Tuesday, August 16, 2005
FINAL ENTRY
The flight back from New Zealand was pleasant. I had a moment of anxiety at LAX as I just made my flight back to Canada (gotta love the many layers of security at US airports)! And what a pleasant surprise to see Tammy and Clinton waiting for me when I got back!
Well, this concludes a remarkable journey for me in 2005. To try to summarize this trip in a few words just does not do it justice. Plus, I would love to share about my experiences in person! Some strong impressions about my trip down under:
- COMMUNITY - I'm reminded about my amazing community, friends and family members who take more than just an interest in what I do, particularly when it comes to caring for the world
- BEAUTY IN NATURE - in a country that is a quarter the size of the province of Ontario, I was taken back by its overwhelming natural beauty. Rolling pastures, attention-seeking peaks and clear waters are bountiful and hard to ignore.
- ISLAND WEATHER - it's all about extremes! Sure, it could get up to 20 degrees (Celsius) during the day time, but it's gets down to freezing during the nights. As well, it could be sunny and clear one moment and then pouring heavy rain the next. The key is to dress for all conditions.
- PASSIONATE PEOPLE - what an incredible experience to meet 13 other like minded people, all of whom come from various professional backgrounds and life journeys, but all of whom share a desire to heal the world. Although we had diverse personalities and dynamics, everyone gave 100% It's rare to see a group with that much dedication.
To wrap up this trip, I am hosting a post-trip dinner on Saturday August 27, 2005. As someone who has tracked with me, I would be honoured if you could join me so that I can share more about this trip. Here are the details:
Where: 14 Gatehead Rd.,North York,ON, CANADA
When: Saturday, August 27, 5:00pm
Phone: 416-302-0080
Map to the location: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14+gatehead+road,+toronto,+on&spn=0.023899,0.058464&hl=en
(just email me at: duffshot@gmail.com if you're interested in coming and haven't received the evite)
Finally, thank you for supporting me. The support that I have received during my preparation, the thoughts and prayers while I was away, and certainly your interest as I have returned are invaluable to me. This trip to New Zealand will always be remembered as a collective journey.
Tim Chan
2005
Well, this concludes a remarkable journey for me in 2005. To try to summarize this trip in a few words just does not do it justice. Plus, I would love to share about my experiences in person! Some strong impressions about my trip down under:
- COMMUNITY - I'm reminded about my amazing community, friends and family members who take more than just an interest in what I do, particularly when it comes to caring for the world
- BEAUTY IN NATURE - in a country that is a quarter the size of the province of Ontario, I was taken back by its overwhelming natural beauty. Rolling pastures, attention-seeking peaks and clear waters are bountiful and hard to ignore.
- ISLAND WEATHER - it's all about extremes! Sure, it could get up to 20 degrees (Celsius) during the day time, but it's gets down to freezing during the nights. As well, it could be sunny and clear one moment and then pouring heavy rain the next. The key is to dress for all conditions.
- PASSIONATE PEOPLE - what an incredible experience to meet 13 other like minded people, all of whom come from various professional backgrounds and life journeys, but all of whom share a desire to heal the world. Although we had diverse personalities and dynamics, everyone gave 100% It's rare to see a group with that much dedication.
To wrap up this trip, I am hosting a post-trip dinner on Saturday August 27, 2005. As someone who has tracked with me, I would be honoured if you could join me so that I can share more about this trip. Here are the details:
Where: 14 Gatehead Rd.,North York,ON, CANADA
When: Saturday, August 27, 5:00pm
Phone: 416-302-0080
Map to the location: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14+gatehead+road,+toronto,+on&spn=0.023899,0.058464&hl=en
(just email me at: duffshot@gmail.com if you're interested in coming and haven't received the evite)
Finally, thank you for supporting me. The support that I have received during my preparation, the thoughts and prayers while I was away, and certainly your interest as I have returned are invaluable to me. This trip to New Zealand will always be remembered as a collective journey.
Tim Chan
2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
FINAL UPDATE FROM NEW ZEALAND
We have arrived in Auckland. After completing the final touches to the house yesterday, it was sentimental leaving the work site for the very last time. We shared a final team meal in Hamilton in a hip placed called The Iguana, which came highly recommended by the locals. We said our good-byes this morning to Wayne, our build supervisor. He wished us well and we hoped that the house will continue to stand after we leave!
