Videos from July 30

Bite the Pan Extravaganza

Richard Kemink Crashes

The Finals

and

Hi Mom

Hi Everybody,

It seems to be getting hotter and hotter here in South Texas. Or perhaps we're getting wearier and wearier. We're making good progress at the two separate homes we're helping to restore from hurricane damage. One group is sheetrocking and my group is spending the week tiling an entire house. We're in good spirits, working hard during the day and bonding in the evenings.

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So this was the third day of work. We had walked into the house on Monday with half of its walls bearing their two-by-fours and now are proud to say that all the walls are not only up (save for a bathroom and bedroom; the bathroom because we don't have that type of sheet-rock & the room because it has wood paneling which we also lack) but they are nearly ready to be painted... Just give it another couple of days :)

I mention this not just for the sake of a general update on work status but because it reminded me of another trip with similar weather...

Today three women from FEMA came to check in on our homeowners and to make sure that the rebuilding was coming along swiftly so that they can allow [the homeowners] further use of the trailer set up in the front yard. I may not have caught the significance of this had Liz and I not been outside when they came up the walkway (and she mentioned it) ... On the first work day in New Orleans, Liz and I had worked together for an elderly gent who had been trying to rebuild his house on his own for the two years prior to our arrival (two years ago). He had had a court date set a couple days after this work day of ours and had to prove that his rebuilding was going at a decent rate or else his house would be taken by the city (who had plans to buldoze the property).

Of course, this didn't hapen; both Godsquad and the Episcopal Hurricane Relief wouldn't allow it to. i thought about this as the FEMA ladies toured the house, almost shocked to see how much work was done and how much had been done since their last visit which was aparently when there were absolutely no walls.

Just thought I'd share that :)

-Caroline.

Finally!!

Today was a very exciting and fun day , we finally got to grout!! The last 2 days my group had been cleaning the mortar between the already ladid tiles and it was boring we spent our entire last 2 days cleaning this mortar, it is very mind numbing. well today we spent our first hour doin the same thin weve done the last 2 days because we had to wait for Josie to come teach us beacuse Andy didnt really know how. Grout feels like sand and it dries out your hands A LOT. Gaby and I were singing songs we knew even though it seemed we were a little off key. After you grout you have to have people wiping the tiles down otherwise the grout thats on top hardeneds or the dust jus stays on like a layer of grim, so if you dont wipe it down someone will have to spray acid wash on the tiles to get rid of all that, plus you have to wear a mask whik doing it and its not fun to do. we got one room down but quite a few more left..

When we got back home we walked into our room but before we could get into our room (we bein gaby, michala, and me) we got a huge whiff of something nasty; THE BOYS ROOM. The boys are staying in a large open space with their doors being a sheet on a rope. They take showers everyday but their space really smells, the girls have a fan facing the door to keep the smell out when we open the door. Nothing is keeping the smell at bay, we (the girls) have sprayed febreeze and oust within 2 minutes the nasty smeel overpowers it . Gaby says the febreeze is like a snuggle teddy bear but the smell is like a monster that ate the teddy bear. I really hope that smell goes away.

Tuesday Videos

Grout, tile, grout, tile, cut, break, swear, grout, tile

Nick, covered in mud

Pickle Popsicles

Working the afternoon away

On my knees

Hey everyone this is Sam. So todauy I did the same exact work as yesterday which was basically cleaning out the the mortar that had seeped around the edges of the tile . Apearently using wood works to clean the mortar and is more effective then the tool thingy we were using originally. then we had a 15 minute break and we all walked in a massive group to use the restrooms (which is across the street) we like to call this a unipee .
Then we had lunch and Stephen had to get gas in the car; so it'd be ready when we were done, but the engine died and we had to wait for a jumper cable and ended up calling triple A. After lunch we finished a lot of tiling. When Stephen came back from the gas station he had bought ice cream for everyone in or work group but also came back with the original pickle pop. I decided to eat it because i couldnt have the ice cream. The pop was gross it was basicaly frozen pickle juice . Then we had a couple more hours of work and it was back home. All the guys; pretty much , went to the beach and all the girls stayed back to take a shower . Its very quiet without the Guys. THe girls room is right next to the guys sleeping area and the think theyre whispering but in reality theyre talking really loud and we can hear everything theyre are saying. So far this trip is so much fun and lots 0f joking around.

How to Properly Sheetrock

Meet the A Team