat the pants off everyone (not literally). While the final round was drank Michelle B used her persuasive powers to relieve the hotel of two of their best bongs I mean gongs. Of course everything has a price. Good night to Jennifer, David, Ron, Fred, Veronica and of course Michelle B. The rest of us went for a late night swim. The good angel on Michelle P’s shoulder was telling her to go to bed and the bad angel on the other shoulder was getting lots of help from Felix, Dayne and Mark to stay up. The good angel finally took over at 12:00.

Day Eight...Last Day of the Build....

Guest blogger... Cooper!



Our Last Day of Physical Labour

Happy 19th Birthday Felix!!!!!!! Today was a bittersweet day. As we arrived to the work site we knew that it would be our last day working together as a team and seeing the neighbourhood children and Mrs. Sutham, but we also had a great feeling about the job we had accomplished. Today we also had two special guests accompany us to the job site, Charlie, Ron’s son and Veronica, Fred’s girlfriend.
The morning consisted of finishing up the last of the walls (another 2 tubs of cement), cleaning the inside of the new house with our new brooms and a lesson on plastering. Plastering cement on the front wall of the house was much harder than thought. We needed another 4 tubs of cement, Mark’s height for the top of the house and Michelle P height was needed as she was right at home in the dirt where the house met the ground. The neighbourhood kids were all around and even sang happy birthday to Felix.
The tent was dismantled and all our tables and chairs were moved inside for our festive lunch. We had an amazing buffet lunch of chicken, noodles, rice and fruit. Upon completion we had our closing ceremonies. Jennifer presented the home owner with her new “house key” and a picture of the team that we had all signed. Mrs. Sutham said a heart felt thank you for our help on her new home and invited us to stay with her the next time we are in Phuket. She presented us each with a towel to show her appreciation. David donated the money the team had collected so that she could paint the outside of the house when it was completed. Many hugs and tears were exchanged and then it was time to leave. As the bus drove away we could see Mrs. Sutham standing in the middle of the road waving good bye with tears in her eyes. The bus was very quiet as everyone reflected on the amazing job they had done, lives they had changed and relationships they had made. But I think people were also thinking about the changes that had occurred within themselves during the past seven days. No one but the 18 of us will ever know that feeling.

After a swim and a few beverages the closing celebration continued. We went to the next beach over and had a great dinner on the beach and watched a beautiful sunset.

After wishing Felix a happy 19th birthday and singing it to him again for the 19th time, Anne presented each of us with a certificate for a job well done. As with previous teams Jennifer and David passed around blank card for each team member. We were to write on it one word or sentence that represented that team member to you. After passing the cards around, they were laminated and we were to keep them as a memento from this amazing week. The idea is that if you were ever feeling down or missed the team you could pull out your card and it would lift your spirits. What a great idea. What a great night to end our time together!!!
WOW we built a house!!!!!! We changed the future for a family!!!!! But the 18 of us know the real truth, we got more out the experience that we ever thought possible. I know Mrs Sutham thinks she is the lucky one but I think we are even luckier from the time we spent together.

Day Seven

Guest Blogger Mark...

They came, they saw, and with one and a half days left, we had to be close to conquering what was left of building Mrs. Sutham’s house. The day started off with a safety reminder from Felix – insects, hats, shoes and water (especially electrolytes!!).
Luckily today was cooler than most others, given that we had half the roof to finish as well as two walls that were more exposed to the sun than the others. The concrete was mixed, two teams tackled the bathroom walls (which had special blocks for air circulation) while another team handled the remaining back wall.
Felix and Pao welded the last of the roof beams and within about an hour and a half, the remaining roof was up and a cool breeze was felt by all throughout the house…soo nice!! (It was certainly nice to have a monkey in the group who didn’t mind the heights and the swinging from beam to beam – thanks, Felix!) The walls went up quick (now that we all had a few days of practice) and we were running like a well oiled machine – from the mixing to the troweling to the transport of bricks up the scaffolding to refilling concrete buckets…it was an amazing thing to watch!
Some of us were also privy to learning the very strategic game of Pokemon. A bunch of sets of cards were bought and distributed and the westerners were all educated in the card flipping or hand clapping rules. This happened until, as would no doubt be the case, all the local kids had all the cards, having beaten us all soundly. Of course, in their very polite mannerisms, many of the cards were returned so we could try our luck again, and, as many of us observed, there was absolutely no cheating involved. In fact, at times, there was too much honesty (or the kids were taking pity on our poor play;)) and we were all given a chance to stay in the game for at least a few more rounds.
There was also a bit of time to start wondering about the area we were building in, and with our tour guide (Michelle) leading the way (along with a few of the local kids), many of us were able to check out the local hang out/casino/common-kitchen/day-care. It was really neat to see so many people hanging out and sharing their time and food while making bets and caring for each others’ kids. Although my initial thought was that we were disturbing the locals (who wants a bunch of white smelly people disturbing your card game/lunch?) on more than one occasion some of us were asked to sit and try and play or to have something to eat with some of the families. These are such gracious people! There was also a post in this area showing how high the water came up when the tsunami hit in 2004 – 1.5 meters. We were told by Tom and Anne that all of the houses in this area were destroyed when the tsunami came through – wow, talk about a reality check.
Back at the work site, the last of the concrete was being used up as we were once again coming to the end of a very rewarding day of building. The cleaning crew was in full swing and just like that we were back on the bus waving goodbye to Keung, Ae, Pao, Mrs. Sutham and the local kids.
It’s always amazing to see how, even after a full day of working and sweating, all of us are smiling, waving and looking forward to the next day.




Sa wa dee...haaaaaaa

Day Six....

Guest blogger Rod...

We spent the day building in shade provided by mother nature. It was
our first cloudy day and it was timed perfectly we started to cover
the roof. The walls have been completed on two sides. The peanut
gallery has been growing as we have been playing games with kids
who have been assembling to watch us sweat. The temp with humidity
felt like 46c at 10.30 at night.

Day Five....

Guest Blogger Dayne...

Monday April something Same, same but different.
Today we got the walls up higher and started working on the roof. The walls made it all the way level with the door frames and windows. Hard to believe that actually worked out – not a bad job for a bunch of volunteers. It may have taken awhile but we did it! The house is really starting to take shape.
Tonight was a really good team dinner, some skipping for massages, a few others eating at the famous Thai fast food chain – Subway, and the rest enjoying the same Thai food as yesterday and the day before that. Hopefully tomorrow we will all eat as a group and it won’t be so hot, but off course it will.

Weekend Part Deux (for our French Fans)

Sunday was spent riding elephants, checking out the Big Budda and hanging at Kata Beach...Then off to see the sunset and a night market..

The Pied Pipers...