Its another dreary day of Huê’s rainy season, but work continues. Notice the bricks on the top – it appears a small room is being built atop the third floor. This is a common place to add a laundry/storage/kid room – most of the other houses in the neighborhood have such a room perched on top. At the extreme left of the picture a similar room can be seen. The wall around the house is now being built, and the entrance gate’s construction is underway.
Today, we get our first peek inside. Paul and Mel were correct – all those bags of cement are being
used to finish the interior walls. As I prowled around, I found that the room seen in the photos and seen from the outside is the only room where finishing has begun. Notice there is no drywall – the finish is essentially fine cement applied directly to brick. Paint will eventually go on the cement.
And this is how its done. The woman mixes the cement, sand and water on the dirt floor using the “mound-of-mashed-potatoes-with-a-gravy-filled-crater” method. She then tosses a shovel full up to a man on the scaffold.
The crew has gotten used to seeing me. Today I spent time building relationships – in good
Vietnamese fashion. Digital cameras are wonderful for making friends – folks can see themselves in an instant.
