Last Day on the Farm

Today was our last day on the farm, we leave tomorrow morning at 7. in the last few days our schedule has been pretty full. We did an activity in the farm called "slum building", basically where we get a bunch of scrap pieces of wood, nails, broken tarp, etc. and we have to build ourselves a home to withstand a rainstorm (which later came in the form of a hose being furiously sprayed at our house). Shuyi got soaked through a hole in one of the tarps and was not very happy (see above).

Yesterday we spent 4 hours cooking our dinner, another farm activity, where we had to make ourselves a meal from basic food supply and had the choice of killing a chicken on the farm. We harvested, washed, and cut vegetables from the farm, built a fire on a "lorena" style stove (outdoor mud stove) and boiled water. We then caught and butchered a chicken by ourselves which was definitely an eye opening experience, and a little hard to watch/do. The food wasn't bad in the end, we created a chicken vegetable rice stew, but I think the point of the activity was to see how hard it can be for some people living in poverty to make even 1 meal. Without access to conventional ovens, stoves, microwaves, people who don't have chicken breasts already cut and packaged for them, people who have to walk a few miles to get water, will make cooking a long and difficult task. It also made us think more about thinking what process took place before the food reached our plates. Whenever we eat meat we have to realize that at one time it was butchered which is a sad thing to see, but it made us really appreciate what's on our plate much more than I think we did before. Overall we were very happy we did it.



We took lots of pictures today, being our last, because we want to remember everything and everyone. A woman who is a friend of one of the interns staying and working here on the farm came to visit so was watching us work and taking pictures with her really nice camera. She offered to take some group photos of us which was awesome. We had fun posing at our photoshoot, and asked one of the interns, Wes, to join us for one. Wes is one of the people that we worked with a lot, he is one of the nicest and most genuine people on the farm and he was likd of like our fake "dad" for the 2 weeks we were here. So we had Wes sit in this big pink armchair outside our porch and we all stood around his chair. It was a little silly and made him look a bit like Santa Clause and I was very tempted to sit on his knee but I resisted. We are all very excited to see the pictures that the woman emails us.



Tonight we finished watching A Very Potter Musical on Youtube, our nightly thing. We then came up with nicknames for all 5 of us which is how we will sign our last post!!! We hope everyone has had an awesome trip. Now we have a 20 hour drive back to Ann Arbor woo hoo!

NASST Love,

The Constant Gardener (Erica),
Anne "Wabbit" West (Anne),
OH Jimmy! (Jimmy),
C-Money (Carolyn),
and Goat Whisperer (Shuyi)

Birthdays and Basketball: The Main

A guest blog entry from Abby! :)

Joanna didn't work with the young kids today so I am going to write about what we did. Every month, The Main has a birthday party for the kids who have their birthdays that month. We spent a lot of this week planning it and making decorations. The theme for this month's party was "Enchanted Garden." We cut out and painted around 200 paper flowers and hung them on the walls of the main activity room along with a dragon, a unicorn, and a painted carousel. It looked really cute! We also had a big birthday cake with a picture from a fairy tale printed on it.

As usual, we played in the gym as the kids were arriving for the first hour and then went over to The Main. The kids didn't know until today that we were having the birthday party so it was exciting to surprise them. At the same time, we had more kids there today than I think we've had since we've been here so it was super hectic. As soon as we came in many of them started making crowns, one of the activities we had set up for the birthday party. Some of the kids sat at the table quietly making crowns while others were chasing each other around the room screaming. It was impossible to get them to listen to us most of the time because they were so wound up. Another activity we had to go along with the theme was a fort that Tara and Lauren had constructed out of cardboard boxes. It was really cool - it had tunnels, windows, and doors that opened and closed. We were afraid it would fall apart so we let three kids in at a time, and I supervised. The kids loved it, but they were pretty hard on it; by the end of the night, it was completely flattened. Chase pretended he was a lion and chased kids through the tunnels and around the doors while I helped hold up one of the tunnels from falling. At least three or four kids were crying at different points because they hurt themselves running around, but we couldn't really get them to stand still long enough to listen to us.

Finally it was time to clean up and eat dinner, but that took a while because everyone was bouncing off the walls. Finally we got everyone to sit down and eat for a few minutes, and then it was time for the birthday kids to open presents. Something really awkward that happened was that one of the girls was crying because she didn't like her present. A couple of the volunteers had picked it out and thought she would like it, and were frustrated that she was so ungrateful. I think that something that is a constant struggle at The Main is that kids constantly misbehave and disrespect the space and the volunteers, yet they are still allowed to come back every day. We talked about whether it is really the volunteers' place to suspend the kids just for goofing off. I think it would be hard to know what to do in that situation, especially because the kids are only there for a few hours every day and it's supposed to be a place for them to have fun. Overall, I learned a lot today from seeing how the long-term volunteers handled certain situations, and also had a lot of fun celebrating the kids' birthdays!

