Here we are, our last day together as a group…for now!

We got up at 4am to head to the airport with all our luggage. After a bit of confusion and frustration with the buses, we finally made it to the SFO Airport, and through security JUST IN TIME.

I’m pretty certain we all fell asleep on the plane, although it turns out some of us spilled drinks on other people, or our seats were wet right when we got on the plane hahaha. We made it to Atlanta safely, and started to feel the South’s climate and ways of thinking set in. Even more so, especially once we landed, and were back home in Raleigh.

It’s certainly difficult, as we all noticed, to go from a place where all sexualities, gender identities and gender expressions, are open and encouraged, back to our small city of Raleigh in the Bible belt. Regardless of any sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, we could all feel the difference in mindset, and/or acknowledge it for our counterparts.

However, one of the main points of ASB Trips is not to have students return feeling like they are fortunate for all that they have, and that they had a great vacation. Instead, it is our hope through the ASB program, that something sparks their interest and pushes them to bring about positive change, whether in their hometown, their personal lives, or for the greater good of humanity. The uncomfortableness we felt being back in Raleigh is a good sign, it reminds us that we have been changed by this trip, and that we all know there is work to be done in the GLBTQ and homeless community.

We are already in the process of planning a reunion, one of many team reunions I am sure!

Thank you to all the ASB San Francisco 2012 team members, and thank you to all of those who supported us through the last few months!

Go out and do good things for the world!

Today is our last full day in San Francisco! Boo

We began our morning splitting in  to three groups in order to recreate our Raleigh retreat, which is where we walked in groups around Raleigh trying to find various services for the homeless and GLBTQ population. In Raleigh, we had noticed that there were limited services to both groups, and that the services were quite spread out if a person needed to have both GBLTQ and homeless services. In San Francisco, we decided to see what services were offered in three different districts of the big city: The Tenderloin area (where we were staying and serving with organizations), the Castro district which is known for it’s GLBTQ friendliness, and the Haight, which still has the 1960s Hippies feel to it.

Ultimately, we determined after a few hours of walking around in our respective areas, that it’d be more convenient to find services in San Francisco, but a person has to be the one to ask for those services. Also, we feel like there always needs to be more outreach programs to find people on the streets and serve them somehow whether with food, housing, clothing, education, job training, etc. There were plenty of resources for GLBTQ individuals, homeless families, youth, individuals, but yet, still so many people were out on the streets. Much work has to be done, but work CAN be done, and perhaps that is one of the most valuable lessons we learned.

In the afternoon, we spent a little bit more time in the sunshine and around the city. We hopped upon one of the infamous San Francisco Trolley’s and rode up to Lombard Street, the infamous curvy street.

After seeing Lombard Street, we headed over to the AIDS Memorial Park, which is a park dedicated to those who in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic were ignored, treated badly, etc, their families, and all those since who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Here, in this beautifully serene place, we had a reflection of the recreation of the retreat, of the people we met, programs we learned of, and GLBTQ homelessness issues still not addressed by the city.

We then headed to Sparky’s, one of our favorite places to eat, for our last dinner where we reflected on what are individual favorite parts of the trip were, what we could change for next year, what worked/didn’t work, and so much more.

From there, we shopped a bit more for some memorable goodies and then headed back to the Hostel to pack up, get a few hours and sleep, and head back home in the morning.

These two days are combined in our posts because we worked at the same two service organizations for both days. In the morning we served at Project Open Hand, which is a nonprofit organization down the street from us, that serves the community with nutritious foods that they can either receive through the grocery store they have, through at home deliveries for people with disabilities, or for those who have HIV/AIDS, Breast Cancer patients, and homeless members of the community. Our volunteer coordinator Rachel was beyond chipper and excited to be a part of Project Open Hand, and have us serve with them. Her enthusiasm, and those of the other staff members, really created a welcoming, fun environment to serve at.

Our first day there, half our team sorted through chicken, while the other half created trail mix and oatmeal. It was wonderful to see how fresh the food is that the people who come to Project Open Hand are receiving, and also to know that what we were making for them was literally going to be taken within a day or so at the grocery store! On day two we sorted through celery, bagging an endless amount of oranges, cutting egg cartons in half, splitting pasta, creating almond butter, and bagging frozen meals for delivery. As you can see, our tasks most certainly increased the second day after they saw how efficient and eagerly we work! It was interesting to see though that, as with any nonprofit, there has to be some waste. Our team advisor Chester, and team member Lee, were asked to sort through bags of salad. Ultimately, they were told to throw away the entire bag if there was any brown lettuce in it, which is unfortunate considering so many bags with mostly fresh salad parts were thrown away. However, no one could deny that their ingredients in their food were the freshest imaginable. We also had Patrick, Brandon, and John from our team make almond butter! Project Open Hand makes its own types of almond and peanut butter with literally just the nuts, and a few other ingredients that we’ve all heard of. There’s nothing in the butters that people can’t identify, so it has such a wonderful, natural, chunky taste to it! They even sell it in local stores, and increase their money for their services.

One last night part of Project Open Hand was that they served us and all those who volunteer, lunch each day we were there! Fresh lunch too, with salads, soups, hearty breads, and good drinks. It was a good break from the fastfood/ eating out we had been doing for five days straight at this point.

In comparison to Project Open Hand, which works towards systemic change with their services to the greater San Francisco and surrounding area populations, GLIDE Memorial Church serves three meals daily to feed the hungry every day. We served here both Wednesday and Thursday afternoons after Project Open Hand. At GLIDE, we learned that they have a medical clinic, some housing, a program for youth, amongst other services, and their meal feeding program. Unlike Project Open Hand, GLIDE will make meals with whatever they basically can, so they are not necessarily nutritious, although there are some variations of food groups within a meal. For example, the first night’s meal including hotdogs, pears, carrots, potatoe chips and as much water as they would like. Day two’s meals included rice with some sort of meat melody, carrots/corn, a slice of bread, two tangerines, and again as much water as they would like. There were also vegetarian options. One of our co-leaders Nicole, made an important point that the homeless don’t have too many choices a day, including what they get to eat, so as a team we were encouraged to eat the meals at GLIDE too to understand that this could possibly be our only meal option until the morning.

The actual meal serving program was set up in two rooms; a big room which individuals needed to have received a ticket at the entrance of the church to come in, and the other room which serves the disabled since it is an accessible room, and also services families. Our team was split up to go to both rooms, so for the smaller room they were passing out meals and coming back to the big room (which had the kitchen), to get more meals. Those in the big room either were at the door to receive the tickets, be in the lunch line with a job to either put their specific food on the tray, or hand it to the person who just handed in the ticket, or work the floor in terms of taking finished trays away or refilling water. While the time period only last an hour or so, at least 300 people or more were served, so we were constantly working. This was the most physically service site for us, and we really never slowed down during the time in which the meal serving program was open.

