So I can’t believe that it’s the day before our ASB trip, we’ve been planning and waiting for it for what seems like FOREVER. I am beyond excited and can’t wait to get to Camp Baker. I want to see what it looks like and what exactly we’re going to be doing- no matter what we end up doing I’m sure it’s going to be an absolutely amazing experience. It’ll also be fun tomorrow to stop at some cool places on the way while on the 6 hour and 5 minute drive. My expectations for this trip are to have memories that I will never forget, make connections with every person that I meet, and learn a lot. I’m so excited!! :)
T – SO FEW HOURS
I can’t believe we’re so close to driving down the College Hill and being on our way to Virginia!! I know it’s going to be such an incredible week and can’t wait for it to start. Especially after a long midterms week, the whole team has been really enthusiastic about everything, which is really great. Everyone being hyped up starts an endless chain of hyping everyone else up too, which just makes the trip even more eagerly anticipated! I can’t wait for our group to move into our little cabin, for us to meet the kids we’re going to be working with, for us to start planning the camp carnival, for us to learn more about rural Virginia and explore it, for us to get even closer as a group, and for things that I don’t even know will happen yet. We’ll be taking millions of photos and blogging every night, so feel free to keep checking in! :)
Yay for ASB VA!
Tomorrow, I will be heading to Chesterfield Virginia for my first ever ASB trip! I do not really know what to expect, but I am hoping that it is similar to the program that I volunteered for back home with special needs kids. All that I really know about this trip is that I cannot wait to go! And I need to pack, but that’s not what I’m blogging about. My team is awesome, and everyone seems just as excited as I am for a break that looks like it will be a perfect combination of fun and fulfilling. As for me, I am looking forward to continuing the work with special needs kids that I miss so much from my time back home. For one of our pre-service events, we went to a Best Buddies event near Valentine’s Day, which reminded me of the joy I get from helping kids with special needs. I have been looking forward to this trip all year, and cannot believe that it is finally time to leave for this amazing trip!
I can’t believe it’s tomorrow.
It still hasn’t really sunk in that in less than twenty-four hours we’ll be on the road, heading down to Virginia. I think it’ll start to become real when I finally get around to packing, but then again, maybe not until I wake up tomorrow morning, and roll my suitcase to March Field parking lot. My excitement for this week has been building for months and months, especially after seeing the presentations that the Interim trips went on. And here it is; finally the time has come.
Although I’m ecstatic to go on this trip, I’m also slightly apprehensive. I’ve never been on a trip (more like an adventure) like this before with my peers. I’ve also never spent extensive periods of time with those that are developmentally disabled, but I am incredibly excited for this opportunity . All of this makes for a completely new experience, so it’s understandable that I’m somewhat nervous. Never the less, I welcome the week with open arms, and I know it’s going to be a learning experience for all involved. I hope I return to Lafayette with some new perspectives on life, as well as a sense of fulfillment, and maybe if I’m lucky, a bad farmer’s tan.
Day before ASB Tennessee!!!!
It’s the day before we leave for Tennessee and I’m running around doing last minute packing (more like packing I have yet to start…). I can’t believe the trip is here already! I am more than excited to be on my way. My team members seem great but I can’t wait to become much closer with all of them as our trip progresses. I am mostly looking forward to interacting with members of the Cherokee nation! I have rarely spoken or worked with a culture unfamiliar from my own, therefore I cannot wait to immerse myself in the Cherokee culture. Exploring and learning about other cultures is a passion of mine which is why I wanted to be included in this trip so badly! I can’t wait to come back with a greater sense of knowledge about the world around me, specifically, the different practices, beliefs, spiritualities and everything else related to Cherokee culture! And finally, I am looking forward to doing service in the National Parks, exploring the wilderness and working with the Cherokee Senior Citizens! One small, secret thing I am looking forward to?: At least one night, laying under the stars. No street lights. No big cities. No nearby pollution clouding up the sky. Just pitch black space and the clearest, most beautiful view of the milky way I have ever seen.
Haiti: M’ale, n’a wè pi ta
As always, every good thing comes to an end. That was my last day of work in Haiti, January 19th. I was up bright and early, to watch Jacmel waking up. Before heading to breakfast, I went to the roof of our guest house. I wrote a couple sentences in my journal, but before long I had to go downstairs to join everybody else in the day’s activities. We spent the morning finishing up the house we had helped build for Gerald, a man who survived the earthquake despite being suffering serious injuries. His wife passed away, but fortunately their children survived. Gerald was observing us while we were doing the topcoat of the painting on the walls, door, and ceiling. I cannot put into words how special those moments were to me.
During that morning I felt accomplished. Before coming to Haiti, I had I was worried if we would be able to actually change something during our short ten-day trip to Jacmel. Certainly there were many moments that I simply felt overwhelmed by a deep sentiment of hopelessness. Every day we saw the tents along the roads, the garbage scattered on the streets, the sewage running along the sidewalks.
However, it did not take me not even one afternoon to be delighted by Haiti. Then I started realizing that we could definitely contribute to Haiti. Jacmel proved to be a lively small city in the south of the country. There were several motorcycles, street vendors and pedestrians who all somehow managed to share the narrow roads and alleys of Jacmel.
