Author: Zachary Sporn

Hello all,

Today we got to sleep in! As it was MLK Jr. Day, we were unable to participate in our Meals on Wheels service so found a plethora of other ways to fill the day with activities instead. First and foremost, we made a much-needed trip to Western Beef supermarket, where we were greeted with spacious aisles and reasonable produce.

Following the supermarket and some fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, we watched a great documentary by Morgan Spurlock about his grandmother and her end-of-life state of affairs. However, while this documentary was certainly touching and relatable to many who saw it, the best part was the discussion that followed. As a group we spent 79 minutes (yes we timed it) talking about aging, healthcare, and math! The discussion did a great job tying together some loose ends from the documentary and unearthing some big-picture questions many on our team have pondered.

After a short break and delicious taco dinner, we fought the cold NYC winds to see Daisy Nguyen, a recent Lafayette grad, for some coffee and dessert. This was a great time for all, other than Taha who will be having lucid dreams for the rest of the week about his unfinished slice of marble cake.

Looking forward to a fruitful day of service tomorrow and exploring Times Square afterwards.

-Zack

Waddup ASBers,
Day 2 of Team FITting In’s trip was a blast! We started the day with a tasty breakfast (complete with cinnamon buns) at the Lodge. Groceries were next, and we were super efficient getting everything we need for this week’s lunches. Everyone was very excited to get the shopping done with (shout out to our amazing PB&J team aka Marissa and myself) so that the team could go play a few quick rounds of flash. We learned a lot about each other and team bonded during flash, and it was a great new icebreaker. We then made our way to the Duke Gardens where Kaitlin and Bo promptly killed the hide and go seek game. Also, 75 and sunny is a nice change of pace relative to the snow in Easton right now. After the Gardens, we made our way back to the Lodge for reflection, dinner, and a movie. Reflection was an hour well spent, and we were very open for the first day on the trip. The Internship was a solid movie choice, and everyone (hopefully) enjoyed it. Overall, it was a fun day and I am looking forward to the week to come!

Skimming a few of the previous posts, it’s apparent that there has been plenty said about the nature of our service work with Community Servings; so, rather than talk more about our volunteer work, I thought I would discuss the activities we did today outside of volunteering.  Following a 9 – 3:30 work day (we were let out early, woo!), we took the T back to our hostel to change quickly before heading off to The Institute of Contemporary Art.  Apparently, there is free admission every Thursday to the gallery there, so the majority of the group went to check out the exhibit and meet up with Claire, a Lafayette alum, at the museum.  While I personally am not huge on contemporary art, I knew it would be a good time with my team members and well worth skipping an afternoon nap.

After getting slightly turned around on the way to the museum (luckily we had Carly and Aubrey to figure out where to go), we made it and met up with Claire.  Because we are the awesome, and slightly goofy, group of people we are, we spent the first 45 minutes coloring at the museum before heading to see the art.  Once we did see the art though, we were quick to appreciate how incredible some of the pieces are.  While some were confusing to the average viewer, others were easy to see the intricacy required for such works.

Following the museum, we had some great talks and picturesque views of the Boston Harbor at sunset on the way to Cheers, a restaurant in Faneuil Hall, to meet up with the rest of our group.  Once at Cheers, we all indulged in some fantastic food, conversation, and even got to celebrate Carly’s ½ birthday and Julia Ben Asher’s ¼ birthday!  While we were all pretty excited about that, it was no comparison to the excitement for Mike’s pastries after dinner.  Mike’s pastries was a quick walk from Cheers and served some of the best pastries in Boston, with our group no doubt being their best customers of the night.  Stuffed and full of energy/sugar, the team trekked back to the hostel to call it a night.

While today was great, one of the main take-a-ways I have from not only today but this trip in general is that life is all about the people in it.  This group has really bonded this week, an example being the deep conversations we have on a regular basis to learn more about each other.  This communication has led us to get to know each other well, and made spending time together a blast.  I think we are all excited about our bittersweet last day at Community Servings tomorrow, but looking forward to heading back to Laf Saturday as well.