Andrea is a member of a partner family who will be receiving her house in 2006. As part of her "sweat equity", she volunteered her time on the build site with us. She is a lovely lady, always a smile on her face, brining us water and lollipops! On the very last day of the build, she made this amazing dessert called Pavlova. Generally speaking, I don't take too many of the sweets during our break times (affectionately called "SMOKO" in New Zealand), but I couldn't resist! It was quite touching when Andrea came by and wished each of us safe travel at the end of the work day.
With the afternoon to ourselves, I decided to go on a "tramp", a hike in a local park. We were taken there by one of the local volunteers, Malcolm. He is quite the avid tramper and took us to Mount Hakarimata. In order to get to the summit, one has to scale 1,000 steps! Along the way (as we caught our breathes) we were introduced to some native trees. There was one tree that was so large in girth that it would take about 8 people to hold hands to encircle it! And the view from up top was just breath-taking. The great thing about this trip was that is was not a "tourist trap" - only locals really knew of this place. It really felt like a different world in the trees as there were many tropical-like ferns and palms. It was an amazing way to end of the trip!
Well, thanks for tracking along with me so far. This is my last update before I head back to Toronto. I have so many different stories and experiences look forward to sharing them with you, either electronically or in person. Check back with this blog as there will still be updates. I will be landing in TO around midnight on Monday night. Check the "Flight Information" section of the blog for more details.
At the start of our 1,000 step climb up to the summit of this amazing mount.
At the top of Mount Hakarimata - AMAZING!!
The Mill Lodge Motor Inn, what I called home for the past 2 weeks.
Tim Tams or Chit Chat - the jury is still out on which is the better of the two biscuits!
Andrea, a partner family member who brought us water, lollipops and Pavlova!
Andrea is a member of a partner family who will be receiving her house in 2006. As part of her "sweat equity", she volunteered her time on the build site with us. She is a lovely lady, always a smile on her face, brining us water and lollipops! On the very last day of the build, she made this amazing dessert called Pavlova. Generally speaking, I don't take too many of the sweets during our break times (affectionately called "SMOKO" in New Zealand), but I couldn't resist! It was quite touching when Andrea came by and wished each of us safe travel at the end of the work day.
With the afternoon to ourselves, I decided to go on a "tramp", a hike in a local park. We were taken there by one of the local volunteers, Malcolm. He is quite the avid tramper and took us to Mount Hakarimata. In order to get to the summit, one has to scale 1,000 steps! Along the way (as we caught our breathes) we were introduced to some native trees. There was one tree that was so large in girth that it would take about 8 people to hold hands to encircle it! And the view from up top was just breath-taking. The great thing about this trip was that is was not a "tourist trap" - only locals really knew of this place. It really felt like a different world in the trees as there were many tropical-like ferns and palms. It was an amazing way to end of the trip!
Well, thanks for tracking along with me so far. This is my last update before I head back to Toronto. I have so many different stories and experiences look forward to sharing them with you, either electronically or in person. Check back with this blog as there will still be updates. I will be landing in TO around midnight on Monday night. Check the "Flight Information" section of the blog for more details.
At the start of our 1,000 step climb up to the summit of this amazing mount.
At the top of Mount Hakarimata - AMAZING!!
The Mill Lodge Motor Inn, what I called home for the past 2 weeks.
Tim Tams or Chit Chat - the jury is still out on which is the better of the two biscuits!
Andrea, a partner family member who brought us water, lollipops and Pavlova!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
THE NEXT HOUSE
Well, it seems that our progress has been favourable. We have started working on the next house. This time, a few members of my team and I were transported to a site located nearby our first build site. This new site is actually in the backyard of an existing house which has been sectioned off as a separate lot. We started to put the fence in, as well as lay the footings for the new building.
Meanwhile, back at the original house, the final touches are being applied. Both the interior and the exterior is being painted. Work on this house should be completed by tomorrow. The plan is then to 'transport' this house to the destination community. The local Habitat office will continue to work through the application process, and hopefully find a family to live in this house.