--Abby White


Also, in the other part of the Youth Center, called the Teen Center, there was a 5-on-5 Basketball Tournament going on for all who registered. So Chase, Mo, Chana, Ula, and two teens, Jacklyn and Wesley, made a team that we called "Team Galaxy." Although none of us were actually good at basketball, the teens that we played against were really nice and took it easy on us. It was really fun, and we got to interact with many teens that go to the Youth Center. If we stayed one more week for another 5-on-5 tournament (that occurs every Friday), we would definitely participate again. :)

--Joanna Solarewicz

College Night at The Main

College Night

Two nights ago, we were given time to present about the University of Michigan at “College Night,” which is for the teens to learn more about different colleges in the U.S. We created a presentation (a powerpoint and a sweet poster) talking about ourselves (ex: our majors and goals), basic facts about U of M, different sport and music groups on campus, the Native American Student Organization, how to apply to U of M, financial aid, and scholarships. We baked a lot of chocolate cookies and brownies for the kids to eat when they answered our questions correctly. Overall, it was a good experience and the kids really enjoyed us singing the Michigan Fight song!

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to have Julie, the head organizer of The Main/Teen Center, to talk to answer any of our questions during lunch. Julie mentioned a lot of concepts and facts, which I will mention here. The Main Youth Center first started in a different location, after rebuilding an old bar. From there, after receiving millions of dollars from private organizations and also money from the federal government, Julie and her co-workers were able to build the current Main Center for children and the Teen Center. It is a grass-roots organization that is run on federal grants and private donations. Because it is a grass-roots organization and does not rely on federal money, Julie has the space to be creative and do what is needed for the Center without federal restrictions. She says that she loves this aspect of the organization.

Most of the staff and Julie herself have a strong connection to the Main Youth Center because they not only serve the children in the community in general but also serve their own families that come to the Center. In regards to the goals that she has for the children who come to the center, Julie says that she has high goals for everyone, even though not all children will follow through. Her number one goal, through the Center, is to provide a safe haven for any one who comes here. Julia also wants to provide fun things to do and also provide educational information. One of the ideas of the Center is to provide assets to succeed if the children desire to do so.

Julie said that they receive most of their clothes, shoes, school supplies, office materials, cleaning supplies, etc. from donations. I asked Julie about what they do with the donations. She said that some of the materials get used at the Cheyenne River Youth Center (i.e. The Main) and the other things get passed on to families in need. The Center also runs a Family Services Program, since 1992, and allots certain materials or clothes to families. In order to show respect to the families and allow them to have some dignity for themselves, each family has to pay a $30 membership for them to be able to request certain things from the warehouse at the Main Center.

Julie said that she appreciates greatly the volunteers that come to the Main Center to help out with anything that is needed at that time because it takes a lot of pressure off the staff, when the staff has other organizational things to worry about. Also, she said that although we may come here for only a short period of time, our time and kindness is definitely felt and appreciated by the staff and children who get to know us. Although each volunteer has a different personality, each also has a similar goal to help the Main Center to keep running and positively affecting the community.

One of the most influential, I think, statements that Julie made that I will remember forever is that individuals who come into a different community to help should not impose their ideas from their homes/communities, but should help by learning the methods of that specific community. Since each community has different morals and beliefs, attempting to incorporate your thoughts and ideas to solve conflicts in a different community is most of that time not beneficial for the community. Julie said that it is important to learn from the community that you come to serve and to understand how they perceive certain issues and concepts in order to best improve the community dynamics. She mentioned a quote:

"If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time…But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

--Lila Watson (a Sociologist)

--The Main :D

Information Links about the Lakota/Sioux Nation

This past Sunday, Chase, Mo, Chana, and I had the opportunity to hang out with some dogs/puppies and cats/kitties and an animal shelter that a family had set up in their house. The family said that they take in stray animals or animals that they visually see have been abused. The following are some pictures from that experience: So CUTE!!! :D


In addition, I am providing the following links for anyone who would like to read more about the Lakota Native American tribe or the Sioux Nation. It is important for individuals to learn about another culture, especially when it exists in our own country, the United States.