Every morning, I watched the same scene take place in front of our guest house: parents, or an old sibling, taking the young ones to school. It’s amazing how they are always dressed in neat and very clean uniforms. They know that education is one of the greatest privileges one can have in life, and they valorize it.
Their education gave me hope that the youth in Haiti are willing to change the sad records of the history of their nation. They have the energy, the creativity and willingness to create a better Haiti. And now, in light of the massive foreign aid in their country, they see themselves in a complicated situation. I know that they are not interested in becoming a colony again, in which foreigners run everything in the country. They are confident that they are capable of running their own country. They need a serious and honest government to coordinate their nation. They may lack all the resources imaginable, but they I am sure that they have in abundance the most important things to move forward, such as dedication and pride.
I’m confident that this ASB experience was a watershed in my life. After ten days of hard work and intense experiences, I was so exhausted by the time we came back to the US. During these days I couldn’t help but to think about countless projects and ideas after every new encounter with different people. If I had to sum up my whole experience in one word, I guess it would be life. I believe that everybody’s purpose before boarding a plane to Port-au-Prince was to truly contribute to the improvement of lives of people in Haiti. Now, looking back it is great to realize how much we managed to do in such a short period of time. More than helping build a house, installing surgical lights, or interacting with children at several orphanages, we met people who taught us a new way to understand them – and also ourselves. After this unforgettable experience in Haiti, I’m convinced that the key to a brighter future rests in empowering the Haitians. Now, I believe that our most important task is to help other people understand that Haiti does not simply need money or mercy. Rather, Haiti asks for understanding and cooperation. This certainly was a lesson that I will forever take with me.
I am very excited to head out on my first ASB trip to Tennessee next week. This should be a wonderful opportunity to learn about Cherokee culture, while at the same time providing the chance to work with a group of people whom I hardly know. I have never been on an ASB trip before, so I have no idea what to expect, but i am always ready for whatever lies ahead. Over the winter break, I took an interm class in Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, and while this trip will not be as far from home as East Africa, i am expecting the cultural differences to be on a similar scale. I’m not exactly sure why this is, it could be the language, or possibly just the fact that the Cherokee are a Native American tribe. I am especially excited for the night that we are going to spend in a church, sleeping in a pew. It feels like a very long time has passed since our first meeting, back in October and I can’t believe that it is finally time to head to Tennessee.
Interactions in Haiti
After being a little over a month removed from my trip to Haiti, I have told numerous stories to friends and family. Each story is new in its own way, depending on what I can remember at the time of the telling. With so many details, experiences, and emotions it’s difficult to summarize the trip in a way that does it justice.
In brief, our main project in Jacmel was to finish a house for a widower that lost his leg in the earthquake. We painted it, put in all the doors and windows along with trim, and we built the roof. We also did several orphanage visits in which we did learning activities with the kids and played with them. There was also a water filtration system distribution day.
The best part of the trip for me was the interactions and relationships we all developed with everyone we worked with and met. Everyone was so eager to share the Haitian culture with us and to learn about us. One of the guards at the facility that we stayed at always practiced his English with me and taught me Creole. Despite a big language barrier he was always excited to tell me about himself and his plans for the future. At the one orphanage, I made a little friend that was the goalie for my soccer team. I taught him several games that he showed the other kids and he also helped me paint. During our work on the house, we helped several deaf boys put the roof on. Even though I do not know sign language, we were still able to communicate and joke through different gestures. In each case there was no obvious means of communicating, however, in the end I was able to form relationships that I will never forget.
Tennessee, Here We Come !!!
In a few days, I will be embarking upon my third ASB trip, this time to Maryville, Tennessee. My previous two trips (Gulf Coast, 2009 and Ecuador, 2011) put me on the path to becoming an active citizen and I hope to continue my transformation this year. So far, I love my team members and I am sure that we will only get closer to each other as the trip progresses.
The aspect of the trip I am most looking forward to is having the opportunity to interact with members of the Cherokee community. One of the highlights of my ASB trip to Ecuador was being able to interact with the local Shuar community. I am also excited because we will be engaging in many different areas of service – physical labor, environmental work, working with senior citizens and even working with young children in the community. My previous ASB experience has taught me to always be flexible in every way. Things don’t always run smoothly and it is important to always have a positive attitude. As a returning ASBer and an exec board member, I know how hard it can be to motivate yourself to work when things are difficult. But I have complete faith in my team and I know we can overcome everything in our way.
Pre-Trip Reflection
I can’t believe there are only five more days until we leave for Tennessee! I’m really excited to work with the Cherokee community there and to learn more about their culture. I think it will be eye-opening to work in a community where there aren’t even streetlights on the roads. I’ve never been immersed in a culture before; I’m as excited to learn about their ways of life as I am to work in the senior center, childcare center, and different forests. Although I’ve done a lot of service before, I think this will be a great way to learn the difference between going in and “fixing” a community and working with a community as partners. We have a really strong and enthusiastic team (not to mention an awesome team leader) and I can’t wait to meet the students from University of South Florida and Colorado State! I think this trip will be a meaningful way to learn about a social issue and group that are often overlooked.