My husband and I joined a Habitat for Humanity International build in Nepal along with twelve other people during the summer of 2011.  Most of us were from our hometown of Knoxville, but we didn’t know each other very well before we left.  However, there’s nothing like building a stone and mud house together that’ll help you make connections in ways you never dreamed possible.

Morena Constantinou and Susan West of Knoxville pass rocks up the mountainside in Nepal.

The task was simple yet arduous: move the rocks from the quarry down below up to the house site on the side of a mountain.  And then get going on that build! So, we spent the majority of our time forming daisy chains and heaving heavy chunks of rock day after long day.

It wasn’t all painful, though.  We sang songs, danced a bit, and thoroughly intrigued all the Nepalese who probably thought we were pretty silly.  And we were.

But connecting with the family and new friends in Nepal was just as rewarding as bonding with our team who had traveled halfway around the world to make a difference!

In this last picture, you can see me standing beside the foundation and partial wall of the house I worked on.  A stack of rocks we hoisted from the quarry lies beside the house. But something I never expected happened: I had to connect with a stray goat and get him to wander off so we could continue the work!

Here I am with the red tika that had been placed on my forehead standing amidst a pile of rocks near a mud house talking to a goat! Ah, connections!

Oh, the Places and People and Animals We See!

For more on Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Connections, click here.

Want to know more about how you can build around the globe with Habitat for Humanity International?  Click here for more information.