ASB Reflections

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Jersey Bound!

I’m so excited to get to Newark tomorrow! As this semester progressed, I’ve been anxiously waiting for spring break to come, and now it’s here. My team and I are just about ready to make our way to New Jersey in the morning.

When I first learned I was going to be a part of team NJ, I was really excited. I went to high school in the middle of a small city, and while I personally did not experience the effects of poverty, I saw it in the environment around me. However, I never did anything to learn more about it. I’m eager to better understand urban poverty on a deeper level. I want to know more.

This is my first service trip, and I’m really excited to get to know my team better and start our service! Even though we’re not leaving until tomorrow, I’m going to say goodbye for now, Lafayette! Newark, here we come!

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Pre-Trip Post

We have arrived! After an incredibly long car ride and numerous meeting talking about and planning our trip, it is finally time to put those plans into action.

I am excited to help Green Opportunities and River Alliance in their efforts to end environmental injustice. We will be assisting these groups in anyway possible. I am looking forward to work with different areas of the larger issue of “environmental injustice” through water sampling and canvassing. Also after researching the town of Asheville and the issue with our team, I am particularly excited to work with individuals who have a passion and a dedication to conquer social injustice.

It is exciting to be apart of a grassroots movement to create change in a tangible way. I can not wait to get started and to bring what I learn back to Lafayette with me. Hopefully the change we install here can inspire us to create change back on Lafayette’s campus! Who knows, huh?

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Pre-Trip Reflection

This semester has been flying by- it’s already spring break! I remember marking this trip on my calendar months ago, when it seemed impossibly far away.

I entered the program knowing virtually nothing about our topic or the town of Asheville, but I’ve learned quite a bit during our pre-trip group meetings and activities. The issue of environmental justice is and will continue to be relevant to many people’s lives, and I look forward to experiencing it hands-on. I’m definitely very excited to meet the people involved with Green Opportunities and the West North Carolina Alliance and to gain a clearer idea of exactly what our service will involve.

Last Saturday morning, our team completed pre-service by helping out in the garden at 1075 Lehigh Drive. While this was somewhat last-minute, participating in ASB-related service a week before the actual trip built up my level of anticipation for the trip. It was a great way to connect with nature, make a tangible difference, and gain perspective, especially since I had never been to the West Ward before. On that day and during the twelve-hour drive here, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know several members of the team, and I look forward to even more team bonding through reflection and throughout the trip.

After our cultural day tomorrow, service will start! This week is sure to be a cultural, educational, and fun experience :-)

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Pre-Trip Post

After a few very quick weeks our trip is finally here! I literally cannot believe how quickly this semester is passing us by!

I’m very excited to start our service, I’ve been busy planning all week for Cultural Day, which is tomorrow! I took a lot of time to plan our day so that we get exposure to all sorts of things that I hope everyone will enjoy, and I can’t wait to get started tomorrow.

In regards to our actual service I’m very excited to be working with Green Opportunities, and the River Alliance. We’re pretty much here to do whatever they need, which I believe is one of the best ways to help organizations. They often have many aspirations and sometimes simply lack the man-power to actually get things done. So we’ll be meeting the leaders of these programs, which will be very inspirational and I’m very excited to get to know them and their work on a deeper level.

I’m so excited to get started, especially after the very long driving day full of two montonous CDs… it’ll be nice to have a break! Go Team NC!

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Leaving in 7ish Hours

Still packing…but excited for the trip ahead of us! I think we have a great group of people that get along well with each other, so this will make for an interesting drive…11 hour drive (I really hope we have some dope playlists). During the team meetings and especially the pre-service I think we all got to know each other a little bit more. Now that we’re a little bit more comfortable with each other I think this will certainly help us in terms of team work and communication as we head to Kentucky to repair and build homes.

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Leaving tomorrow

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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.