From our experiences with GLIDE though, we did learn a few things about homelessness. One was that there is no one face to homelessness; people of all ages, races, appearances, etc, were coming in to receive food. Some were dressed in suits, some had clothes with dirt and holes on them, some were clean shaven, some looked as though they hadn’t received haircuts in quite some time. We also saw some of the same people both days receiving meals, or even more than once a day. Caitlin, on the first day was the person who received the tickets, and saw a man come in repeatedly for a total of 5 times just for the dinner meal. GLIDE says that people can get a ticket, eat, get another ticket, and eat again, for as many times as they want, as long as there are enough tickets, and it’s during the time in which meals are served.

Most of the people were polite and said hello or thanked us for the meals, while some didn’t speak, some spoke to themselves, some seemed to be strung out on drugs, even one woman openly consumed vodka while with dinner, and others asked us to join heir fight with aliens, Jesus, etc. We did notice that the fulltime staff actually knew a lot of the people coming in, which was comforting to think that the staff does interact with the people they serve. For the most part, it was a peaceful, but busy experience, although on the second day a fight did seem to break out in the big room. We certainly learned a lot from GLIDE, as well as Project Open Hand, these past two days, both about GLBTQ issues and homelessness, and about ourselves!

Also, Thursday night we joined another alternative service break group from Xavier University, to hear a transgender speaker at our Hostel. Zooey had an inspirational story to share with all of us, and truly enlightened many about transgender issues with a Trans* 101  presentation. Trans* issues are a very present, very real part of the GBLTQ community, and it was important for us as a team to learn more about the Trans* community. Thank you to Xavier University and Zooey for having us at the speaker presentation!

For Friday, our last full day in San Francisco, we’ll be recreating the retreat we went on in Raleigh, seeing a bit more of the city, having our last reflection in the AIDS Memorial Park, and one final meal out together!

As our ASB trip comes to a close, the group reflected on the following question: Describe a realization from an experience this week that has changed your perspective.

“Through conversation & observation with the people of New Orleans, I have gained the realization that no matter the hardship, there is always cause to celebrate. Through life, death, and tradition the celebrations should always go on.”

“Meeting the owner of the house we were working on was incredible! She was working right beside us on her future home with such enthusiasm. It really put this trip into perspective, that what we were doing was meaningful and makes a difference.”

“Katrina destroyed a lot more than just houses. Seeing the spirit of this vibrant town dampered made me realize that everything can be damaged, but also that everything can be rebuilt.”

“Although New Orleans is still heavily damaged, residents are optimistic and working hard to make it beautiful once again.”

“Seeing New Orleans with my own eyes was an amazing experience. Actually seeing the Ninth Ward was incredible. Seeing that the people were still there was inspiring to say the least. They’re still here after the incredible amount of damage that was done and that shows hope and extermination. Seeing and meeting these people completely changed my life.”

“The Ninth Ward was the opportunity to be a beautiful area again with the efforts from the neighborhood community and volunteers. it was comforting to have people wave and thank us for our efforts. The bike tour helped show what the area looked like and that my /view of the area was not correct.”

“Before this trip I always wondered why people would choose to remain in a city prone to natural disaster & flooding. From the bike tour & visiting The House of Dance & Feathers”, I’ve realized how rich the culture is in a New Orleans and why people who grew up here would choose to stay despite the city’s problems.”

“My biggest realization was though it is awesome all these volunteers are coming to help out, they aren’t all necessarily asking the community what they need. New Orleans is a very cultured city, very different from others in the US. When projects like the Brad Pitt Make It Right Houses come in and do what they want, they are changing the atmosphere. Its an awesome they already housed 70 families back in the lower ninth BUT the design of the houses are so different from the rest of the communities. This takes away from the original culture of the neighborhood and also going to create this barrier of a “gated community.”

“The cleanup made me realize how much New Orleans is still under poverty and the amount of damage that is still present from Hurricane Katrina.”

“I’ve heard that New Orleans is dirty, but until yesterday I never truly knew what that meant because I know that every city can have trash but where I’m from it is certainly not as big as a problem as it is here. When I saw all the trash on the ground, I was just shocked that people would do that to their city and it makes me wonder how they came to think it was okay. Before we started picking up the trash, I honestly didn’t want to but when we only worked a few blocks, I realized it was a necessity. This city is full of culture and it should be protected by all people to give it the looks that represent its plentiful activity. All of what I saw made me appreciate how we take care of cities in North Carolina and I hope that one day, New Orleans will not have that trash on their great city.”

“Before going on this trip, I always thought of New Orleans as the place where Hurricane Katrina struck. After touring the area and meeting the people who lived here, I learned that New Orleans is much more. It is full of music, good people and that Hurricane Katrina never changed that. That atmosphere kept people going through everything and it brought people together and that to me is amazing. It also made me realize that you make the situation and even if you go through something like Katrina, you can still be happy with the support of the community.”

“New Orleans still has a long way to go as far as clean up. I was surprised that 6 1/2 years after Katrina, more work hasn’t been done. After seeing the empty lots on the bike tour, I realized a lot of people have not been back home.”

“While working with other students this week, I realized how different each of us are. People from Boston who have never seen wild animals or have backyards were trying to clean and build a house. People from Virginia & Louisiana coming together to work with no experience. For the NC State students, some of us had experience but many had none. We all learned valuable skills this week whether it was patience, kindness, the ability to hammer, dig holes or caulk! Hopefully none of us are put to the test of building our own house but we all learned how much work goes into rebuilding a life after a disaster.”

Today was a fabulously busy day! As always we had a great day interacting with the students and teachers at the school; however, we enjoyed a special treat. The students preformed a few Tlingit ceremonial dances and songs for us. They even wore their Regalia to do so. It was breath taking to watch and is a special part of the Tlingit culture. After school we also had the opportunity to look for bears around the country side with Bob, a local bear guide. He took us to the dump, where we found bear tracks in the distance. We also observed several Bald Eagles both perched on trees and in flight on our adventure! After the dump we went to look on the beaches, where we were lucky enough to be able to observe a bear on a distant beach!

Upon returning from our bear sighting, we joined the Elders for Tlingit class. We were able to learn a great deal of vocabulary words as well as listen to some of their stories with some homemade smoked salmon as a snack. We were also able to look at their Regalia, which are handcrafted clothing and items that represent their culture, clan, and moiety. These items are very sacred to them and the amount of work that goes into creating them is astonishing. Each one is different but can include intricate bead work, fur, and complex designs. They also gave out some dried seaweed to us so that we can cook it ourselves. We felt so honored that they would share such a special part of their culture with us.

After Tlingit some of the high school students invited us to go to a bonfire with them! Although it was raining a little and the drive was a bit icier and a bit longer than we expected but it was definitely worth it. We traveled down a one lane road for about 20 minutes until we were outside of Hoonah City Limits. We warmed up next to a cozy fire they had built. We also had the opportunity to walk the coast line at night with the students. The scenery was beautiful and getting to know the students outside of school was a lot of fun! This is amazing place and it was really touching that they shared a special local spot with us.

~ Chencheng Yang and Katherine Buck

We learned how to make halibut rolls!

