Today we all arrived to New York safely and some explored parts of the city. We have settled in to the hostel and are getting ready for our cultural day tomorrow and our service on Monday. We are looking forward to learning more about how God’s Love operates and the people they serve.
Senior year of high school we were required to take part in “The Homelessness Project,” an event where we built ourselves cardboard boxes in which we had to sleep on our quad in the middle of November. Actual homeless people were brought to my school to fill the night with their stories of loss. Though the event was meant to raise money and awareness, talking to the individuals on a personal level is what I believe had the greatest impact on all of us- well, besides spending a night outside, too cold to sleep. Everyone has a story, a path they took to get where he or she currently stand in life. Sharing those stories with one another is the best way to change one’s path for the better. The problem of hunger and homelessness is a giant issue in our country that needs to be addressed, and while I am looking forward to figuring out a way to help battle this problem, I am more interested in getting to know people’s stories and break down stereotypes. I learn more and more every single day of my life that people are so much more alike than we would like to let ourselves believe. My hope is that on this trip our group is able to share life experiences with each other and the people with whom we work every day that create amazing bonds. My worry is that I let stereotyping get the better of me- even though I try not to make snap judgments, it happens many times. No matter what, I am confident that this will be yet another experience of mine that helps to make a difference in the lives of others as well as my own.
The last time I have been to Washington, D.C. was five years ago, on a two day long class field trip- the most long-awaited trip of me and my peers’ young adult lives. From what I remember about the trip, I had an amazing time. This was probably because while our main objective of the trip was to learn something about our nation’s capital and see its various monuments and museums, I was more concerned with what I was going to wear to the party cruise we were going to take on the first night, or who made out with who on the bus to the Lincoln Memorial. Back then I had romantic views about the city, views that haven’t exactly changed since then. I have worked with hunger and homelessness in El Salvador for the past four years; I think the shock of seeing the conditions some people are forced to live in has worn off. Still, though, I think that in my home country, with people who are very much more like me than many of the people of El Salvador, seeing hunger and homelessness this way will be a pretty big shock to my system. I’m hoping to learn a lot from this trip, and I have positive high expectations for my experiences in the coming week. I’m definitely a little nervous, especially because I will be the only first year in our group, but I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone and having a lot of fun! So, tonight I am throwing my nerves out the window and saying, “Bring it on, D.C.!” I can’t wait to see what this week holds for me.
So this trip to Washington D.C. is about to be my second ASB experience. I had the most amazing time in Nicaragua last January with ASB so I’m wondering if it is even possible to top that. However, this trip will be a reality check, unlike the paradise and tropical weather of Central America. Hunger and homelessness are social issues that require one to get down and dirty. It directly affects people in ways that you can touch, and I’m hoping that this experience will allow me to tangibly grasp the way many people live.
I’m heading into the trip very congested and feeling a little sick, but nonetheless excited! I always welcome an opportunity to have my eyes opened.
“The bad things in life open your eyes to the good things you weren’t paying attention to before.” -Anonymous
So I am here at Lafayette. I finally finished my packing last night and drove to Lafayette this morning. I have to say that I am a little disappointed that Mike Free was not able to come down. I was looking forward to being able to getting to know him better. However having the opportunity to work with both Bonnie and Amber is a privilege and I am confident they will bring a lot to the team. Being the team leader I am a little nervous about going down. I want to make sure that nobody forgets anything and that everyone gets along well. Some of my pre-trip reservations are that everyone is able to get to know each other even more. I think our group did a good job of getting to know each other before the trip, but there is still a lot more work to go. I think that this trip is going to be a great learning opportunity and will really help everyone gain a better perspective and more knowledge of the subject of hunger and homelessness.
So as its the day before we leave on our DC adventure, i am very excited to see how this experience is going to play out. The only other ASB trip i have been on is to the Dominican Republic and i am excited to experience the differences ad similarities that DC holds. I haven’t been to DC since i was younger and while i am excited to explore and see the sights one expects to see when visiting the city i am most excited to work with CSM and meet those who live and work in the area. i think that is one of the most amazing things that this experience offers, engaging in and with the community and those that live there. i think that hunger and homelessness is an issue that is often over looked. we often think about these issues as ones that plague people who live abroad and don’t pay enough attention to the people who need our help in our own country. I am also exited that we are working with a group like CSM, after being educated about their goals and the work they do i believe the ASB goals match up with theirs and i am glad we have them to open us up to their contacts and a city they are very familiar with. there may be people and experiences we would not have if we didn’t have the opportunity to work with this organization.