Impoverishment and Peace for the South Dakota Lakota Tribe: http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2010/11/15/impoverishment-and-peace-for-the-south-dakota-lakota-tribe/

Life and Conditions on the Pine Ridge Ogala Lakota (Sioux) Reservation of South Dakota:
http://www.linkcenterfoundation.org/id24.html

Lakota-Dakota-Sioux Nation: http://www.crystalinks.com/sioux.html

Native Americans and the Environment:
http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/Native%20Americans%20and%20the%20Environment.htm

Quality of Life of North Dakota and South Dakota Native American Reservations:
http://danawilliams2.tripod.com/reservations.html

Native Americans and the Law: Native Americans Under Current United States Law:
http://thorpe.ou.edu/guide/robertson.html

Indian Reservations (Encyclopedia):
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Native_American_reservations.aspx


--The Main at Eagle Butte, SD

I Looked in Your Eyes and Saw Jambalaya...

Yesterday, we continued with our exterior painting of the house, and finally got to use a color other than black or white - we got to use GREEN! Almost all of the homes in New Orleans are painted a non-traditional color, like pink or green or blue. Actually, the house across from the one we're working on is painted yellow, purple, and green! Hello, Mardi Gras!

It's been pretty uneventful at work - we've made friends with our site supervisor, Will, and have done a lot of exterior painting and things like that. Today we began prepping the interior of half of the house. The house is divided into two sides (which is really common in New Orleans), and one family lives in each side - one half belongs to a mother, and the other belongs to her daughter - and one side has been done by contractors so the families can move out of their FEMA trailers finally, after six years!

Tomorrow we will probably begin painting the interior with Marshmallow paint (the paint's name is Marshmallow).

Yesterday we also met another volunteer group from Florida, who told us the 88 degree weather is cool for them! We, obviously, were fanning ourselves and applying more sunscreen as they told us this.

One of the contractors, Mario, has been telling us a lot about New Orleans, before, during, and after Katrina. We learned about the Cajun people, and that many New Orleanians never leave the city, because their families are so rooted here. This made it even more difficult for Katrina survivors, because they had to leave the destroyed home behind that had belonged to their parents, grandparents, their parents, their parents, and their parents before them.

On a happier note, Mario also called his son, a food critic, who told us to go to Mulate's for dinner, since we wanted authentic creole food. We literally got a little bit of everything from alligator to crawfish to gumbo to jambalaya to frog legs! Even the vegetarians in the group ate meat last night because it was so delicious! We all danced to the cajun music and had a great time.

We've discovered a new coffeehouse down the street from where we are staying, and it is pretty...unique. It is a combination of art and voodoo. I don't think it gets more like New Orleans than that!

All for now,

Love and Jambalaya,

The PNOLA Team

Getting the Farm 15: Cooking at WHR :)

One thing we love about our site is that any and all cooking is encouraged! Today at group lunch we had pesto pizza which was delicious, which one of the interns cooked.



We have also been making our own creations, including mint leaf lemonade; we collected the leaves from our front yard. Tonight we will try to make our own pizza. The plan was to use a solar oven they had built on the farm, but one of the interns is taking it to show at school for the next few days so a regular oven will have to suffice.



Our day trip to Austin yesterday was a TON of fun, it is a really unique city with a lot of cool things going on. We walked through a big art fair in the downtown area and saw lots of live music and different art / craft booths where people were selling their work.



We then saw the Texas Capital building, and drove through some of the UT Austin Campus. It was beautiful but the Michigan Difference was missing... not the same as AA. There are lots of cool places to walk / hike around, including a dried up river creek about 1.5 miles away, very beautiful around dusk. However, the walk back in the dark was a little spooky. More updates coming soon!

Painting at PKRC

So the past few days have included a whole lot of painting, from doors to golf balls to window ledges. We're all kind of paint splattered, but we're loving it! Pictured left is Ashley, Kelly, and Liliya painting the window ledge at the back of the Lodge.

Other than that, we've been working a lot with the students for the past couple days. We all went swimming with a group of high schoolers yesterday, and Kelly, Nicole, and Devon went swimming today as well. Ashley, Liliya, and Meg went and helped with a student leadership group while the others were swimming (they ran the spiderweb activity). Tomorrow, we will all switch. It should be fun!

We're all kind of bummed at how quickly the week is going by. It seems like just yesterday that we were getting here and getting started.

~ Devon & PKRC team

The 1st week at the Main Center:)

The first week went by really fast! We have been so busy and having fun, that we did not notice the time fly by:) Working all day before the kids show up to The Main and then hanging out with either the teens or younger children, we are kept busy and occupied, which we all like. The weather has been nice and sunny, allowing us to get a nice tan. Also, we had the opportunity to do some gardening in The Main's garden.

The next two photos are from Jaime's Birthday at Dairy Queen. She has just turned 20 and we wanted to go out and do something special for her--we put candles on her blizzard!


The next photo is from the Bike Rodeo that happened last Wednesday. We helped set up the event, where the children, once they passed their "bike test," would receive their own free bike. The kids were really excited when they got to choose their own bikes! At least 150 children showed up!