Bonfire with some of the high school students

Greetings from Alaska! Things are settling in and the team has been making progress in the schools. Half of the team has been in the elementary school working with the children on activities such as Tlingit language classes and preparing for the Dr. Seuss Day celebration on Friday. The other half of the team has been helping the middle and high school classes including speech presentations and technology applications. Tess and Molly got to help deliver the daily report over the radio. Ashwin, Michelle, Molly, Stephanie and Wesley all helped out with band rehearsal by playing percussion instruments. Michelle got a splinter. Eric was having fun making windmills down in the wood shop with the middle school science class. All of these experiences have been enlightening as team members are learning new skills.

After school, we went on a crabbing excursion with Keith and his son, Torsten. We all piled into two boats and set off toward the crab traps. On our way there, we stumbled upon a sea lion and started chasing it to catch it. Torsten was able to shoot the sea lion a couple of times but we were unable to catch it. At this point, we were cold, wet, very hungry, but excited to be in the Alaskan water and to have this unique experience. At the crab traps, we were hoping to catch a great multitude of Alaskan King crab for dinner. Our stomachs breathed a sigh of relief as Sarah pulled up the first catch of four large crabs. Molly was able to pull in another five at the second trap. We tossed the crabs into the boat, reset the traps, and set off back to the dock.

Feeling pretty good about ourselves, we stepped off the boat and examined our catch. At Keith’s prompting, we took turns biting one of the crabs and holding it in our mouths. We were fortunate to continue this experience by learning how to steam the crabs and clean them. Several team members took the clams we caught on Monday and made clam chowder. Dinner was amazing as we had many seafood selections including fried halibut for people to choose from. Immediately after, Owen came over to share with us some of his carvings and other cultural artifacts. He brought everything from a bear skull, to whale teeth to traditional drums. Later, he showed us rope tricks and we played some rope games. With all the hubbub about the solar storm in the news, we are really hoping to see a better view of the Northern Lights tomorrow night. All in all, today was another pretty awesome day in Hoonah, Alaska. The whole team is looking forward to making the most of our last few days here.

~ by Eric Whitmire and Wesley Lo

Keith made Sarah hold the crab in her mouth

This is the beautiful view of the island (Hoonah) from the boat

Thursday (8March): Where to start. This has been an indescribable week because of the family bonding that we have been able to accomplish, as well as the many lives that we have been able to touch and have touched ours. After a breakfast of eggs and potatoes, we headed out for the day. At the market this morning in San Juan de la Maguana, there was a wide spectrum of scents, colors, and wears. Today was the last day of barrio clinics, and was the smoothest day yet. Again, we set up the clinic in a schoolhouse in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. Registration and health education were outside, while triage, the doctors, and pharmacy were inside. The students felt more comfortable in their respective roles, while overcoming the Spanish and cultural barriers. We saw about 144 patients in addition to providing meaningful health education and entertainment. During our reflection for the day, team members shared their observations for the week. Listening and watching each member express their appreciation and admiration for their individual experiences was truly inspirational. We are looking forward to a relaxing end of our week and a safe return home (hopefully with no crazy flight changes)

Con Amor,
Phoebe Cruz, Nishika Patel, Justine Hollingshead, Emily Bennett, Emily Bissett, Stuart Bumgarmer, Brittany Gabriel, Chris Gabriel, Lauren Hatchett, Dr. F. Hatchett, Christina Saju, Austin Smith, Jay Thakkar, Taylor Thornton, Paulina Tran, and Shayna Wrublik

Today was our last full work day and I can honestly say that I’m gonna miss this place. This morning as we drove to the work site, I felt for the first time that New Orleans is now my home. I don’t have this feeling too often, but this city had such a impact on me. New Orleans has a spirit that is so unique and hard to find in other cities around America. That spirit has drove me to complete this home and bring the happiness that the future homeowner deserves.

In the morning, I was helping my team members complete the porch. The porch was a lot harder to complete than I originally imagined. Especially, caulking which I did a bit yesterday and it didn’t take long to find out that it is not my forte. Then, I worked on fencing the house. This started my digging 18 inch holes in the ground, which completely took energy out of me. But, once the hole was dug it was lunch time. A highlight of my lunch was hearing the ice cream truck and getting some ice cream like the good old days.

The rest of the day involved helping my team members fill in the holes with cement. We made the cement by first carrying 80 lbs bags full of cement and mixing with water using a shovel. We poured concrete into a couple of holes with a pole and aligned it with the other holes to make sure we have a straight line of fencing in the end.

As the end of the trip nears, I  definitely feel accomplished on the amount of things we have completed around the house. I’m also looking forward to ending this trip with a proper po-boy as well.

Written by Sid Gandra

Day three on the worksite brought more challenges and success for the group.  Today, the ground crew worked on finding the property lines for the new fence and digging holes.  With the help of the Boston crew, we dug numerous holes, poured concrete, set the poles and even found a friendly lizard named Larry. According to our new friends, “Boston doesn’t have wilderness, especially lizards”.  The roof crew, or the fearless as us land lovers call them, almost finished the roof, had a lot of the structural walls complete and finished all of the siding on the side of the house. The prepping of the outside walls for painting is the last step before we paint the house a nice blue color.  The owner described to us how she picked the colors of her new house all the way to the door and matching trim.  She told us stories about helping on other sites and how she came to her decision to be different from the houses she helped paint.

Our new friends from Boston, commented on our southern accents, asked us about the famous BBQ and wondered about our weather differences.  They don’t usually experience heat like the Louisiana sun offered today.  The locals reminded us about  August with 100 degree weather and 100% humidity, obviously this sun was nothing compared to what they experience. It reminded me of the time during when Hurricane Katrina actually hit and why we were building a house.  The people suffered for many days with no water, sewage, food, electricity or communication for help. We were building this house for a lady and her family to restart their lives in this place that they love and call home. We can see as we go through town and meet locals how really grateful these people are for our help.  Every time someone asks about why we are here or what we are doing, their response is always “Thank you for coming, we really appreciate everything you do”. We hope to inspire others to contribute their time and effort for people in need.

We celebrated our success of the day with a trip to the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen and another round of Beignets from Cafe Du Monde. We decided we needed to bring as much of the amazing funnel cake-like donuts home with us as we could.

Written by Heather Meiggs

When we arrived on the worksite after this morning after two amazing days in New Orleans, we had a bit of a surprise.  Around 35 more college students joined us at this one Habitat house.  Needless to say, we were slightly concerned about having that many people on a work site and the first couple of hours were rough.  Since this was our second work day, a lot of us knew the ropes of what needed to be done.  Patience wore thin several times as our group dynamics changed.  I had one of these moments today.

Roofing was my speciality on Saturday and I was eager to do it again today.  However, being surrounded by people who were picking up a hammer for the first time was slightly nerve racking, especially in the roof and especially when one girl said she was afraid of heights.  After picking up the speed though, we thought we were ready to lift the boards, which were 4 by 8 feet, up to the roof by ourselves.  Let’s just say that first time was slightly life threatening on my end exactly at the moment where my patience ran out, but we finally got the board up.   By the end of the day, we had all of the front left side of the roof done, which was a great accomplishment.  The back roof was moving slowly, but every piece had to be cut to fit an angle and the people working the saw were new to the job as well, but I am sure we will get it done tomorrow.