Sitting in our car outside of my brother’s apartment in Philadelphia, I saw a man made shack no bigger than the size of a restroom stall. Coated with what might be considered useless garbage to us, it was a home. Fervently decorated in blue tarp, tattered blankets, the ground was made soft by old newspaper, the walls of the confine made durable by cardboard and crate material. Hidden between a metal beam supporting the bridge overhead, and a rusted chain link fence towards the rear, the home was an image imprinted into my consciousness. From within my car, I pondered a homeless lifestyle, while the heat blasted from the fans around me, and music and texting poured from my electronic devices. Eating an orange at the time, I wondered how the person inside found themselves in such a circumstance. I wondered when the last time they ate was, or whether they were warm, or whether anyone even cared that they were out there. I sat there, my eyes fixed on the faded blue tarp, and red blanket, that seemed to be the only protection the poor soul had from the bitterness of winter… and of the concrete world surrounding. Lost in a fiscal exile, the person most likely was alone. Words from my brother’s girlfriend when they finally arrived to the car indicated that the man indeed had a friend, a homeless friend just across the street. Unlike him however, the friend lost his shelter the week prior from the ravaging of participants in the “Occupy” riots nearby. Why was he the one that had to endure this? Hasn’t he been through enough? Undercover of darkness, the friend’s shelter was destroyed. However, our friend’s remained. A week later, we returned from the shore to drop my brother off at the apartment again, to return to his life, and us to ours. But a glance out the car window revealed the remaining shack. Not yet torn down from angry protesters or police officers, it stood, tired from the unceasing wind, and the constant battle against the cold. Minor rennovations to the outside confirmed that a person indeed is living inside, a person seeking his role in this world. This must be the place.
This is my first time ever doing an immersive community service trip.
I’ve done community service before, but never has it consisted of more than several hours a day working a stone’s throw away from the Hill. The project we are about to undertake is an entirely different story. I am about to embark on what I hope to be an intensive journey with a group of people I hope to soon call good friends. Working and living in Washington, D.C. for an entire week, we will help the ‘Hungry and Homeless’ in the streets of the city. I am not sure what to expect from this type of community service.
On the one hand, I know this is going to be a huge learning experience for me. Anyone who has done any Community Service knows the emotional and spiritual growth it brings, as well as the stories you hear from people of all walks of life.
But on the other hand, I am going to be in a completely alien environment for a week working for a mission ingrained in a faith I don’t follow. I don’t care about the religious affiliation of the trip, I just don’t know how isolated or unsure that will make me feel about it.
All in all I’m extremely excited about the upcoming week, and hope to grow a lot from it.
I am about to leave for JFK Airport with Jacmel, Haiti as my final destination. This will be my third ASB trip and my first time as a team leader. My first two trips were to Ecuador and to a small town in Appalachia, Virginia. What I learned from both trips was that each one had a significant and profound, yet different affect on me. Ecuador opened my eyes culturally, while Appalachia had a more personal connection to the family that we helped. Although I do not know what Haiti holds for me, I am confident that it while have a much larger affect on my life than any other ASB trip I have done. Our work promises to led to cultural and personal interactions with the people of Haiti. Despite the nerves that have been building as the trip has drawn closer, I know that they are a result of the challenges that my team and I will encounter and overcome together, while also rising to our own struggles.
Costa Rica 2012: Pre-Trip Thoughts
It is the Winter after my Sophomore year of college, I’ve been very busy and time is flying by without me even realizing it at times. As I tell my friends and family that I am going to Costa Rica for a school trip there are two phases of responses. The first phase goes something like this “Wow! I heard Costa Rica is beautiful I’ve always wanted to go! You are so lucky, what are you doing there?!” I respond with something along the lines of “Yeah! I’m really excited it was kind of a spontaneous decision for me, we are working on sustainable agriculture!” After the words sustainable agriculture come out of my mouth that’s when the second response phase occurs: “Oh that sounds interesting!” it is not the tourist attraction most were expecting to hear; nonetheless I expect this trip to be a great experience that I will certainly never forget for a number of reasons.
First off, it is the first time I am traveling without my family on an airline. Also, it is the first time
I traveling outside of the country other than Greece and Cyprus. I have never been to this part of the world before and I am looking forward to learning more about the culture and lifestyle of the people living in Jthese parts and having a more worldly view. This definitely marks a point in my life where I feel more independent and have the ability to make decisions that I know are best for me. This is one of the reasons why I applied to the ASB program. I am
also very motivated to do something good and be active in service. I haven’t really participated in that much volunteering since high school and it is something that I truly value and wish to continue throughout my lifetime. Perhaps this marks the point where I begin to have a more active role in the community.
I am currently writing this blogpost in the airport at 4am after I started packing only a few hours prior, I did not give this trip a lot of thought before departing but my attitude is that it will add to the excitement of the experience. I don’t know what to expect but I am up for anything and am eager to learn and do and that is what I’m looking forward to!
-Andrew Kamilaris
