12 hours of team bonding, 20 questions, and pump up music later, we arrived in North Carolina! Everyone here is so friendly and kind. For me, yesterday was an exercise in being gumby and in trusting the process. Our vans were quite packed (one might even say cramped), and we were driving for 12 hours in the rain. However, we all kept a positive attitude and turned the experience into a great bonding time. I was also so nervous the night before because I knew I would be driving for a large portion of the trip. I have an almost maternal attitude towards everyone in ASB. I want so badly for everyone to have a safe, meaningful, affirming experience. While the first toll I went through was a little panic-inducing, and the Jersey-girl I am struggled with pumping gas (shout out to our friendly neighborhood Zack for swooping in and saving the day), everything else went smoothly! I even took the lead for the second leg of our journey. ASB is all about pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Yesterday reminded me to trust that process this week and to trust in my team to be there to help me when I run into roadblocks, both literally and figuratively. I can’t wait to see where this week takes us!
Hot Sauce Showdown
The day started off with weather I hadn’t seen in a while nor did I want to see on the day we were starting our trip: rain. From trying to use the sleeping bag cover to protect the pillow from getting wet to keeping half of my body dry while the other half was out of the car as we fit our luggage, we somehow managed to fit in 12 people and bags in 2 vans. Spending most of the way there getting much deserved sleep was the right decision, at least for me. The rest was spent singing along to music, playing 20 questions with words/phrases like Gross National Happiness, ..-.-.-.–.-.(Morse Code) and Ali Baba, and trying to consume the sauces from the Wall-of-Flame ranging from your average Death Sauce to the menacing Endorphin Rush. Finally arriving, eating food and settling in led us to playing a series of games which involved a lot of karate/ninja chops and pretending to be townspeople out to find out who the MAFIA among us was (one of the MAFIA’s hits was coincidentally, by hot sauce). Safe to say , by midnight, we all (except for me because I slept most of the way here) were falling over each other to get to sleep.
Quite Amp Up for Tomorrow
It is surprising and quite disturbing to find out that things have not fully recovered even after a decade, even in a country like America. I wonder how long will my country, one of the countries with the lowest GDP will ever get back to where we used to be, after Nargis Cyclone.
We are teaming up with St. Bernard to renovate a house. Prior to the trip, each team members had to research about the economic, social, and other aspects of the city and present it at the meeting.
It would be better for me personally, if I have been to New Orleans before Katrina Hurricane so I can know what New Orleans was like and what it is now. To be honest, I don’t know if would find the aftereffects of the Hurricane though.
Team Life After Disaster
It is hard to believe that we will be on the road tomorrow! The trip approached so quickly, but I think we are all really excited for the trip to finally be here. Tonight our team had a pizza party with the other ASB Team Fitting In and my team will be staying over in our team leader’s common room because we will be leaving at 4:30 tomorrow morning for our flight.
I am fortunate enough that this is my second ASB trip. Last year I was on team Chicago and had the oportunity to volunteer in Charter schools in Chicago. It was a really great experience, I learned so much and enjoyed spending time with my team. I am looking forward to what team Life After Disaster has to offer!
Getting ready for PlayWorks!
It’s a strange feeling to be sitting here, writing my last pre-trip ASB blog post. This will be my fourth, and last, Lafayette ASB trip. I remember being so nervous before my first trip and not fully understanding what I was getting myself into. I certainly did not expect to become so deeply involved in ASB. Three years later, I feel much more prepared and excited for this trip. I think our team has formed strong bonds with each other already, which we will need for this week. We have discussed causes of childhood obesity at great length and have come to understand that this is a social issue, not just an individual health issue. Our education the past few months will put our service in a new, more informed context.