There is a reason why we took a picture in the library...this is our sleeping quarters! We sleep among the books: either on the floor, on a mattress (which we rotate everyday), or in the chairs.


During the day, if they need help from us in making posters, we are in the art room and paint posters for the Main to use. We find painting to be a calming activity and a way to show our creativity.


Also, I would like to add that, to our pleasant surprise, a nutritional clinician who lives in the reservation came to talk to us about the history of a Native American tribe called WaterBusters and later talked about the Lakota tribe in Eagle Butte. First, we watched a movie called "Waterbusters"--> portrayed to us how the American government made the decision to build dams on reservations and as a result, make the Native Americans give up 136,00o acres of land to the government and were forced to relocate. As a consequence of the forced movement out of their towns, the Native Americans lost touch with many of their family members and neighbors. Since Native Americans rely on community support, this separation was devastating for many people. Later, the nutritional clinician talked about the Lakota tribe and some of the issues present in the community. For example, high infant mortality rate, alcoholism, unemployment, poverty, understaffed hospitals, diabetes, cancer, and increased gang involvement in the many Native American reservations. He was very informative and interesting and we were happy that he took time out of his day to come talk to us!

PKRC Updates!

So today we went to San Antonio for our "tourist day," and it was awesome! Pictured to the left is inside the Natural Bridge Caverns right outside of SA. We had an hour-ish tour of the caverns and all of it was really really neat. After that we went to the Alamo, which was a lot smaller than we all expected, and we went to the Riverwalk!

At PKRC the past few days, we've been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing, which we've enjoyed, and have been getting to know the kids and the staff. Among our service projects have been: cleaning the pool shed (lots of wasp nests-- scary!), taking inventory of all merchandise (which was an all day Saturday project, but very rewarding to finish), cleaning golf carts, painting inspirational posters (pictured at the left), and working a bit with the kids. This next week we think we'll be doing a lot more hands-on things with the school groups and are looking forward to it!

The Alamo!

I'll update more later!

~ Devon & PKRC team

Meeting The New Sheriff in Town

There isn't a whole lot to update you guys on today. We had another day off and spent the day walking around the French Quarter again, as well as checking out Bourbon and Canal Streets. We also went to a museum and saw a pretty intense exhibit on Katrina, before, during, and after the storm. It was really eye-opening, and pretty shocking.

The main reason we even left the church today was to go explore Jackson Square, which is where a lot of artists sell their wares, as well as paint! That was rather cool. There we met Dr.Love/the new Sheriff in town, who kept asking us if we were mothers so he could wish us a happy mother's day.

The biggest perk of the day was definitely the amazing ice cream we bought in the French Quarter, though we did make a pretty awesome dinner again tonight. Once again, we are hanging out in the awesome cafe just off of the Tulane campus.

Well, that's all for now.

Love and Jambalaya,

The PNOLA

KIDding around in Texas

We're all settled in on the WHR farm in Elm Mott TX, and one of the first groups to greet us were the 11 goat kids!
We get our daily dose of them in the morning feeding them milk through a pail with 10 nipples (haha) but that's not all we've been up to on the farm. In the last 3 days we have spent time in the garden mulching tomato plants with hay, harvesting vegetables for the Saturday sale at the Farm Building, and picking beetles off eggplants, since the farm doesn't use pesticides. Then we got to feed the beetles to the chickens.We spent yesterday afternoon in the 24 acre Pecan orchard picking up branches and logs that were trimmed off the trees. It was very hot and hard work but we enjoyed ourselves afterward at the nearby creek where we swam / waded in the chest deep water.

Tomorrow after morning chores we're looking forward to experiencing Austin, TX, where a big art fair is happening which should be fun to explore on our hot 96 degree day. See y'all later!



Milking goats at 6:30 Naptime! Collecting eggs after lunch

Good People, Good Food, Good Times

Hey everyone! We couldn't blog yesterday because, well, we were too content with hanging out and bonding to venture over to a coffeeshop to get wifi.

