Poland: Project Miscellany

One of the challenges of Habitat projects is having enough work for everyone, of different types, with sufficient materials and equipment. This is particularly true when we are building a small house, in a severely underdeveloped country, with little or no access to conventional building materials and where the construction is necessarily sequenced--you can't lay the foundation until you dig it, lay the block without the foundation, etc.

This project has less of a problem with this than any I have been on. Since the building is huge, there is less of a sequencing problem. At this stage, the work is all interior, making weather a non-issue. And most of the current work is painting the 20+ rooms, which involves sanding, priming and painting. And painting all of the countless windows, which involves scraping decades of paint off them, then painting them. And a little demolition work, for those wanting to do some "real" work. So there's no chance of running out of work, for not having a little choice of things to do and to be able to vary it, etc.

Materials are also not a problem. We seem to have plenty of them available, with a foreman who is very on top of his job. Piles of sandpaper, buckets of paint which he mixes, etc. And sufficient equipment (brushes, brooms, etc.), including a sledgehammer for demolition

Of course, we don't find all the equipment that many of us are accustomed to when we are at home or at Habitat in the U.S. Which always leads to teams saying "let's go get... and donate it" (as well as using it while we are here.) This then leads to the experience of going to the local shop(s), discovering what little is available, and making do with less.

This is also not a problem here. We compiled a list of desired items, then stopped at the Casterama on our way to the job site this morning. This is the local equivalent of Home Depot/Lowe's. Part of a European chain (one of about 5 similar chains that are all over Europe, including Poland.) We went in, sparkling new and clean, everything you could think of probably (including a vending machine for espresso, lattes, etc.) I asked Michal how long it has been here. "Seven years." When did Poland join the EU? "Seven years ago." A visible consequence of the EU, with clear benefits and less clear costs.

So we bought about $200 worth of stuff. A shop vac, a ladder, paint brushes, drop clothes, extension cord, etc. etc. Showed up at the site with all of this. Foreman took one look and exclaimed "for me?" When told yes, he just beamed. And walked around fondly admiring his new "toys" (as he referred to them.) We are making great use of them, and they will be used by other teams that follow us.

But what we are missing is the sense of completion. When we're building a home, we (sometimes) actually complete it during our time. Or at least, come close. But we will only have done a little on this project, leaving much for following teams of volunteers.

And the engagement with local people. Other than our foreman, it is just us and Michal (our Habitat guy.) No families, no kids hanging around, no villagers. I miss this. It's always been one of the distinctive and most beneficial parts of these trips. I often think that it is the most important part of the experience, since it is what changes me (and perhaps, them) most. And we won't have it. More of a problem for those for whom this is a first time, but even for people like me, a bit of a disappointment.

When I propose leading a team, I do not have a choice of project. Only (occasionally) of specific location (though that can, and has, changed at the last minute.) I am glad to be here, and the work we are doing is important to some of the least of Gliwice. So I set aside my own "it's all about me" and embrace the opportunity I have to be here, experiencing it all.

I have occasionally used the term "undermined" in its figurative sense. I have never thought of it in its literal sense. This area is a major coal mining region for the last centuries. The building was built in 1905. Since then, coal mining has been done underneath it. So the ground has subsided some, the building is no longer on solid/even ground. So one of the first tasks was to stabilize it by inserting iron beams running through it in a cross hatch fashion. The building is now stable, no longer suffering from having been undermined. (Wish I can say the same for myself in my earlier administrative life.)

When we bought our first house, we wanted to change the color of the living room and dining room. A good friend was a professional painter. We could afford him for the living room, but not the dining room. So one Saturday, I took on the dining room. Spent endless hours painting the ceiling, still more doing the walls. Sometime later, John came on a weekend to do the living room. I watched as he did the ceiling, swinging the roller from a long pole with long smooth swipes across the ceiling. He did in minutes what took me hours. I have always since admired the skill of a trained, experienced craftsman.

I thought of this as I was doing some roller swinging in the rooms. First the primer coat, then the finish coat. Have the long pole like John had. Have the body rhythm swinging it, similar to John. Didn't have his skill, but certainly had greater facility with it than I did so many years ago. I hope he would be pleased with his student.

John also taught me there was no shame in dripping paint. The only shame was in not cleaning it up afterwards. I did the former, and the latter.

Supermarkets are a novelty for me on these trips. Never had them before. Here, one is about 2 minutes from the guest house where we're staying, and another about 2 minutes' walk from our job site (both the same chain--and yes, it's a European chain, and yes, it came since Poland's entry into the EU.) Went there yesterday to buy some fruit and other stuff for us at the site--we have lunch delivered, but we want fruit, cola, and cookies for snacks. Went there again this morning for more of the same. Oh, and a freshly baked chocolate croissant, still warm. Paris patisseries don't have to worry, but it was a very good non-French-bakery croissant. Don't remember this being an option 46 years ago.

Gliwice isn't a tourist city. But it has 3 attractions (or so we're told.) One is the university where we are staying (30,000 students, the 2nd largest and best polytechnic university in Poland, established in 1946); a former silver mine; and a radio station where The War (which is how it's referred to) started in 1939. Michal tried to get us interested in going to the silver mine. No takers. Fortunately, he didn't ask us whether we'd like to see where The War started. Instead, we simply stopped there on our way back from the site. It's a radio station tower ("the largest remaining wooden tower in the world") where a confrontation between Germans and Germans-posing-as-Poles took place in 1939. And "The War" ensued. It's a beautiful place, beautifully kept. And clearly very meaningful to Poles. I'm glad to have been there. And to not have had the opportunity for the team to veto visiting it.