The siding is almost done as well and most of the group is tired of caulking.  Towards the end of the day, the ASB group and the larger college group were working together rather well, though honestly we were ready to leave them at the end of the day.  We got to finish our day with a delicious pasta bar and good Wal-mart pecan pie.

Tomorrow will bring a new and better day, hopefully filled with more patience and greater progress on the house.  I have to say that I am interested in seeing how this week will pan out with 50 people trying to work at the same time on this house, but I can say without a doubt that our group is getting closer as we learn to work together.

Written by Megan Alvord

Today was our first service day! We served at Larkin Street Youth Services which works with over 3,000 homeless youth a year for health, education, housing, clothing, food, counseling, and even more programs. We were asked to sort through the clothing drop-off area of the Center, in terms of all of the donations they’ve received over the past few months. We had a wonderful, rewarding time seeing what clothing people feel others should wear, including one with star trek and bears (gay male bears), not the animals! Some of us also created safe-sex kits, while the rest of us finished organizing the clothing area so that when youth come in to receive Larkin’s services, one of the areas where we could help lessen the stress and difficulty, was in providing the most efficiently organized clothing bank we could. We were all very proud of each other for the work we accomplished, and how pleased Larkin Street was with us, especially since this solidified a relationship with them to allow future ASB San Fran teams to serve with them!

After the few hours with Larkin Street Youth Services, we had a few hours of free time, where some of us rested, while the rest went on a Trolley ride around the city.

Then, we were off to Chinatown! We spent a few hours walking around, taking in the beautiful Asian designs of both the streets and buildings, and the goods the vendors had for sale. All of us were highly impressed with the colorful decorations, the beautiful art, and the rich traditions of Asian culture that could be found within these few blocks.

At night, we ventured back to the Castro district, where half of the team attended a Q-Sangha Buddhist prayer ceremony lead by a Scottish Buddhist Priest who herself at one time was homeless in San Francisco. We practiced a few forms of mediation, all of which were new for the team members, but both very educational, and enlightening. It relaxed those of us who attended, and helped us feel as though we were taking advantage of opportunities we wouldn’t necessarily have had while in Raleigh. The others from the team spent more time in the Castro district, visiting a few more sites, and also were humbled at the Holocaust Monument for GLBT victims.

Afterwards, we all met where the Buddhist Ceremony was to hear from a man named Brian, who used to be homeless. He shared with us his story of drug addiction, homelessness, and being gay. It was easily one of the most emotional parts of the trip, and brought many of us back to reality about why we were in San Francisco, how some of the aspects of people’s lives can seem so foreign to us, and yet with personal strength and community support, perhaps homelessness does not need to be a lifelong situation for people who are in fact homeless.

We ended such an emotional evening with a trip to get some milkshakes to keep our spirits high in order to stay positive for the next day’s service projects. Tomorrow we’ll be working with Project Open Hand, and Glide Memorial Church to package and serve food to the homeless.

Wednesday (7 March): After breakfast, we headed to one of the town’s schools to watch their traditional flag raising ceremony. While there, we were able to hear the Dominican National anthem and watch the students raise the Dominican, American, and Canadian flags. Solid Rock International volunteers from the United States and Canada sponsor the majority of the students that attend the school. Then we toured the school and were amazed by the computer lab that mirrored one from NCSU. Our clinic location was another long journey towards the border that the Dominican Republic and Haiti share. This location was in a small three room schoolhouse in a very rural part of the island. Registration was located outside in the toasty sun, while triage, the doctors, and pharmacy had the privilege of working in the cool indoors. Because of the great need in the community (La Patilla), the health education team ran out of tooth brushes and tooth paste during the first half of the day. The mass majority of the 160 patients that we saw were from Haiti. This allowed some of the members of our team to use their French skills to communicate with the Haitians. After a long day of clinic, we headed over to the Haitian border. It was surprising to the team to see the lack of border control that this particular location had. We were all excited to cross the country lines without passports, only stepping a few feet into this beautiful land. Most of the team fell asleep on the bus ride home, allowing for the team members who were awake to take incriminating photographs. After the brief catnap and unloading of our supplies, we walked over to San Juan de la Maguana’s Cathedral. The view from the top of the highest point in the city was absolutely breathtaking because of the magnificent landscape that could be seen from the valley. After our walk home and while we waited for dinner, the girls played an intense game of Catchphrase. At Bienvenida, a local restaurant, we chowed down on some delicious authentic Dominican cuisine consisting of tostones, rice, beans, beef stew, fried chicken, arepas, and fried cheese. Our team enjoyed an array of tropical ice cream flavors (coco, guava, grape, rum raisin, dulce de leche, and prune) at Splash, the local ice cream parlor. Once we satisfied our sweet tooth, we came back to SRI and packed for the next day’s clinic. All in all it was a very productive day and the team is looking forward to our last day serving the medical needs of the rural communities of the Dominican people.

Con Amor,
Phoebe Cruz, Nishika Patel, Justine Hollingshead, Emily Bennett, Emily Bissett, Stuart Bumgarmer, Brittany Gabriel, Chris Gabriel, Lauren Hatchett, Dr. F. Hatchett, Christina Saju, Austin Smith, Jay Thakkar, Taylor Thornton, Paulina Tran, and Shayna Wrublik

Guess what? Today… WE SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!! This was a very rare event that everyone on the trip was hoping to see since the first day we landed in Alaska, and we did. When we got the phone call from a local native about the Northern Lights being visible outside, everyone ran out of the bunkhouse screaming like crazy and we were able to witness beautiful colors dancing in the sky. It was an incredible sight! Of course, as amazing as it was, it still doesn’t overshadow the rest of this day. Even though it was only our second day in the school, all of us were excited over how well we each connected with the students already. Komal was even able to initiate communication with a girl diagnosed with “selective mute,” a condition that prevented her from talking with strangers. Also, it was a much easier transition for us too since we were finally getting used to the school and its faculty. Some of us even had some deep conversations with the principal, while others attended a Tlingit class and learned a Tlingit song and dance alongside the students. And since the band class played without percussion, three of us went over and practiced playing the remaining instruments. Overall, the situation was a lot less awkward than it was the first day and everyone was able to enjoy themselves around the students.

After school, we all went to a workshop near the school and saw some carvers at work. They showed us a large 30 x 16 foot screen that they had made, and it was not only amazing to see how beautiful and precise the art was, but also to hear the meaning and cultural representation behind each little portrait on the screen. One of the carvers, Gordon, even shared his story with us. He was one of the few Alaskans that studied and graduated college in the “lower 48,” but still came back to his homeland in order to preserve his culture and pursue his passion of carving wood. This showed us just how much Alaskans value their current lifestyle and how closely connected they are with their culture. After that, we all went to a Tlingit language class at the senior center, where several of us learned important life lessons through the stories of the elders. Then finally, the day had its perfect ending with the Northern Lights. Most of us would probably say that this was the best and most exciting day by far, and we can’t wait to see what’ll come next!!