Yesterday was our first day of work with PNOLA. Needless to say, for most of us, it was pretty shocking to see that after almost six years, there is still SO MUCH work to be done. We also passed a few houses on our way to the site that actually still had the logos that search and rescue/search and recovery teams put on the outside once they had finished searching. One of the numbers is how many bodies were found in the home, another corner is the date of the search, a third is the initials of the searcher, and the final corner warns of any concerning things like asbestos or black mold. Here's a picture that I stole from google images of this logo (it was strange to stand outside of the house that people once called home and may have died in, so none of us actually took a photo of it):

On a happier note, when we finally got to the PNOLA headquarters, we met the volunteer coordinator Jen who told us the history of PNOLA and gave us a general idea of what we would be doing during our time here. Shortly after, we met our crew leader for the day, Will, and followed him to the site we would be working at. Immediately after our arrival, we met the woman who owned the house we were working on rebuilding, and she was incredibly kind to us (and brought us gum!). It's interesting to note that she lives in one of only a few hundred FEMA trailers still left in the city, and FEMA is now charging her $800 per month to live in the trailer! PNOLA and the contractors they're working with are working really hard to get the house in a livable condition as soon as possible so she doesn't have to pay the ridiculous rent to FEMA. Basically, we did one thing: paint. Some of us primed the house, others painted it, and some people worked on painting the ironwork on the porch. We aren't sure if we will be back there next week, or at another site.

When we finished with work for the day, we came back to the church and made tacos for Cinco de Mayo (in both vegetarian and omnivorous forms, as all of our dinners are), and then had some intense conversations about life, school, and religion in the parlor, before moving to an outdoor patio/rooftop to relax for the night.

Since we don't work on Fridays, we did not have a specific time to wake up, so we all woke up and did as we pleased, which was largely having coffee, reading, and tanning on the patio. Around two, we took the streetcar down to the French Quarter to explore, and had PoBoys at the Streetcar Cafe. The owner there seemed to have a genuine interest in his customers, and invited us back. He was also the first person to ask Keegan "Who Dat?", which obviously caused much joy in the group.

We spent the day exploring the French Quarter, doing everything from visiting the extraordinarily high Mississippi River to having beignets at the Cafe du Monde. We also did quite a bit of shopping, and found a lot of things that would be strange in the rest of the country but common in New Orleans, like real gator heads and voodoo dolls.

Beignets!

Chelsea eating beignets, and getting covered, inevitably, with powdered sugar!

At the French Market, we met a local poet/pastor/salesman who read us poems that he wrote. He also gave us personalized, autographed bookmarks with his poems on them in appreciation for the work that we are doing. We spoke with him for a while and learned more about what happened during Katrina.

On the way back we met a woman who works with the Make it Right Foundation (Brad Pitt's foundation) and she told us a lot about the work that their organization does.

We are currently watching the Land Before Time X, and hanging out in a local coffeeshop (as opposed to the Starbucks we went to last night).

Until tomorrow,

Love and Jambalaya,

The PNOLA Group

Loving NASSTie Love

Hey everyone!

I hope you guys are enjoying your time at your site! I'm really loving the awesome posts and feel soooo inspired right now!Keep up the posts and the amazing pictures! Just want to let you guys know that I'm currently spreading SERVE/NASST love in Peru and loving it! I want to hear more! You guys are AMAZING! :D 

Settling into The Main Center

Photo 1: Packed in the van. Photo 2: El Carambas Photo 3: Getting the groceries!

These are photos from the Road Trip to Eagle Butte, SD!

So this is our 3rd day in at the Main Youth Center at the Cheyenne River Reservation...and we quickly realized that we will not have much free time: we start at 9am and end with dinner by 9pm. It may be a long and tiring day, but we gain interesting experiences that we can learn from. From the morning until 4pm, we do activities around the Center before the children and teens come to the Youth Center. Then, starting at 4pm, we get to hang out with either the younger children or the teens. Some days we get a speaker or presenter come in to talk to us or the teens. For example, Wednesday we had a lawyer who represents the Lakota tribe talk to us about certain laws/treaties that we made in regards to Native Americans. Thursday, we had a representative from University of South Dakota come in to talk to some teens about possibly going to their university. After the dinner, we have reflections about our experiences during the day. Overall, it is really fun!! :D

Here's 25 Dollars for God's Love

Oh my gosh. Hey guys. It has been such a busy/awesome/crazy past couple of days. I honestly can't remember the last day I blogged. I think it was Monday night. I was going to update you on more of what we did on Monday but then Tuesday and today got super busy.

Anyways one major event on Monday was definitely working in the God's Love Kitchen. Can i just say God's Love is amazing. They really have made strong connections with their clients and their system of giving out meals is extremely impressive. The building itself is so nice, and the kitchen is well equipped. The staff are so friendly and always make sure that we are okay, well fed, and instructed. It's awesome that GLWD not only feeds patients with AIDS but also has expanded to help those that can't get out of their houses. They really strive to provide healthy meals and they don't question anyone who needs food. The only criteria is that you have to have some illness.

