Day 26 - June 20 - Sharing Our Culture

The day has arrived. Today was the much anticipated village party that we set up for the community.

With excitement in the air, our team eagerly set out to the worksite in the morning to complete our daily QA/QC check. When we first arrived at the site, the workers were nearing completion of the roof rebar.

*Technical side note: The roof rebar consists of 2 on top and 2 on bottom throughout the level, with an additional yet alternating, third bar across the top and bottom, respectively. It’s tough to explain in words so check out the pics from Monday post. Our insightful, technical advisor, Ken proposed this method for the roof rebar in order to account for the necessary moments throughout the beam.

Afterwards, we had the “stair master” come to the site to gauge whether he would be able to create a staircase leading to the top of the roof. As is customary in this region, people tend to access the roof for rooftop meetings and activities. As a result, our team is trying to create a safe, feasible solution for accessing the roof.

Before leaving the site, we met with our contractor Mr. Dixon and the electrician. They primarily took measurements within the rooms so that they could center the placement of the fans. Fyi, we’re planning on having two fans in the large room and one fan in the storage room.

I know that seems like a lot for one day, but at that point, the day was only half over.

After lunch, Harsha, Danish, Erin, and myself went to get haircuts. The price of the haircut was approximately 120 rupees (that’s about $2!). Upon arriving back at the center, we found the rest of the team preparing for the village party. The purpose of this party was to give a taste of American culture to a community that has very humbly shared their culture with us. Anna was hard at work preparing the games, which included “Pin the tail on the cow”. Nina was playing the ukulele and rehearsing different English songs to sing. Meanwhile, Kiera was making peanut butter sandwiches, French fries and popcorn. Before we knew it, it was time for the party.

The community had already mobilized a stereo system and created a stage setting for us. By 7:15pm, the village children were seated on the ground and the parents/elders were seated behind them. To begin, we started off with our National Anthem and then let the kids sing the Tamilian Anthem. Afterwards we played English and Tamil music, distributed the food to everyone, and started filling up the dance floor. The energy was high, the music was catchy, and the smiles were contagious. It was honestly very heartwarming to have seen so many adults, grandparents and children show up to this event.

We truly are going to miss this great community and will continue to work towards making the best possible building for them in the short time that we have remaining.

Until next time

-Arvind