I can’t believe we are finally leaving tomorrow! I have been planning this trip since the summer and I’m really excited for everything to come together. The 11 hour drive is going to be rough but our group is REALLY talkative and we get along really well. On my trip last year, very few of us knew each other before the trip, this group has a very different feel. I ended up loving my group last year and I hope my experience this year ends up the same. We are going to Hazard, a coal town in Eastern Kentucky to build/repair houses. I am hopeful that we will have a chance to meet the homeowners and interact with them. For me, there is nothing that helps me understand what and why I am doing more then talking to the local people. I’ve been waiting for this week for a long time and I can’t wait for it to begin!
In the process of packing…
Well I’m in the process of packing. I miss being home and my family but as much as I wish I could see them over spring break, I still am so excited for this trip. I’ve never been to Kentucky and I look forward to this learning experience. I think we have a great group of people going and I look forward to experiencing the culture of Kentucky. I’m not sure what else to say I don’t know too much about Kentucky other than what we’ve discussed in our meetings which is why I look forward to the trip. I think what I enjoy most about the idea of ASB is that we’re not just there to help others we’re there to learn. So here’s to the new adventure we’re about to embark on. I’m all done packing and ready to leave. Can’t wait for tomorrow morning.
Vamos a Kentucky!
Tomorrow morning we are finally leaving for Kentucky and I absolutely cannot wait! I’ve heard so many amazing things from all of my friends who have gone on ASB trips, and I know that our trip will be just as amazing and incredibly life changing. I am so ready to experience something completely new and different from anything I’ve ever done before, and I am so excited to get to know all of the amazing people on my team and share this experience with them. I can’t wait to start working and to learn all about our social issue through the course of this next week. It’s going to be absolutely amazing!
Pre Trip Post
Well, the time has finally come! It’s hard to believe how fast the time has flown that it’s already spring break. I’m very excited to head to Asheville tomorrow morning (!!) and begin our week of service. From what I’ve seen in pictures and read about the area’s history, Asheville seems like a really interesting place. I’m really intrigued to see what it’s like in person.
Before being assigned to this trip, I knew nothing about our social issue. The education preparation for this trip has opened my eyes to terms like “environmental racism” and “environmental justice.” Learning about North Carolina’s connections to these topics has been a really interesting part of preparing for this trip. I’m really interested to learn even more about environmental justice and the green movement as we perform our service work in Asheville. I’m always excited to learn new things, and I think this trip is going to be an unforgettable experience that will teach me about environmental issues and problems that I had never even heard of before. Plus, I’m sure we’re going to make a ton of memories and have some really cool stories to tell when we come back!
I’m still not sure about the specifics of the work we’ll be doing in Asheville. Then again, that’s part of the learning experience! I don’t really know exactly what to expect, but I do know that it’s going to be a really cool opportunity that I’ll use to its fullest extent to learn about our social issue.
It’s been great to bond with my team throughout our team meetings and pre-trip service, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone better on the drive down as well as throughout the week during our service. As for right now, I better head off to sleep so I can wake up bright and early for our drive tomorrow!
Kentucky, here we come!
We leave tomorrow morning for Kentucky, and I am more than ready to experience something I have never done before. I am ready to get involved with something bigger than me with a team that I will hopefully become close with over this coming week. I think this service trip to Kentucky is going to be a great way to reconnect with the world and experience what is outside of Lafayette after being here all semester.
Only Three Days
As midterms and various work has been piling on relentlessly, spring break and our trip to Kentucky has been creeping up very steadily, and now it’s only three days away. I know our whole group feels a mixture of emotions just as I do- relief there’s a break, excitement for the trip, a slight pang of longing for a week to myself, it’s all there.
I just know that once classes are over and we are out on the trip, we’re going to have the best time. I have personally have been absent for some of the team building we’ve done, so I can’t wait to actually get to know everyone on the trip. And I can’t wait to be doing the project! I feel like our trip is so necessary, with the economic hardship on us all it’s important that everyone works together to pull ourselves out of tough times. It feels good to help my fellow human beings and I’m eager to get started.
Missing the Lone Star State
Well, it’s been over a month since being back from Texas, but it feels just like yesterday that we were there. This trip has drastically changed my perspective of people and life in general. I hear Spanish and think about the people we came to know along the border. I hear others talk about immigration in the same way I did before ASB, and it shows me how truly uninformed the public is about what is really going on down south and around the United States. I’m so glad that I was able to experience this and meet so many amazing people. I feel connected to this social issue even though I am about one thousand miles away from the wall. I’m really excited to be working with HSL this April to put on immigration week. Hopefully we can spread the word about immigration, border corruption, and workers rights to the student body. It may be cliche or overused, but ASB truly was a life changing experience. Thank you Amber, executive board, and Maggie for helping make my freshman year an unforgettable one!