Today was the second day in Oak Harbor but the first day on the jobsite. We all got up bright and early at about 7am with a departure time at 8am. Melissa, the program manager, and all of the regular volunteers greeted us when we arrived at the jobsite with doughnuts and fresh coffee! In general, the first half of the work day moved much slower than the second half since we were all still learning how to properly hammer in nails straight and frame a house. Once we all got the hang of it things moved much quicker. We started off with a concrete slab and ended the day with almost all of the first floor framed and boarded.
The introductions in the beginning were pretty funny since we all had to get our little aprons to hold our nails and hammer but also a hard hat that we were required to wear at all times. Damion, our project manager, asked us to put our names on the front and back of the hats but had the freedom to give ourselves nicknames. Kaitlyn was Krush, Parkes was P-Diddy, Tayler was T-Sauce, and Katie was Lambchop. I’m pretty sure that every single time Damion called one of their names people just started laughing.
Once we all had our gear, Damion showed us a quick demonstration on what we had to do. We all got straight to work but were deceived on how easy he made it look. I, along with many of my other team members were pounding in nails crooked left and right and hitting fingers just as much. Needless to say, we had to learn the hard way how to properly nail beams together. In less than an hour we finished our first framed wall and lifted it up with pride to its standing position. At this point, many of us got proficient in using the hammer, so frames were being made and put up much faster. By the time any of us noticed, all four walls were up and it was time for lunch.
After lunch, half of us worked on finishing the interior frames while the other half started boarding up the exterior walls. Talking with Scarlet, the homeowner, while working on the house, made all of us connect to the house that much more since we were working side by side with her. Starting the process over a year ago, Scarlet said it was very weird building the house because it just seemed so far away before. With majority of the first floor completed, I am very excited to finish it and start on the second floor.
-Anthony Ng
When we got home (our beautiful habitat, cozy 2 room home), we all were pretty exhausted from the day. While some of us sat and played games, a few of us braved the icy cold shower for a few minutes at a time. Thankfully, by the end of the night, help had arrived and our hot water was showered upon us! For dinner, we had a beautiful home cooked meal of tacos made by Allie, Jarrett, and Shannon. Afterward, we all enjoyed a game of “two truths and one lie” as well as “the love of my life but…”. The house is definitely becoming a nice home to us all. We spend time doing homework, lounging around, and playing games together. Our second discussion of he night was held and we all were able to talk about our first day experiences and expectations. We ended the night with a high energy game of spoons.
The day was bright, energetic, and enjoyable. Although it was tough manual labor, we all were able to work together to get the walls of the house up! The crew was extremely helpful – always there for us to ask questions. We were served hot coffee and a fabulous lunch of burgers and hotdogs, along with more donuts! The day was long – but extremely fun and high-spirited for all.
-Katie Ha
