RSIS Borneo: mixing more cement

Posted: 13 December 2019

Thursday 12th December

Treasure hunt

In the evening the students worked in their teams to complete a special treasure hunt formulated by the adult leadership team. Challenges/tasks included the following:

Something made in Australia
a four tiered/levelled pyramid
a song sung by at least half of the group
one student to compete in an air guitar competition
Something that looks like a chicken
An autograph of someone famous
a bribe for the judges
a magic trick
a fabulous outfit
a coin from five different countries
a group theme song or chant.

Student blog update written by: Elizabeth, Alexander, Karla, Rakshit, Soraya, Thandeka, Zane and Saanvi

“Today was a tiring, but good and productive day. We started off at 5:30 this morning on a walk around the river. Then, we headed to breakfast where we had some really good noodles and roti. Today was our group’s turn to wash dishes, which turned out to be a lot of fun and we made the time pass quickly! Then we headed to the work site for the morning where we created a chain to pass bricks from where they were dropped off to the work site. We also knocked out the boards holding up the preliminary foundation where the concrete had set.

After lunch, we went back to the work site to finish passing the bricks to the site, as well as mixed cement so we could finish off the preliminary foundation. Unfortunately it started to rain before we could pass all the bricks, but we did finish pouring the preliminary foundation. The rain didn’t last long though, so a few of us went to the store for some candy before dinner. We had a short debrief of the day, and after dinner we are going to have a treasure hunt! As a team we cannot wait for the last bit of the project.”

*Questions answered by the group:*

What was the highlight of the day?

Elizabeth enjoyed the passing of bricks and enjoyed the team work factor.
Saanvi enjoyed the mixing of cement.
Alexander enjoyed working in the rain, created a calming environment. He also enjoyed the morning run and watching the sunrise.
Thandeka and Soraya enjoyed the bonding sessions that took place today in the carrying and packing of bricks.

How have you grown as group over the past 5 days?

Karla has enjoyed the banter and the fact that we are all stronger team mates now than on day one.
Rams has enjoyed that as a group we are bonded and work well together even though we are from all over the world.

Which RS Discoveries have you as a group felt that you’ve moved towards this week?

Saanvi and Soraya and Alexander and Thandeka = tenacity
Rakshit and Elizabeth = teamwork
Karla and Zane = compassion

What have you enjoyed the most on the trip so far?

Meeting and working with the local people.
Getting to know everyone on the project.
Morning walks and runs.
The physical work (packing and carrying bricks, mixing cement).
Singing Christmas carols with the local church choir.
Getting things done!

What do you miss the most?

I miss my dogs! Elizabeth
I miss my moms cooking! Saanvi
I miss my homeboys! Zane
I miss the variety of food at home! Thandeka
I miss my family! Alexander
I miss Indian food! Rakshit
I miss the news based on Donald Trump! Soraya
I miss my daily soya latte and avo on toast! Karla

Friday 13th December

Mixing cement

The team have become pros at the art of mixing cement. Concrete is created using several ingredients. Coarse aggregate or “ballast” is a primary component. This is added to cement that binds the aggregate particles together. Water and any additional additives are also used to create the final mixture ready for pouring. The students are mixing a high-strength cerement that will be used to pour the concrete slab for the foundations of the new building.