In the kitchen the cooks taught us how to chop onions, package meals, and label entrees. That's pretty much what we did on Monday. Unfortunately, as briefly mentioned on Monday's post, Lexie's finger got cut with a very sharp knife and so she and Holly went to the hospital. The good thing though was that GLWD was able to still keep Lexie involved with other tasks so that she was still able to be apart of the process =). Good news: Lexie's finger is okay and recovering!!!!! =)

Tuesday: what a day. We woke up at 615am and went to bed at midnight. Nonstop. We did meal deliveries on wheels yesterday. Everyone in the team (except Sarah and Adriana) was paired up with a local driver. They didn't have enough drivers for everyone so Sarah and Adriana cooked in the kitchen and learned to make seafood casserole!! yum. Anyways, everyone had a different experience with their driver. Speaking from my own experience, I loved my driver, my route, and the delivering food. It was challenging at first though because I was super tired and also my driver was new to the system, didn't know the route, and forgot his GPS charger. When the GPS died we spent a good hour trying to find a place to buy a charger. He was frustrated, I was tired, and we were wasting a lot of time. Fortunately we found a charger and got the route started. Everyone who received meals was very gracious. Some people invited me in, some people gave tips, and others were simply friendly. However, I did notice that some of the clients were a bit worn out or had difficulty smiling. Many seemed to have a tough "outer shell". For example, I delivered one meal and the lady was a bit rude and was like "you're late" but as soon she realized I was new and as soon as I smiled and apologized she seemed to have felt bad. Many incidents like this occurred. I also was expecting all the apartments and houses to be run down but actually a lot of the houses were very nice and spacious. It was cool that GLWD didn't refuse to help these people even though they might have had money.

My driver's attitude was a bit challenging. We were on a new route in Brooklyn and he was not familiar with the streets or clients. He was complaining a lot and I was having a hard time being sympathetic. But after he explained to me that on the previous Friday he had been robbed at gun point, and then on the next day he had gotten the GLWD van into an accident, and that today he forgot the GPS charger, I realized that maybe his complaints were valid. I was shocked that he was robbed at gunpoint and how well he was handling it. It was also interesting to learn about his background as a citizen from the DOminican Republic and as a freshly graduated highschooler working a job that forced him to wake up at 4am and sleep at 6pm, 7 days a week. A very different life from what I have.

The group then got back together for a bit and decided to split up to do separate things.

A bunch of us went to NYU and chilled in Greenwich Village. It was amazing. It was like the DIAG but wayy cooler with a circular fountain thing in the middle and a huge arch. Everyone was so trendy!! Also, it was nice watching other people do homework while knowing that I would be done for the next 4 months ;)

AFter NYU, I went on a run to Central Park, while Sam, Lexie, Holly, and Ashley napped in the church. Sarah and Adriana went to Central Park a bit after to walk around. CP is amazing. Everything is in full bloom, tons of people walking their dogs, and TONS of runners. Also there was many playgrounds, bridges, rock sculptures, and bikers. It was like heaven for me.

After the run everyone got ready for a comedy show. The comedy show in itself could take up an entire blog. There were a lot of reactions to the show and many different emotions. I will probs write about that tomorrow.

Also, one thing. Nathaniel made a very racist joke in front of the Haitian desk man named Giovanni and it offended many people. We had a huge discussion today during dinner about how we should react to Nathanial racist joke and how we should go about dealing with it. I know my struggle with the situation was that after Nathaniel said the joke I got offended on the inside and now I am having a hard time being polite or friendly towards him. It's been hard for me to be near him even though I feel bad for him. I asked the group their feelings and it sparked a huge debate. I know that everyone thinks what he did was unacceptable but how to go about it was a topic that I wanted answered. Adriana's view point about handling the situation with love was something I really could relate to. I think that although Nathaniel was wrong, that we should understand not everyone has been taught what's right and wrong, and Lexie commented that even when we know, we still sometimes make mistakes. I think that we shouldn't judge Nathaniel but that we shouldn't necessarily keep quiet. I think that we need to be kind towards him because he may not understand his rudeness but that maybe there's a way we could speak up about what he said. Ashley made the point that yes we need to understand where he's coming from but that if we just say we understand and let his comments slide then nothing will change.

This conversation also related to the comedy show. Many jokes at the show were racist, crude, or dealt with making fun of identities in a very rude way. The question was and still is: if we agree that Nathaniel's comments were unacceptable and that we should speak up, then why weren't or aren't we bothered with the comedy show? This is a question that has been really hard for me to answer and got our whole group thinking. I know that I CAN"T stand humor about crude sexual things. It makes me feel very uncomfortable and devalues the beauty of being a certain sex and intimacy. However, why didn't I walkout of the show like Holley and Ashley. I think it's because, for me, I know that not everyone deals with oppression the same way I do. Some people joke about it. Are the jokes acceptable....I don't think so. However, it seems to me that the comedians realize their jokes are JOKES and not reflective of their actual beliefs. Some people disagree with me on this. And honestly, I'm not sure about what the comedians believe. However I do know that a lot of comedians deal with life's struggles by making fun of themselves and others. Their view: life's too short to be taken too seriously. Not my view, but a view to consider. I think it's important to realize not everyone deals with things the same way, not everyone has been brought up the same way, but understanding, love, and openness can help bridge gaps. I think that there needs to be communication and awareness of how jokes can hurt people. But I believe that being angry about it isn't going to change anyone or anything. I think there needs to be an effort to make others aware of their actions but through LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, and KINDNESS.