~ by Nikole Tetreault and Ashwin Aravindan

We saw the Northern Lights, but it was hard to take a good picture....

Part of the screen being carved about Tlingit history

“Life experienced through a windshield is one step away from watching it on TV, but even a bicycle tour can become just a series of sights.” - Ninth Ward Rebirth Bike Tours

Our team had the opportunity to tour the Lower Ninth Ward on a bicycle.  Through the tour, we got the opportunity to  see the sighs, eat the food and meet people of the “Lower Nine”.  The tour left a last impression on the group and ask the team to reflect on the following question:   “What was the one mental image from the day that stuck with you and why?”

Here’s what the team had to say:

The mental image that stuck out ito me the most was the lower ninth ward. It really stuck out to me because it was hard to believe that after seven years you still have houses with X’s on them and they are still not fixed. It was really hard to imagine the town underwater and to comprehend what people went through.
- Brittany Freeze
(Note: The X’s Brittany are referring to are a mark from the first responders after Katrina.)

The image of the canal. The fact that I was sitting in front of the area where it flooded. I had a mental image of the water rising and breaking the flood gates.
- Shaunacee Harris

The cypress swamp by MRGO. The trees were skeletal stumps all through the canal and while you saw to the other side, you seed to have the forest so thick you couldn’t see through the trees. It was so sad to se the destroyed wetlands and how people destroyed them
- Liz Kripner

The mental image that stuck out to me was the the 9th ward. It was completely different then my image that I had coming to New Orleans. It completely changed my life.
- Kristine Dutton

The image that stayed with me the most is Mr. Lewis and his museum. Mr. Lewis shows that even through the city has experienced so much destruction and turmoil the culture and traditions still stay strong and will remain strong.
- Englann Taylor

An image that stuck with me was a sign in the lower 9th ward. It read “This is a neighborhood not a dump.” It was my favorite because even though there was not left of the lower 9th ward. It was still home to some people
- Jewel Wright

Biking to the lower 9th ward and wondering if we were there yet. It’s really sad how people/the media portray the 9th ward as “sketchy” or “ghetto” or this terrible place. When actually it is a beautiful community with wonderful, high-spirited people caucusing on rebuilding. Overall Favorite part: Meeting Mr. Ronald Lewis
- Sam Peart

The picture that continues to stick out in my mind is the openness of the lower 9th ward. As I was riding, I was amazed about how much green space there was, but then I really remembered that there used to be houses in all that green space. Seeing the devastated swamp was also disturbing. And then there is that lonely red chair sitting on the front porch of NOLA.
- Megan Alvord

The strongest image that I saw today was during the bike tour of the lower 9th ward and the “green houses”. The overly priced houses 2x the normal cost in NOLA made me realize how people can still be inconsiderate of the others needs. These people need our help but it needs to be directed in the right way. With adequate resources and volunteer work, we can rebuild New Orleans’s Lower 9th Ward!
- Heather Meiggs

There were so many amazing moments throughout the day but I think I’m only going to go with the bike ride through the upper 9th ward. All of the colors, different styles, and the ages of the houses really spoke to me. I could really see myself living in that area one day.
- Danielle Del Valle

The mental image that stuck to me the most was of Ronald Lewis. He embodies the New Orleans spirit despite the circumstances he experienced and further enriched my understanding of Mardi Gras and New Orleans in general.
- Sid Gandra

I would have liked to known the lower 9th ward before Katrina because it seems so rich in culture in atmosphere. It’s shocking to know that it disappeared over a mistake. However, it’s great to see people all kinds of people, help to restore it and bring back its life. People all around the world would have their communities, so the 9th ward should have theirs too.
- Sarah Wood

Seeing everyone on their porches waving to us as we passed by. It made me feel welcomed and I could tell that we were thankful to have us there. It was very different atmosphere and place then what I had imagined.
- Mary Yemma

An image that continues to haunt me is the empty concrete steps that littered many empty lots. To know that each of those lots once contain another waving welcoming family like the ones we encountered whose life was interrupted in a way I can’t even begin to imagine was an overwhelming realization as we explored the abandoned streets.
- Rachael Zigler

Saturday (3 March): What a crazy day that turned out to be. When we arrived at the airport to we found out that our flight had been canceled. It took a good hour to figure out what time we would all be leaving from North Carolina. Our team was split into 3 groups. The first arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic at 5pm, while the other two groups arrive at 3am. After an exhausting day of travel, we were glad to arrive at the hotel safe and sound to catch some much needed shut eye.

Sunday (4 March): We embarked on our voyage to San Juan de la Maguana from Santo Domingo. After a 3 hour long journey by tenguerengue through mountainous roads, we arrived La Clinica Cristiana. The place we would call home for the next week. Upon our arrival, we were able to enjoy a lunch made by Kari and Dan. Kari and Dan established an efficient way for every house guest to share the house chores. We each received a number which dictated the meal that we had to wash dishes for. Afterward, we had our medical orientation with Nicole, Solid Rock International’s Guesthouse Nurse. One thing that Nicole said that struck home was that the events of a single pill can alter the life of a person, stating the importance that a clinic pharmacy serves. Immediately after orientation, we had a team meeting and packed numerous bags for the next day’s clinic. We enjoyed a homemade spaghetti dinner and delicious chocolate chip cookies to end the day.

Monday (5 March): After waking up bright and early to get ready for the day, we were able to enjoy a traditional Dominican breakfast of fried Spam, eggs, and oatmeal. Once our belly’s were full, the team loaded on the tenguerengue and headed towards the boarder that the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti. The bus ride of about two hours through twisting and winding rocky dirt roads resulted in two people getting severe motion sickness. We arrived at a very small single room school house that was our clinic for the day. In this room we were able to set up three doctors and a pharmacy. Registration, triage, health education, and the wound center was located outside in the blazing sun. Through this test of heat and chaos, we were able to come together as a team and work efficiently to see about 96 patients. It was evident that those individuals who received the health education were very grateful for the information that we had to share. The team was able to learn the importance of organization in a medical setting and working with the resources at hand. After our long ride back to SRI, we enjoyed a traditional Dominican dinner of rice and beans called sancocho. Once we finished dinner, a laramar vendor, painter, basket-maker, and tailor came to share their talents and artistry with the guest house inhabitants. Then we piled in the SRI vehicle and headed to the softball field to play a competitive game against the local Dominican ballers. Although we lost, we enjoyed the camaraderie outside the clinic with the locals. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and made us feel like we were a part of their family. We finished the night off with a team reflection with everyone’s peaks and pits for the day. Overall, it was a successful and eventful first day of clinic.

