Maybe it's because it's less than two months away. Maybe it's because people are starting to post on the Facebook page about what tools to bring. Maybe it's because I get my final rabies shot today. Whatever the reason, I had the greatest dream about Haiti last night...
Our tent was 6 times the size of the one I shared with 13 women last year (we even had furniture) but we numbered only eight. The temperature only got to 85 degrees. It rained - briefly - every now and then to cut the humidity. I had discovered an electric hammer that would work on the hurricane clips. My alarm went off before I found out whether the showers had warm water...
I've been reminded lately of how hard the builds are. Someone at the gym was asking about the trip. I told her it's fun! I have great friends who go every year, and you always make new friends. We sometimes travel together before the build (forbidden in Haiti). We get to discover new countries. And then I get to the build site and realise that I've forgotten again how HARD these builds are! Maybe not for everyone, but for me with no building skills, whose low blood pressure keeps her off ladders and scaffolding, who wilts in anything over 80 degrees (build temps are typically closer to 100) - for ME it's really hard! And there are NO NAPS! In India, I started getting lightheaded from the heat and my workboots didn't fit properly. In Thailand, my feet had blisters and I was walking funny the whole time from the pain. Last year in Haiti, I worked all Wednesday feeling like I was going to faint, but made it to almost 3.00, when my roof crew disbanded for other tasks, before I went to the cooling tent.
Somehow I forget how miserable I was, and only remember the fun part when I sign up every year. Better that way. Hey, a week of freezing cold showers is a small sacrifice to help a family move out of a makeshift tent into a permanent, hurricane-proof home. It's just hard to remember that when the cold water hits you and takes your breath away...
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