I am very much looking forward to the coming week. As intern, I have been working since last April to help plan these trips start to finish. While my experience on Executive Board has given me a new appreciation for the work needed to make these trips a reality and helped me develop valuable skills that I can apply to multiple areas of my life, I think sometimes I lose sight of why we work so hard to put these trips together. In the midst of reserving vans and compiling housing information, it’s hard to remember the mission and vision of our club. Finally going on this trip will be meaningful not only because I’ll experience the end result of all our planning, but also because I think it will help me remember my values and why I wanted to devote so much of my college career to ASB in the first place.
My First ASB Trip
Hello y’all! Tomorrow I will be leaving for New Orleans and I couldn’t be more excited. This is also my first ASB trip through Lafayette and I have no idea what to expect. I am looking forward to bonding with my fellow teammates, learning more about the New Orleans culture, and listening to some swinging jazz music. Getting away from the snow and cold will also be a plus, hopefully I will get a tan. I’ve never participated in community service that has involved this much physical work, but I am eager to learn new skills and make a difference in the community. Good luck to the other ASB group, Fitting In. It was great to meet you guys and I wish you nothing but success and good times.
On The Road
It is the eve of the trip and as our group sits in Hannah’s common room the scene is one of a group of friends hanging out like they have known each other forever rather than a bunch of kids who met each other a few months ago. We have already meshed really well and it bodes wonderfully well for the rest of the week. So at precisely 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning we will load the vans up, head to the airport and FINALLY fly to New Orleans! There are definitely some nerves amongst the group, especially coming from Hannah as she prepares to lead her first group and from Mike and Rachel who are about to take a plane ride for the first time in their lives. As prominent as these nerves are the excitement definitely rules the group.
The group is chomping at the bit to get to New Orleans and get to work. While we really want to start building and make as much as an impact as possible, tomorrow’s flight is going to be very long and I am sure that by the time we land there will be some grumpy students ready to nap and get settled in. Once we get this first day out of the way there will be fresh faces, motivated to work and ready to explore the city.
Aside from wanting to help with Katrina relief, I am super pumped to explore the city. Having never been further west in the United States than Pennsylvania I am looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere and culture of a new state. New Orleans is such a historically and culturally rich city that the experience is sure to be one that I will never forget. The part I am looking forward to the most is definitely the food, in fact I have one word to describe this excitement: Crocodile. Now that I have attempted to put my excitement and nerves into words it is time to hit the hay and prepare for the week ahead.
And We’re Off!
The Life After Disaster team is lounging on the MAFiA floor, hurriedly typing away their respective blog posts. There is a combination of excitement and nervousness that is felt throughout the room. We set out for the magical and mysterious city of New Orleans tomorrow, land of beautiful jazz and even more beautiful food. For the next week, the 13 members of the team will be helping build a house that was presumedly wrecked by Hurricane Katrina. I’m interested to speak with the people who went through such a strategy and are still struggling with it almost a decade later. I’m more excited than anything to be participating in such a wonderful project (and to explore New Orleans).
I’ll update this (almost) daily. Now time for bed, this 4 am wake up call definitely does not make me excited.
Time for Round Two
Well its finally here. Maybe I shouldn’t say finally, seeing as it feels like last week that I applied for ASB. I am entirely too exhausted from the past few weeks of college but I have heard from multiple people who have already been on ASB trips that this will be much more worthwhile than a week of hibernation in my bed at home.
I am really excited though as this is the second service trip I will be going on. The first trip was to Georgia so it’s nice to be going back down south; this time on a plane instead of a two day car trip. As I said before, I am exhausted from college so I will leave it at that. I’ll blog again once I’m safe in Louisiana.
The adventure begins…
It’s the night before we leave for New Orleans and I could not be more excited! For one thing, I’ve never been on an airplane before, so the adventure begins at 7:30am, just a few hours from now. I have to say the only thing that makes me nervous is getting through airport security!
Another thing I’m really looking forward to is team bonding. So far, it seems we have a very good team dynamic… We have been laughing and joking around all night! It promises to be a very fun week.
As someone who has never traveled much, I cannot wait to experience the unique culture of New Orleans, from food to the French Quarter to real jazz music. This experience will provide invaluable exposure to a culture other than my own.