Phew. Me and Sarah went on a long run and talked about this today. It was great. I love my group and I am so thankful to be here and challenged.

Okay also fun events of the day:

Ashley, Me, Holly, Adriana, and Sarah made walking deliveries and met an amazingly beautiful lady client who was so gracious, talkative, and lovely.
Sam and Lexie went to time square to do deliveries and got to go to the MnM store and Hershey store afterwards
My walking group got to see J Lennon's apartment complex and Strawberry fields
Me, Holly, Adriana and Sarah talked for a LONG time in a cute european cafe about LIFE (roommates, the trip, etc.)
Lexie, Ashley, and Sam went to the Museum of Natural History and saw gems from Sri Lanka (woot woot I am from there)
We all went to times square and Me, Holly, Adriana, and Sarah saw MAMMA MIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All i can say is that we were dancing queens by the end of the show ;)
Lexi, Sam, and ASh went to the rockerfeller center and we all got put on the big screen in Times Square!
Finally we had nasty froyo at Tasti D Lite. Me and Sarah are going to complain on Yelp.
Sarah and Me went on a long run and had deep convos about social justice
Oh yea...Adrianna locked the key in the shower. Oops. But now she's trying to pick the lock with a bobby pin. Good times. Me and Sarah washed our hair in the sink as a result. Haha. So fun!

okay...I need to go to bed. We are waking up at 615am tomorrow....AHHH. SO EARLY.

XOXO
Dayani and GLWD

PS: not checking grammar, spelling, or anything. Sorry if none of this is readable. I am tired haha.

Images coming soon =)

Twende Bluluu!

We woke up gradually, without setting any alarms, since we didn't have a specific time to leave or arrive in NOLA (except for check-out, I suppose). We ended up leaving around 10:45ish, and drove from Memphis to New Orleans, with a quick Subway/gas stop in between. Some of us were really shocked to see how flooded some areas were, especially around the Mississippi River. As we got into New Orleans (finally!), we drove over a bridge/raised highway that was really cool and swampy. The drive, as we'd hoped in our last post, was pretty uneventful.

After getting over the cool bridge, we saw a lot of palm trees and got kind of excited because we knew we were getting close! We managed to avoid getting lost, despite having three sets of very different directions, ultimately trusting the TomTom. Seconds after we arrived at the church we're staying at, before all of us even got out of the van, we saw a trolly come down the middle of the road and decided we had no choice but to take it wherever it goes at some point during our trip.

Pastor John gave us the grand tour, along with some pretty interesting details about the church (like the division of various religious sects in NOLA before the Civil War, finally rejoining right before WWII). The church is gorgeous, and both the kitchen and bunkroom are huge! Also, we are all really excited that there are enough showers for all of the girls to take showers at the same time, which will save us plenty of time getting ready.

Pastor John told us more about the trolly, and directed us to the nearest Winn Dixie and Starbucks for groceries and WIFI to post this blog. We expect to be back each night (or every other night-ish) to add to the blog.

And Keegan just asked some strangers about the origins of "Who Dat," receiving some pretty interesting backstory (I'll let you look it up yourself, if you're interested!).

Also, we learned from Pastor John, a Swahili professor at Tulane University - he accepted the position after Hurricane Katrina claimed the life of the previous Swahili professor - how to say "Go Blue" in Swahili!

Twende Bluluu!

Love and Jambalaya,

The PNOLA Team

"The snake is really cold, so he ain't biting anything right now."

Day #5 was definitely warmer, which we all appreciated. In the morning, we hung out at the theater and cleaned up a little bit, then worked with a few schools groups for the rest of the day. Some of us went and played putt-putt and others were at the theater helping with various activities. Ashley & Devon spent the rest of the day in the pool with the kids, and got a bit sunburnt in the process! Liliya, Kelly, Meg, and Nicole helped one of the staff members clear brush that had gathered since the burn ban had been placed on Texas. After that, we all went and gathered river rocks for the younger kids to paint tomorrow, and we were taken on another nature-y tour to Centennial Creek, which is right along PKRC property. It was really pretty (pictured above).