Tuesday (6 March): With an early morning breakfast of delicious french toast, we embarked on our 30 minute bus ride to our new clinic location. We arrived at a local school and were lead to two rooms that were each twice as large as the first clinic location. The first room contained registration, triage, wound repair, and doctor consultation areas. The dental hygiene and hand washing education team had the pleasure to work outside in the beautiful sun and scenery with hundreds of kids. The school was surrounded by mountains which was the most incredible view of lush greens and blues. Inside the clinic we were able to see more severe health conditions that allowed for a broader learning experience for the team. Fortunately we were able to see 218 patients, but had to close the doors to a few individuals in need. After being seen in the clinic, many patients told us that they received a sense of hope and comfort from the services that we provided them. This was fulfilling for our team because many of the patients do not have the opportunity to receive adequate primary care regularly. Once we arrived at SRI, we enjoyed a well deserved snack of chips and homemade guacamole. We look forward to the experiences that the rest of the week has to offer.

Con Amor,
Phoebe Cruz, Nishika Patel, Justine Hollingshead, Austin Smith, Chris Gabriel, Brittany Gabriel, Jay Thakkar, Paulina Tran, Stuart Bumgarmer, Emily Bennet, Emily Bissett, Taylor Thornton, Shayna Wrublik, Lauren Hatchett, Christina Saju, and Dr. F. Hatchett

Today was our first day of school… at Hoonah City Schools that is. Our team donned matching red ASB shirts (thanks btw!) and trekked to the school we’ll be teaching at for a week, through a snow-covered street that looked like it was straight out of a Christmas card. After breakfast at the school where we got our first glimpses of the kids, the principal and school guidance counselor gave us a tour of the school. They were so welcoming, and showed appreciation of the fact that we were willing to spend our spring break with them in Alaska.

After the tour, we dispersed to different classes based on our own interests/majors. Some of us headed to classes like Middle School Science where they helped kids who were working on windmills to be entered into a local competition. Some of us went to High School English or Math classes, and made themselves familiar with the children in Elementary School or Headstart. At lunchtime, a few people went to the Senior Center to eat and get to know some of the local seniors.

All of us had varied experiences with the teachers in the classrooms. Some of us found teachers who were really engaged in their classrooms.  Mr. McLuckie was the science teacher who was infatuated with the concept of his students being really hands-on in the classroom and had his students constructing actual working windmills.  Ms. Michelle was really intrigued with having us help with preparing the student production at the end of the week for “Read Across America.” Ms. Cassidy, whose classroom the three of us were in specifically, created a question & answer panel between us and the students. Students asked us questions about North Carolina, college life, what kind of music we listen to, what we do for fun, and about our culture. In return, we asked them questions about life in Hoonah, mainly about their culture. We learned so much about the different clans, the Tlingit language, traditions, Alaskan weather, local geography, and their hobbies.  Each student took turns telling us what clan they were from in English and also in Tlingit, as well as explaining very important traditions.  We also learned that for fun they participate in many outdoor activities; however, they also engage in similar activities that any student in North Carolina would, such as afterschool sports, watching TV, and hanging out with their friends.  They talked about how school never gets cancelled because of snow and that in the winter they will sometimes only have four hours of daylight.  Overall, both sides of panel left the conversation with many stereotypes broken and a greater understanding of the others perspective.

After school, some of us went and played with students at the Boys and Girls Club right across the street. Others went with Owen to dig for clams at the beach, so we could make homemade clam chowder on Wednesday. None of us really knew what to expect, but it ended up being a lot of hard work. We each took a rake and dug and scraped through the stones on the beach to find as many clams as we could, and returned with at least five gallons of clams. We came home tired, but satisfied and ready to eat all the clams we found. All in all, a great day – we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us tomorrow!

~ by Stephanie Doss, Komal Mathur, and Molly Basdeo

A kindergartner in Ms. Amy's class

Eric helping build wind mills in Mr. McLuckie's class

Entrance to the Boys and Girls Club

Sunday was full of long quiet halls and museum exhibits. We started at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, whose showcase exhibition “100 years of State and Federal Policy: The Impact on Pueblo Nation,” communicates a lot about the museum’s purpose. Each exhibit is written from a first-person perspective, as a collective communication of Pueblo culture to outsiders. They blend their art, history, and creation narratives to write a story of who they are and what they value. The survey of State and Federal Policy highlights the almost passive and aggressive ways that legislation (created by non-Native Americans) has controlled the fate, sovereignty, and identity of the Pueblo.

At noon, the “Soaring Eagle Dance Troupe” performed traditional Zuni dances for nearly an hour. The dancers were four children, from ages sixteen to four, in full regalia; their dads provide drums and singing and the team has won junior championship titles for the past three years. Viewing such an authentic and sincere celebration of this piece of Pueblo culture made a few team members question if we should even be watching, as though treating it as entertainment might denigrate it as an art form.

Many of the Native American cultures we have encountered use secrecy and privacy to protect the sacredness of certain traditions or philosophies. In a reflection today, we grappled with this idea. In many ways, education and understanding are key mechanisms for gaining respect and the kind of feelings necessary to overthrow oppressive legislation. And yet, the Pueblos are not a group bent on evangelism or even particularly concerned with engaging a white American world which has been so quick to misunderstand or misrepresent them. Reconciling privacy and sovereignty with transparency and education may be a multi-year endeavor not amenable to current scholastic approaches.

After visiting the cultural museum, we came to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. We met three kids currently living at El Ranchito de Los Niños, a foster home intent on keeping siblings together. Together, we explored the museum. Your journey starts with the following, rather simplistic equation: “Volcanoes = Gas or CO2 and NH3 + Lightning (or energy) = DNA = Life.” From there, the complexity of existence as we know it explodes before you, complete with the strange flora and fauna of an earth in a transient existence. One blue room ends with a brilliant orange mural of a meteor and a narrow hallway to a room with swirling red lights and a larger mural of prostrate dinosaur, in the act of symbolizing the extinction of his race. You end in the “present” or New Mexico’s Ice Age, or 1.6 million to 10,000 years ago. The fascinating thing about this museum is its focus on New Mexico. Many of the dinosaur remains on display were unearthed in New Mexico or are of species only ever found in the area.

An ironic contrast is a smaller exhibit on the history of the personal computer. This includes a short movie, narrated by a prehistoric computer, which tells the story of personal computing from the formation of the Homebrew Computer Club to a somewhat awkward end in 1983. (We assume the personal computer has advanced since then…) The show is an ironic contrast to the rest of the museum, which catalogues an immense, billion-year orchestra of change without human intervention. The history of the personal computer is a fast-paced thirty-year journey, which instead of the minute changes employed by natural selection, leapt forward with jaw-dropping developments.

For dinner that evening, we visited Daniel Shattuck, an N.C. State graduate and former participant in ASB Arizona, which eventually became the ASB New Mexico trip. On an anthropology graduate student’s budget, he pulled together a scrumptious repast of soup and conversation. He was able to shed light on the history of the Catholic boarding schools that became the primary offensive in the “domestication of Indians” movement (the same ideology which coined the repugnant phrase “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”) Today, education is still an issue, particularly when students face issues which keep them from performing well, resulting in a failure to meet NCLB standards and a reduction in federal funding. He also highlighted the conflict between traditional study methods employed in academia and Native American cultures. The whim of the leaders can grant or bar access, and some languages are so secret that any thesis published about them must black out crucial sections.

