Construction at the Good Samaritan Hospital

After hearing so much about the Good Samaritan Hospital from my three daughters (La Romana vets: Erin 2007, 2008; Michelle 2011, 2012; Katherine 2012, 2013) I finally had the opportunity to see it and spend two days working with the construction team.

They put us to work right away hauling cement up to the third floor the old fashioned way - by pulley.  Here are Peter, Hannah, and Chris P. doing most of the work. Upstairs Ronny and Chris B. receive the load and stack it.

One of the first things I had to learn was that this construction project operated in a very different manner compared to an American construction project. Authority on the job site is very decentralized and work seems (to a Type A Americano like me) to proceed in a haphazard manner. I've learned that this style is due in part to the non-Type A Domincan culture and in part to the availability of materials. If a load of tiles arrives, you lay tile -- even if it might be better to wait until more of the heavy inside work is finished. All I had to do was walk downstairs to the first and second floor to see a thriving urban hospital to realize that everything on the 3rd floor will come together eventually.

Here's Hannah, Ronny, and a regular worker mixing the cement by hand.

Jed, Chris P., and Peter work the jackhammer to make way for electrical work.

 I am very grateful to all the regular Good Samaritan workers who were so patient with me as I learned how to install studs to frame a room. Below, I am working with Jean Baptiste to get the stud perfectly upright before we fasten it in place. And Chris B. and Peter work together to join a vertical and horizontal piece. 

It's also been very gratifying to work with all the members of the mission team from the U.S. -- such inspiring dedication!
All in all, it's been a great two days on the construction team. Today I'm off to a batay for the first time.

Dominican Time

One cultural difference that our orgnizers told us about was Dominican Time: Relationships are more important than running to a tight schedule, so be flexible about time.  So, when we landed at 4:30 am with 24 people, 46 duffle bags of donations, plus our personal suitcases and carry-on and found no bus, I wasn'tp erturbed.  There was some mix-up so we settled in to wait. Four hours later when the bus and the open-air cargo truck arrived some of us had managed to nap amomg the duffles. We all piled into the bus for the 90 minute drive to LaRomana.  Once we clered the outskirts fo Santo Domingo we drove through several miles of beachfront before getting into mile of sugar cane.  you can smell the burning fields from miles away, reminiscent of campfires.

The bus ride got very intersting when we stopped about 15 minutes int to drive to check the brake fluid. Fortunately there were no hills on the drive. We continued on with the windows -and the bus door wide open.  The fresh warm air is a wonderful change from cold, dry Massachusetts.  Our hosts are also warm and welcoming and I'm enjoying getting to know the rest of the team.  Taking a trip with this many strangers is certainly out of my comfort zone.

This morning we attended a Haitian Baptist Church, this afternoon, the beach. Tomorrow the real work begins.

patience please.  I'm typing on a tablet and the keyboard interface is less than friendly. Please excuse the spelling and punctuation. I don't have time to fix it.