Thursday we got a ton done at the site. It was the five of us UMass kids, around 5 kids from Kansas University, and a bunch of the local volunteers who were there on Tuesday. It was nice because although not everyone knows each other's names (you get introduced to a LOT of people down here) everyone was enjoying each other's company and working hard on the house, laughing and joking around with each other. Because this particular house is going to have 2 floors, the big task of the day was going to be putting the supports up that would hold up the 2nd floor. These were massive, awkwardly-shaped, 25 feet long, and had to be lifted up by a group of people passing it along up ladders across the house until it was even. Then, it had to be nailed in by hand across the entire length of the house. Repeat this a bunch of times, and it would create a sturdy base for the 2nd floor.
Now, I'm talking about it although I helped with this project. Unfortunately, I am pretty weak and would have tripped multiple times and only brought down everyone else trying to carry the beam. In fact, none of us helped carry the beams except Mike. Now, Mike was the favorite person of EVERYONE we encountered this week, so although this is obviously good he was always the first person people ran to to ask for help. Mike's a good sport and would do almost anything asked of him. So, props to Mike! He had to sit on the very first ladder and essentially guide the beams across the house to the waiting hands of everyone; so he probably had the hardest job all day.
While Mike was busy being awesome, the girls, myself, and 2 boys from KU, Danny and Zach, were busy constructing a shed on the side of the house. We had to nail in the walls, make sure they were level, and fix the multiple mistakes we made in measuring (nothing serious - just needed the sledgehammer to make sure the walls were tight against each other). This might sound like a simple project but I assure you, it was not. It was really hot out, but we were all so engrossed in getting this little shed no one really noticed.
After work, we rushed back to the church to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to Susan's church for a community dinner, and got to sit down again with people of the community. At first, things are always pretty awkward but once you get talking to people it's fairly easy to make conversation. Melissa, Faith and I sat at a table where I ended up talking to an older couple who moved here last year from Florida. They talked to me about their grand kids and how they liked Maryville so far. They also told me they were very happy to hear of students going and doing a service trip over their spring break - they emphasized that they seem to only hear of bad kids, and hearing of a few good ones really made them happy. Melissa had a long conversation with another women who sat alone at our table - her name was Clara, and apparently she had owned the land that the new Habitat houses were being built on. She was pretty old, and told Melissa some really interesting stories about herself and her family. The one thing that they had in common that was great was that they both love dancing :P
After dinner everyone went back to the church and hung out. We did a run to Target to get snacks because we WENT TO THE HUNGER GAMES PREMIER! It was so much fun going to a crowded theatre on opening night. We got there early and hung out and talked, and saw a bunch of the KU kids too. What was really funny was that one of the trivia questions before the previews had UMass Amherst in it!! We cheered when we saw it, and a few of the KU kids yelled as well. Although we got home really late, the movie was so much fun :)
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