He also led us to a mural created by Jaque Fragua. The painting spans the long side of a building in downtown Albuquerque and includes imagery of atomic bombs, nuclear waste, a four-eyed Indian with gray skin, and a cowboy and Indian in battle but at the mercy of puppet strings held by hands in the sky. The phrase is changed to “The only good Indian is a live Indian.” This artwork is an example of the ways Albuquerque encourages at-risk youth to communicate local issues through art (which, subtly, motivates participants to first gain a knowledge of these problems). That evening, we used a similar approach to capture the images of our day and reflect on them.

Today, after a photo scavenger hunt in Old Town, we returned to El Ranchito de Los Niños in the evening. The ranch is a large home with ceilings so high, large equipment from the local Wal-Mart distribution center is brought over once every six months to dust the ceiling. The house can house sixteen children, but currently includes only three, some of whom have been at El Ranchito for as many as eight years of its decade-long existence. There is a large great-room and kitchen, including a pantry to house the 8,000 pounds of food raised in their December food drive. Other closets hold the clothes, games, and school supplies donated to the organization.

Our guide was a woman who, after losing her parents at age 10, raised her three younger siblings with the help of her aging grandparents. Stories like hers are the reason El Ranchito is so concerned with keeping siblings together. “This is emotional work,” she said of her involvement with El Ranchito. “It’s not a job, it’s a commitment to raise kids.” Their goal is “to raise taxpayers,” or, put differently, independent citizens who can care for themselves without the oversight of government organizations which make the life decisions for so many foster kids. Brokenness in the foster care system has created hardship in many of their lives, so one of the key lessons for kids at El Ranchito is the role of education in freeing them from a cycle of life ruled those laws. The other more important lesson the children learn is their own exceptionality and importance before God, though the staff allow the children to decide who exactly they think He is.

Before the kids arrived home from sports and school, we completed the chores they had missed while showing using around the Natural History museum and completed odd-jobs at the house. One group dismantled and arranged furniture, under the direction of Brandon, the interior decorator. Others collected the dried offerings left by countless neighborhood dogs (alongside Gooby, their own dog) in the yard, before shoveling out the horse stalls. It may take the award as the most pungent part of the trip. Afterwards, we enjoyed connecting with the kids and energetic staff and volunteers (and not just because they saved us from our janitorial duties). The eldest boy works with a local technology and online marketing company and had business cards to share with us (which are so avant-garde they are not even the traditional rectangle). His email address will be a crucial way for some of our team members to continue communicating with these really phenomenal kids.

Tomorrow we leave Albuquerque for the more rural Crownpoint. We are not excited about the drop in temperature, but enthusiastic about seeing more of New Mexico and getting closer to the reservation. But now for beauty sleep and enough rest to greet our early morning departure with a smile…

More words from teammates!

Alzebeth:

1. Before Sunday, I had never…”done Native American dancing.”
2. Recent reflections: “The idea that I only know so much about things. It kind of challenges my thought process.” She remembers talking about No Child Left Behind at dinner yesterday. “I enjoyed that conversation with Daniel so much. I learned about Albuquerque and its issues. I had no idea something I thought was so good had such a negative impact on communities that needed it.” In terms of our reflections in general, “it gets a little tense, but we’re still really respectful even if we have strong opinions.” She really liked the drawings we completed for last night’s reflection. “We drew about what we learned and saw. I tried to draw my own mural. I put in about No Child Left Behind or about what I learned about women being respected in Pueblo culture That was really eye-opening for me because I haven’t’ always seen women treated that way in my life.”
3. “I would definitely live on a ranch. I would not have a horse because they poop too much.  I think I’ve really fallen in love with the landscape and the mountains. I’m definitely an introvert, so being on a ranch would give me that time and space to think about my life.”

Brinda:

1. Before Sunday, I never had to…”find John Wayne on a photo scavenger hunt.”
2. Recent reflections: I’ve been thinking recently about how change and improvement of social problems can happen, and I think, as unecouraging as the thought is, it has to come from within the culture and not from outside the culture where they don’t understand. I think that maybe for this trip our biggest goal is to take back what we’ve learned and spread it.”
3. “I don’t think I would live on a ranch because it would be too far away from people and places I want to be around, but I do think it sounds idyllic.”

Joe:

1. Before Sunday, I had never…”slept in a bed that sunk down so much as the bed in this hostel.”
2. Recent reflections: “The idea of spirituality and what exactly that means and how to articulate that, in the sense of Native Americans or just for me in general.”
3. “I think living on a ranch is not really my style. I feel like I couldn’t leave just whenever I want to. You can’t feed animals through skype. I want to be able to do a lot of different things.”

Megan:

1. Before Sunday, I had never…”learned that much about the foster care system.”
2. Recent reflections: As a senior, Megan has been thinking about “goals after graduation and why, how do you measure goals or success, what I have thought to be successful and whether or not I still agree with that idea.” She admits, “I like to plan; I had a very specific plan in my head, but I’m reevaluating now.” She always says, “If I had to sum up everything I’ve been feeling, I would have to say thankful.”
3. “I always used to want to live on a ranch because I wanted a pony. But now I don’t know if I want a pony and a ranch seems kind of small, so I think it would hold me down.”
4. She says, “My hair looks like a wild animal,” in reference to our wind-blown photos taken on top of Sandia’s peak. 30 mph winds can be quite the stylist.

Rachel:

1. Before Sunday, I had never…”done Native American dancing.”
2. Recent reflections: “Listening to everybody gives me different viewpoints than just my own.”
3. “I would live on a ranch, but only if I could have a donkey, alpaca, horse, and a bunny, and if it were near suburbia because I couldn’t handle the country.”
4. She says, “I’m making a butt and cheese sandwich.” (In reference to using the ends of our loaf of bread for lunches.)

Violet:

1. Before Sunday, I had never… “seen so many cows in one place.”
2. Recent reflections: Violet is interested in social work and counseling, specifically working with children. “Seeing a foster home and how good they can be, it made me want to make a difference for these children.” She feels the same way about her residents, particularly the freshmen: “I love talking to them.’
   She also has been thinking about the importance of community. She was impressed to hear a volunteer at El Ranchito say, “I do it for the children.” However, the volunteers also reminded her “how complicated our systems are,” whether the foster care system or the way Native American history is recorded. Our reflections have been complex: “It’s like we’re talking in circles all the time.”
3. “I would live on a ranch because there’s so much land and it’s so peaceful. And I would have to have a horse.”

Hello everyone,

Today’s blog will consist of a quote from each of our team members about today’s activities!

We used this day to go to the National Center for Lesbian Rights to meet director Kate Kendell and her staff. We also toured the Castro district of San Francisco which is historically know as an area where GLBTQ people live and advocate for human rights. We as a team were both highly impressed with the work NCLR does for not only San Francisco, but people across the nation, and were impressed by the hospitality shown to us while in the Castro.