I am keeping well. Health wise I am doing fine and I am so grateful for the other hard core athletes that are on this team who have been keeping me motivated to continue staying active. They have been feeding us well and we have had many opportunities to mingle with the local community. I am starting to get used to the Kiwi accent as well as which way to look when crossing the street!
Meanwhile, back at the original house, the final touches are being applied. Both the interior and the exterior is being painted. Work on this house should be completed by tomorrow. The plan is then to 'transport' this house to the destination community. The local Habitat office will continue to work through the application process, and hopefully find a family to live in this house.
I am keeping well. Health wise I am doing fine and I am so grateful for the other hard core athletes that are on this team who have been keeping me motivated to continue staying active. They have been feeding us well and we have had many opportunities to mingle with the local community. I am starting to get used to the Kiwi accent as well as which way to look when crossing the street!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
DAYS OFF
After 5 days of continuous building, we were able to take the weekend off for some well deserved rest. This gave our team an opportunity to see some other parts of New Zealand and to get immersed in some of its cultural aspects. Thanks to Shirley Bennett from the local Habitat affiliate who arranged all our activities!
MAORI VILLAGE AND GEOTHERMAL OCCURENCES
The Maori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, also known as New Zealand. They are a people rich of history and relics. Our visit to one of the Maori villages gave us a glimpse of this culture, as we were given a small presentation of Maori song and dance. This particular village is located on an active geothermal occurences and all around us, sulphur smelling mists were rising out of holes in the ground. The villagers use this natural heat source for their cooking, cleaning and bathing. Although I was thrilled to have been given some exposure to this significant people group, I was saddened that they had to "perform" for us.
CHURCH AT EASTSIDE'S
No, it wasn't a church set in a popular American Italian restaurant! Eastside Apostolic Church is located about 10 minutes from where our motel is. Not really knowing what to expect, I was absolutely thrilled to have sat in on a fairly contemporary service, where there was lots of worship, various media presentations and a brief sermon about "Trusting In God". The people were quite friendly and it is a regular practice for the church to recognize those in the congregation who were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries!
CLIMBING THE UNKNOWN MOUNTAIN
Today we had the chance to scale a mountain for which I forgot to note the name of. It is located on the north east side of New Zealand, where one side of the inlet borders a bay, and the other side borders the Pacific Ocean. It was amazing! It was about 45 minutes of steep climbing before we got to the summit and we were met with hurricane like winds and rains. But it was well worth it as the view was just stunning!
SWIMMING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN!
I wish! With temperatures here hovering around 5 degrees, one can imagine how cold the waters would be. Plus, they were quite choppy. So, I had to settle for an outdoor hot pool! Very refreshing on the sore muscles from a week's worth of construction.
This sign is meant for the visiting tourists. But I wonder if it could also be meant for keeping the Maori out of their rightful land...
All the water in this village is heated by the natural geothermal pockets. On a cold day like the one when we visited, mist is perpetually rising.
Michael, our Maori guide during the tour of his village. He is explaining to us the gysers that we are looking at.
MAORI VILLAGE AND GEOTHERMAL OCCURENCES
The Maori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, also known as New Zealand. They are a people rich of history and relics. Our visit to one of the Maori villages gave us a glimpse of this culture, as we were given a small presentation of Maori song and dance. This particular village is located on an active geothermal occurences and all around us, sulphur smelling mists were rising out of holes in the ground. The villagers use this natural heat source for their cooking, cleaning and bathing. Although I was thrilled to have been given some exposure to this significant people group, I was saddened that they had to "perform" for us.
CHURCH AT EASTSIDE'S
No, it wasn't a church set in a popular American Italian restaurant! Eastside Apostolic Church is located about 10 minutes from where our motel is. Not really knowing what to expect, I was absolutely thrilled to have sat in on a fairly contemporary service, where there was lots of worship, various media presentations and a brief sermon about "Trusting In God". The people were quite friendly and it is a regular practice for the church to recognize those in the congregation who were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries!
