Building More than Houses…
- Community
- Aramco Brats
Author: Emma Dinneen and Lauren Ionta
Released 27 July 2005
Authors Emma Dinneen and Lauren Ionta
Photograph Contributed by Charlie Franck
It was the talk of the whole school, the annual Out-of-Kingdom trips were finally announced and our parents had given us permission to choose a trip in our final year at Dhahran Middle School in Saudi Arabia. Most of the trips had been offered in previous years; the ski trip to Switzerland and the South African trip, but one of the trips was new and looked particularly interesting, the Habitat for Humanity trip to Jordan. We had heard of Habitat and knew a little bit about what they did, but wanted to find out more. We began by asking our parents, friends, the trip advisors and searching the Internet for more information. The more we learned about the trip, the greater our interest became. It seemed like the trip to Jordan would be the perfect combination; helping build a house for a family in need and seeing Jordan with all its interesting sites.
Leading up to the April trip to Jordan, all of us including our advisors, Mr. Franck and Mr. Hammond planned, organized and helped in various fund raiser activities including a car wash, spaghetti dinner, a movie for elementary children and school bake sales. By late March we had reached our goal and had the money to give Habitat Jordan so they could continue building more houses in the future. In addition, by working together over the months prior to the trip we had gotten to know each other really well.
The day finally arrived and our three hour flight from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia to Amman went really fast. We anticipated learning about all the aspects of Jordan; the ruins, the ancient sites, the culture and especially those we would be helping. (We were going to experience many different elements of Jordan, not only the tours of the ruins and ancient sites but we also learned what it felt like to live as a local and help people in need.) Once we got on the bus to go to our work site, the scenery changed from the beautiful residential areas of Amman to the dry arid parts of southern Jordan. By mid afternoon we reached Gore-al-Safi, about two hours south of Amman on the southern edge of the Dead Sea and our home for the next five days. Shortly after arriving there, we were told that we would be living with a local family. Although the house was not exactly big or a five star hotel, it became the most warm, friendly and welcoming place ever imaginable. We developed a lasting relationship with the family and with the workers helping us build the house. We started to refer to the house as our “home” as well, because by the end, it really did feel like home. Every morning all of us would wake up at 6:30, have a quick breakfast of bread and fruit and head up to the worksite by 7:00. We wouldn’t break our day until 12:30 p.m, when we would proceed back to the house for lunch and a quick nap. At 3:00 we were up and ready again and would return to the work site until 6:30 p.m. Once at the worksite we would immediately take action into our personal deeds and chores!
Habitat for Humanity Team
Photograph Contributed by Charlie Franck
The first day at work was called “boot camp” and although it wasn’t as exciting, it was crucial and a great learning experience. The many essential techniques we were taught included mixing cement, laying bricks, constructing walls, flicking cement (our favorite!), bending and cutting rebar, and the brick line (not our favorite). As we progressed, the work became easier and more familiar, as we were all putting forth our best effort with good intensions at mind. Not only did we become more familiar with our hard labor but we also built strong relationships with the local children and Jordanian people we were working with. Many people could not speak English; however, this only made it more interesting to talk to each other and was also an excellent way to practice our Arabic.
On the last day of work, our expectations had been greatly exceeded. We were much farther ahead in building than what we had planned and had not only finished constructing all the outer walls, but had also gone ahead to build an extra inner wall. The next step was laying out the roof with wood and bricks, laying rebar over it and securing it together with wire. This was extremely tiring as we were up on the roof for hours at a time, working in the blazing, hot sun. However, by the end of the day we were left with a warm sense of accomplishment as we collapsed into our beds and had a well deserved rest.
The feeling of helping others with nothing in return became an unforgettable gift in the end, when we presented the finished house to the smiling, excited family. This house meant a great deal to the family of eighteen people, who were currently living in a small, two roomed house. We were able to give them a bigger more convenient house in less than five days, so the family could live a more comfortable life of their own. This was an opportunity of a lifetime as we got to experience the Jordanian culture and their way of life. We learned that although people may not have everything in life, to simply have the small things can make you the happiest. The memories of this remarkable trip will be with us forever and we all hope to return to the house we worked so hard to build! In looking back, we built far more than a house; we built relationships, acquired a sense of accomplishment and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Petra
After spending five days building the three-roomed brick house, we began our touring. We boarded a bus and proceeded to Petra, a city we’ve all heard great things of but never seen. The city of Petra was carved out of sandstone and was the capital of the Nabateans, which reigned from 400 B.C to A.D 106. In the centuries that followed, Petra was abandoned and disappeared from most maps and was known only through ancient lore until 1812 when a Swiss traveler rediscover the ruins. Our walks and donkey rides revealed literally hundreds of buildings, tombs, baths, funerary hall, and temples as well as a 3,000 seat open air amphitheatre. (We all had fun horse back riding to the entrance of the water channel, which resembled an opened-roofed tunnel of rock.) Walking two kilometers to reach “The Treasury”, we saw many engravings on the sides of the walls from the early Nabatean people. As we proceeded down the tunnel, the carvings slowly changed, showing how the culture and beliefs evolved over time. After a good walk, a large castle like building emerged through a break in the rock walls. The spectacular “Treasury” appeared before us and we were left in silent awe. As we pressed forward into this channel, a wave of market sellers engulfed us. After buying a few souvenirs, we headed for the famous monastery that was situated on top of a large, never ending mountain. Before advancing to the monastery, we did not realize that we would be tackling a feat of nine hundred steep steps. Although this was a strenuous task, the scenery was beautiful and the view from the top seemed well worth our time. After a quick run down to lunch, we spent the rest of the day gallivanting around Petra, riding donkeys, and negotiating with local sellers; an adventure we found to be fun and well worth while!
The Dead Sea
While looking back on the trip, we all agree that one of the highlights of Jordan was swimming in the Dead Sea. It was definitely not what we were expecting, as we did not realize that we would float as much as we did. Swimming out a far distance, we laid back and relaxed in the sun, with no fear of sea creatures or drowning in mind. After spending enough time in the water, we all swam in and gathered mud to later coat ourselves in a thick gooey substance. Applying the mud was weird at first, but ended up to be a good laugh. By the end of it, the only noticeably white parts of our bodies were our teeth when we laughed. The most challenging part, however, was washing off this dirty, quick-drying mud. After having a long, hard scrub in the showers, we headed out for the clean hotel pools. We swam around for a bit and had an amazing slide ride, where all seven of us ended up getting stuck and blocking traffic! We had about 20 minutes to soak up the sun and lie out. We reluctantly returned to the hotel, to prepare ourselves for the farewell dinner for Habitat for Humanity. This was our final goodbye, and we were all sad to leave this place that has taught us so much.