What also stood out today from our day was the generosity of a gay male couple we met while at Harvey’s restaurant. They are currently residents of San Francisco, but both went to UNC Chapel Hill. We shared with them our service work ideas, and explained how we chose to spend our springbreak learning about social injustice issues, and doing service-work. They were so impressed that they decided to pay for our dinner at the restaurant as a way to support our cause! We, in turn, will make a donation in their name to one or more of the organizations that we’ll work with in order to continue the cycle of their generosity. Thank you Bill and Dave, wherever you are!

The second part of the day that stood out was the homeless people we encountered throughout our daily travels. No matter where we are he city, no matter what time, there are homeless people on basically every street we walk on. Some of have been very generous and willing to talk, others have cursed at us for not giving them money, or have used derogatory language directed at us as we walked by, perhaps forgetting that we had given them money earlier in the day. While it was somewhat discouraging considering the good intentions we have here, we know that the actions we will be talking the next few days with our service partners will give back to the community, including to those who may not have been as kind to us as others were.

Our high points of the day were:

Alyse: “Loved NCLR! I would love to be involved in this organization or one like it. I also loved the Castro district and the atmosphere of it. What an amazing bonding experience today was for us.”

Chris: “My high point of the day was going to NCLR, it was a great time for me. It was very inspirational, and I also enjoyed how close we got as a team today.”

Buddy: “Inspiration from NCLR on the importance of beating anti-glbt amendments and what they mean to the future of equal rights.”

Patrick: “Realizing how prestigious NCLR is, I loved hugging Kate Kendell’s dog , Also, that Bill and David were nice to cover our dinner bill, and we enjoyed cookies from Hot Cookies, a landmark of the Castro.”

Kaitlyn: “Learning about NCLR and what they do nationally to help the GLBT community, including elder laws, sports projects, and other various political and social issues.”

Lee: “NCLR was very inspirational, and Posey (Kate Kendell’s dog) was the cutest dog ever. The glbt history museum was also a good experience.”

Dani: “Kate Kendell and the staff at NCLR are some of the most passionate and committed advocates for LGBT* rights and it was encouraging to see that positive change is possible.”

Tina: “First time I experienced going to a sex toy shop ((There are a lot of these in the Castro, so we stopped in some as a team because it was culturally significant!!!) But, NCLR was the best part, and I was really impressed with them.”

Jessica: “NCLR was very inspiring to me as it showed me that people can make an impact no matter how small of an organization they are.”

Brandon: “Dinner conversation was very insightful and I gained an understanding in the lives of other people different from myself.”

John: “We had an earthquake this morning! Also enjoyed the Castro district, exploring San Francisco, and feeling exhilarated from being in this city!”

Caitlin: “To me, aside from similar wonderful experiences at NCLR and in the Castro, I loved seeing how inspired our team became in bringing about social change, and also the bonding that occurred throughout the day. I think, as a co-leader, that’s one of the best parts of the trip; when we start to open up, learn from each other, and begin building relationships.”

Chester: My highs of the day were NCLR and the GLBT Museum. At the museum, the history and queer power & civil rights movements of the 21st Century were important to learn about and truly showed how long of a journey equality has been for the GLBT community.”

Tomorrow will be our first service day! We will be at Larkin Street Youth Services, followed by time in Chinatown, a Buddhist Prayer Ceremony, and a speaker who used to be homeless who will share his story of how he got off the streets.

For our days off we went on a swamp tour, the French Quarter, and a bike tour of the 9th Ward. The swamp tour was a lot of fun. It was really cool to see the more rural side of New Orleans. You could be out in the middle of the woods, then 30 min later be right near the Superdome. We saw birds, snakes, house boats, and of course, alligators!

The French Quarter was also an amazing experience. So much of the culture is in the French Quarter, it’s amazing to hear all of the musicians along the streets. It was really fun to try authentic New Orleans food. Several of us even tried alligator! It tastes like chicken!

The most amazing, and probably life changing, experience, for me personally, was the tour of the 9th ward.  I can’t describe it in words. Seeing the damage that’s still there, and all of the houses that had been rebuilt was amazing. The people were so nice too. they waved and said hello as we all passed by on our bikes. It was also great to meet Mr. Ronald Lewis, the owner of the House of Dance and Feathers Museum. He is such an inspiring person and I’m glad I got the chance to talk with him and see what he does. Overall this was an extremely amazing experience…best Monday of my life.

Written by Kristine Dutton

View from Lowell's w/ Fish Taco.

After making a short satisfying pit stop at the local gelato parlor, we made our way down the rainy street of Seattle to the world famous Pike’s Place Market, where local farmers and craftsmen exhibited fresh fruits and colorful products. From over-sized jumbo shrimp to dark chocolate noodles, there was no shortage of interesting and tasty goods. For dinner, we dined at Lowell’s, which offered a great selection of local seafood, enhanced by the water-front dining environment.

Through the rain drops on the window, we felt the typical Seattle rainy-grey-and-cold weather and saw cargo ships and ferries go by. The famous Creamy Clam Chowder complemented the Dungeness crab cake rolls perfectly. After a brief bit of rest at the hotel, we awoke early to catch a flight to Juneau.

Mendenhall Glacier

The view from the air was simply breathtaking. We were able to see snowcapped mountaintops as we approached Juneau. As we stepped off the plane, we were greeted by a panoramic view of mountains. Our first stop was exploring the Mendenhall glacier. It was an amazing view even from the van but even more surreal as we trekked toward the looming ice mass. No matter which way we looked, there was a mountainous backdrop to a seemingly infinite plane of snow. We saw a waterfall too. It was cool. Some guy fell through the ice (yeah, there was actually a lake beneath the ice). We spend about four hours exploring the glacier and the surrounding area before heading to Costco to buy supplies for the week and checking in to the hostel in Juneau. Some of us went to historic downtown Juneau, but there wasn’t much to see other than gift shops and bars.

After another all-too-short night (nap?), we awoke to our team leaders shaking us awake. We drove across Juneau to catch the ferry to Hoonah. The ride was pretty nice. Actually, we have no idea because we slept most of the time. We did get a chance to catch the sunrise over the mountainous horizon and talk to a few of the passengers. Some of them described their mixed Tlingit-Eskimo heritage and told stories of their home. When we arrived, it started snowing heavily. We walked to the bunk house where we’ll be staying for a week (actually, we hiked a couple of icy miles through the blistering cold and pounding snow, but that’s beside the point). We crashed in the bunk house for a few hours and then met some of our native hosts, Owen, Larry, and Nina, who took us on a nature walk along the shoreline. We saw bald eagles and whales and actually ate a clam. We heard many stories about the Tlingit people and how closely they are tied to the environment. It is extremely difficult to describe how amazing the views were, so here are some pictures. We are all excited for a great week and are looking forward to working with the children tomorrow morning.

~ by Sarah Cummings, Tess Gentry, and Eric Whitmire

View from the beach of Hoonah, Alaska