CLIMBING THE UNKNOWN MOUNTAIN
Today we had the chance to scale a mountain for which I forgot to note the name of. It is located on the north east side of New Zealand, where one side of the inlet borders a bay, and the other side borders the Pacific Ocean. It was amazing! It was about 45 minutes of steep climbing before we got to the summit and we were met with hurricane like winds and rains. But it was well worth it as the view was just stunning!
SWIMMING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN!
I wish! With temperatures here hovering around 5 degrees, one can imagine how cold the waters would be. Plus, they were quite choppy. So, I had to settle for an outdoor hot pool! Very refreshing on the sore muscles from a week's worth of construction.
This sign is meant for the visiting tourists. But I wonder if it could also be meant for keeping the Maori out of their rightful land...
All the water in this village is heated by the natural geothermal pockets. On a cold day like the one when we visited, mist is perpetually rising.
Michael, our Maori guide during the tour of his village. He is explaining to us the gysers that we are looking at.
Friday, August 05, 2005
THE FIRST WORK WEEK DONE!
All is fine and I'm just amazed by the progress that our team has collectively made! It's hard to believe that just five days ago, there was only a platform sitting where now sits a nearly completed house. Most of the work that still needs to be done is on the inside, including painting and trimming. Because the house will be "transported" to the final location, we don't have to worry about things like a deck or landscaping.
I have worked on many things in the past couple of days. The siding of the house proved to be a big task because this one-story bungalow is pretty long. Instead of using vinyl siding, we are installing "Hardyplanks", which is a ceramic like siding board. It was so satisfying when they installed the front door today! Most of my team (including me) is exhausted, but we are feeling a sense of accomplishment, knowing that our hard work will one day represent someone's home.
Cec (short for Cecil) has been driving us every morning from our motel to the work site. He is retired and has been involved with Habitat for many years now. In fact, had it not been for so many volunteers this time around, he would have been intimately involved with this build. He is a sweet elderly gentleman who has a lot of great New Zealand stories. We had dinner with him and his wife Julia. I found out from Julia that her involvement with Habitat is somewhat limited because of her heart ailment (only 14% of her heart is functioning right now). Yet, she is still actively serving in her church as part of the library and welcome ministries. They are a very inspiring couple!
Tommorow is our first day off and our team has been invited to Rotorua, a city about 2 hours away from Hamilton. More updates to come!
Picture of the house after day 3...
A view from the finished roof. Moo!
Another view form the finished roof.
Cec, our bus driver drives this manual transmission bus. All drivers here drive on the left side.
I have worked on many things in the past couple of days. The siding of the house proved to be a big task because this one-story bungalow is pretty long. Instead of using vinyl siding, we are installing "Hardyplanks", which is a ceramic like siding board. It was so satisfying when they installed the front door today! Most of my team (including me) is exhausted, but we are feeling a sense of accomplishment, knowing that our hard work will one day represent someone's home.
Cec (short for Cecil) has been driving us every morning from our motel to the work site. He is retired and has been involved with Habitat for many years now. In fact, had it not been for so many volunteers this time around, he would have been intimately involved with this build. He is a sweet elderly gentleman who has a lot of great New Zealand stories. We had dinner with him and his wife Julia. I found out from Julia that her involvement with Habitat is somewhat limited because of her heart ailment (only 14% of her heart is functioning right now). Yet, she is still actively serving in her church as part of the library and welcome ministries. They are a very inspiring couple!
Tommorow is our first day off and our team has been invited to Rotorua, a city about 2 hours away from Hamilton. More updates to come!
Picture of the house after day 3...
A view from the finished roof. Moo!
Another view form the finished roof.
Cec, our bus driver drives this manual transmission bus. All drivers here drive on the left side.
Me getting on the bus at the start of our day!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
FAST PROGRESS!
Well, it's been 3 days and we have seen some amazing progress on the house that we're working on! Finally, we experienced our first clear day today - not a cloud in sight. Aside from the rain, we have had to contend with "winter-like" conditions; having come from a heat wave in Toronto, the current 10 degree weather is somewhat crisp.
I have had an amazing time getting to know my team members. Everyone seems to have their own story and have journeyed from different experiences. The one thing that impresses me the most is that everyone is so willing to chip in! I have often found myself with nothing to do because other team members have volunteered themselves much faster. This is the main reason that I'm attributing to for the progress of our build.
