First day of the build

Today was our first day on the build site.  We have been told that it is a 45 minute ride from the hotel, but we start out happily in spite of the drive time.

We leave Darkhan behind and head out into the country.

But then our van has a flat tire.

While we saw lots of livestock on the drive to Darkhan, we saw no farming.  On our ride this morning, including where we stopped to change the flat tire, we saw large scale farming - especially of what appears to be wheat.

We finally got to the build site where ten houses will eventually be built.  The land was donated by the government; World Vision is giving money; and Habitat and another local charity are doing the building.  HFH built houses one and two last week.  Today we start on three and four and there are groups working on other houses.  On three and four, the foundations are already done.  We start building the walls with these large blocks made of concrete and styrofoam pellets.  The blocks are 12 inches deep, 24 inches wide and 14 inches tall.  If there is the proper mix of concrete and styrofoam, they weight about 50 pounds; if not fully mixed, there will be chunks of concrete and they can weigh as much as 75 pounds.

One of the houses from the prior HFH gourp and what we hope to do by the end of our two weeks

I had the opportunity to help move blocks from one house site to our house site number four

Water tank for water used in mixing concrete

Progress on house four by lunchtime

 We drove into the town near our construction site.  Lunch was at a local restaurant and consisted of chicken legs, rice and a salad that was some kinds of cole slaw.

Did I mention that it was hot?  Temperature was in the upper 80s.

We built corners first, and then filled in rows in between.  That meant that we would have to cut blocks.  On the second row of blocks by the door way, you can see two small slices we had cut from other blocks.  The cutting is down by had with a two man saw - that is some of the toughest work to do and from which I ache the most.

By the end of the day, house four had first three rows done with spaces left for doors and window

After work, we set out to find a spot by a river for a traditional Mongolian barbecue - it was nothing like Mongolian barbeque that I have had back in the USA.  The HFH staff did all the prep and cooking while we just relaxed and had snacks.

The variety of food was amazin.

Some of the meat was grilled on skewers over wood fire.

The big cooking was done in this large kettle.  First they added hot water, then pieces of meat and hot rocks from the fire, and finally potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

Many salads were made.

We started eating about 8:30.  Soon after, a full moon appeared on the horizon.

And then we drove home in the dark.  As we turned onto the road into the city center, the police were stopping all cars for sobriety checks.  Fortunately, our two drivers had abstained - there was wine and vodka consumed with the meal.  We got back to the hotel about 10:30.  And we were all tired and ready for bed - no karaoke for us tonight.