Category: Life After Disaster

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

We leave for our trip for tomorrow and I am super excited. I am also super nervous. This is my first trip as a team leader. I am really excited to see how my team develops over the next week. I remember how much fun and growth my team went through last year and I can’t wait to see how much fun and growth this team goes through on this trip.

I am really looking forward to seeing what the culture is like down in New Orleans. I am also really excited to see what my team will be doing and how we are going to help to people the people that were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

 

I am so excited to go on my 3rd and final ASB trip. We have a great team and and a great opportunity to help people in a region that desperately needs it. I am excited to help these people out and learn more about I culture I have never experienced.  El Salvador is stricken by poverty and violence and I am curious to see the attitude of the people and how they feel about their community as well as how the team and me deal with this community. Furthermore, one of our projects will be to build a house that can be packed up and moved if necessary. I am intrigued by this concept and am interested to see what that finished product will be like. Despite the early flight, I am anxious to go on what I’m sure will be a great trip! Stay tuned to the ASB blog as well as our social media pages for updates!