We are also getting accustomed to the Kiwi accent. This comes from interaction with the locals that are also building on this house. In fact, our foreman is a New Zealander, so one really has to pay attention to his orders, both because of the accent and the construction-speak. I've only had to redo work a couple times so far!
Some pictures...
The house after day 2: all the walls are up along with the ceilings. We have just added the tie back to get the walls ready for insulation and siding. The gables have been added and the skeletal form of the roof has been put in place.
So far, this has been a safe build. The only "casualty" that I have is this blood blister from hitting my thumb hard with my own hammer! I'm such a clutz!!
Me and a pneumatic hammer gun! Maybe not such a great idea!
I have had an amazing time getting to know my team members. Everyone seems to have their own story and have journeyed from different experiences. The one thing that impresses me the most is that everyone is so willing to chip in! I have often found myself with nothing to do because other team members have volunteered themselves much faster. This is the main reason that I'm attributing to for the progress of our build.
We are also getting accustomed to the Kiwi accent. This comes from interaction with the locals that are also building on this house. In fact, our foreman is a New Zealander, so one really has to pay attention to his orders, both because of the accent and the construction-speak. I've only had to redo work a couple times so far!
Some pictures...
The house after day 2: all the walls are up along with the ceilings. We have just added the tie back to get the walls ready for insulation and siding. The gables have been added and the skeletal form of the roof has been put in place.
So far, this has been a safe build. The only "casualty" that I have is this blood blister from hitting my thumb hard with my own hammer! I'm such a clutz!!
Me and a pneumatic hammer gun! Maybe not such a great idea!
Monday, August 01, 2005
MONDAY AUGUST 1 UPDATE
We completed our first build day today. I guess that winter in New Zealand produces some really strange weather. It will be pouring rain one minute and then all of a sudden the clouds clear and it's steaming hot! Well, the whole day was like this even before our work started at 8:30 a.m. What was really neat was seeing a full arc rainbow as the backdrop for the devotion provided before we started.
Well, we learned today that there hasn't been a family chosen yet for the house that we are building. HFH has been trying to gather enough interest for houses, particularly one that are being built on Maori land. There is a lot of distrust and no support which poses a problem for the application process. In fact, we drove by the site where our house will be "transported" to after it has been built. We were warned not to get off the bus because that area is controlled by drug-dealing gangs! Yikes!
So, we are building our house on the parking lot of a local college. All components have been pre-cut and basically we are assembling the pieces into a large puzzle. We are following a "tri-panel" model which means that we are not using wood frames. Today, we managed to put up all the outside walls, the inside walls and the ceilings. It's raining really hard right now so I hope that the ceiling is holding up okay under the water.
I have been getting to know my team quite well. We are an interesting collection of individuals from different experiences. But it seems that we are all connected by a common desire to do good. Most people here are teachers, so it's been great hearing about the different stories that they all have to share. I thought that these next 2 weeks will be a hiatus from my physical training. It turns out that there is another triathlete here and a few of us have been running each day that we've been here!
Until the next update!
Well, we learned today that there hasn't been a family chosen yet for the house that we are building. HFH has been trying to gather enough interest for houses, particularly one that are being built on Maori land. There is a lot of distrust and no support which poses a problem for the application process. In fact, we drove by the site where our house will be "transported" to after it has been built. We were warned not to get off the bus because that area is controlled by drug-dealing gangs! Yikes!
So, we are building our house on the parking lot of a local college. All components have been pre-cut and basically we are assembling the pieces into a large puzzle. We are following a "tri-panel" model which means that we are not using wood frames. Today, we managed to put up all the outside walls, the inside walls and the ceilings. It's raining really hard right now so I hope that the ceiling is holding up okay under the water.
I have been getting to know my team quite well. We are an interesting collection of individuals from different experiences. But it seems that we are all connected by a common desire to do good. Most people here are teachers, so it's been great hearing about the different stories that they all have to share. I thought that these next 2 weeks will be a hiatus from my physical training. It turns out that there is another triathlete here and a few of us have been running each day that we've been here!
Until the next update!