The rest of the day will be spent doing a little laundry and cleaning out the cabins for the overnight retreat that will be happening on Friday. Tomorrow we're going to spend the day with the little kids (4-6 year olds) and then we will be heading to Austin, TX for a Cinco de Mayo dinner!

^^ Kelly and Liliya with the cold snake!

~Devon & the PKRC team

The Main: Getting to Eagle Butte, South Dakota :)

We left Ann Arbor Monday morning packed into one mini-van with 7 people and all our luggage and donations. Very quickly, we became very "close" to one another. We drove through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and then finally stopped in Rochester, MN for the night. Driving from Wisconsin to Minnesota over the Mississippi River, we saw beautiful scenery!! Gorgeous! In Rochester, MN, our group member, Abby, found out from a friend about a Mexican restaurant that was supposedly good and cheap. To our pleasant surprise, El Carambas was amazingly good and the people were very friendly--even letting us use their sombreros for pictures!!
The next morning, we started our journey with a stop at the coffee store, which we found out was only drive-through. However, the cashier let us get out of our car and order our drinks. It was a funny site! Then, we set off to South Dakota. While in South Dakota and in a larger city, we decided to buy groceries because their are no large grocery stores in Eagle Butte. After purchasing groceries for 7 people for almost 2 weeks, we had to cram all the groceries into the car, which was already packed--on TOP of US!! It was one of the most packed cars that I have ever seen!! (pictures will follow :)) People in the way back, who could not move, got good at jumping over seats to get out to stretch their legs. After 4 hours of this compactness, we were excited to have arrived to Eagle Butte, SD! The long-term volunteers were very friendly and helpful. Being exhausted from the trip, all of us fell asleep quickly! We were excited for the next day! :D

"Do y'all know where you're goin'?" ... "No..."

PKRC has made it to Texas! We just got internet up and running, so apologies for not updating y'all sooner.

Day #2-- We only ran into a little bit of Twister-style rain and a traffic jam during the rest of the drive, but lunch at Cici's Pizza made up for it a little bit. Once we arrived, two of the PKRC staff members took us out to Texas Roadhouse, which was amazing. Pictured below is us there with our awesome waitress.

Day #3-- After having a tour of the facilities (which include everything from a pool to a putt-putt golf course to an actual Cinemax movie theater with light-up ceiling), we hung out with a few of the school groups, had lunch with them, and then we headed to a blood drive to benefit a friend of PKRC. Then, after a quick trip to Walmart for groceries and a nap, a late night game of Taboo led to watching Tangled in the movie theater (complete with popcorn-- be jealous). Pictured below is us by the theater entrance.

Day #4-- We spent the day hanging out with PKRC's nature guide and a few awesome camp attendees. We took a walk all throughout the woods, and we found a real arrowhead! The picture below is us at the river. We got to learn about a lot of really cool plants and flowers and animals that are native to the area. We also fed and petted Wilbur the pig and Otto the cow, and learned how to drive golf carts (ridiculously fun).

Hopefully I can update more tomorrow!

~ Devon and the PKRC team

True Life: We Hate Roundabouts

After months of planning and quite a bit of chaos, the PNOLA group has finally left Ann Arbor! We left Ann Arbor this morning around 8:40, a little later than intended, but it wasn't a catastrophe (especially because we had so much food that cheered people up!). Janine drove first, followed by Chelsea, and Yanet. The drive was long (and began with some really confusing roundabouts), but pretty eventful - for example, less than an hour after departing, we were in conversations about the meaning of life and understanding of religion. We spent a while jammin' to Janine's iPod, and most of the group got in a good nap at some point. Keegan really liked taking pictures; maybe he should be the site historian! Either way, I know that we are going to end up with some awesome photos!

We stopped a couple of times for bathroom/snack breaks, but never for more than ten minutes or so. That certainly helped us make great time, AND have time for a hilarious round of peg-game or two at Cracker Barrel in Jackson, Tennessee.

After we left Cracker Barrel, we met one of Tennessee's finest when he pulled us over for "going too slow in the left lane, which is for people doing 70 or above," he said. For the record, the speed limit was 70 mph, and we were doing, you guessed it, 70 mph. We think he was picking on us out-of-staters, especially because he asked everything about our trip but our favorite snacks. On top of that, he was generally rude.

All-in-all, we learned a lot about eac

h other on the trip already, and we haven't reached our final destination yet! We still have another 6 or so hours to go tomorrow, but we don't have a specific time to leave yet because we aren't expected until late anyway. Tomorrow, hopefully, will be fairly uneventful, with just the rest of the trip, a grocery trip, and "checking in" at the church we're staying at.

Also, Keegan is looking forward to getting asked "Who Dat?" so we're kind of considering paying someone to ask him...

Love and Jambalaya,

The PNOLA Team