Last night we decided to hit up some local cuisine, The Shed. That's right, yours truly, the only vegetarian of the group, went to a BBQ joint. Apparently this Shed is nationally renown, having been on the Food Network twice. I thought it was pretty cool, the atmosphere was pretty nice, typical local place. I didn't have much to eat, just some mac salad and bread, but what I did eat was amazing. They also had sweet tea to die for! Definitely drank my money's worth.
Around the restaurant there were dollar bills with messages from the patrons. Looking around we noticed there seemed to be a bit of pride for the Gators. As Bulls we definitely wanted to show a little bit of our own pride so we decided to show the Gators what we were made of.
The night went by pretty fast. After dinner we went to Wal*Mart for some necessities. Before we left for dinner I noticed our group really became a group. I suppose we always were a group technically, but we bonded. We had a great conversation about politics, religion, abortion, homosexuality, and it was very respectful and intellectual. I am very impressed with the level of maturity in this group. At many points in this trip I found myself forgetting I was older than the volunteers, it felt like we were really on the same level.
After we got back from Wal*Mart a few of the volunteers played Phase 10. I'm not really sure what that game entails but it looked intense. I tried to go to bed relatively early but I found I couldn't sleep at all. I kept waking up in a panic, not really sure where it was coming from. At some point I did eventually sleep but only for a few hours. I think tonight I'm going to have to go to bed as soon as the lights are out so I can get some rest. Today's work was very intense.
Today we worked more on the porch (at least our group did with Brittney). I am happy to report I did not let the fear completely take over this time around. I did a great deal or work both on the porch and on the ground. I helped nail things up, hold boards, as well as with cutting and measuring. There was a tremendous about of climbing on my part. The house next to the one we were working on is turning out quite nicely. It is starting to look more and more like a home. The sidings are pretty much finished, I think the majority of the work left is interior work. I think by the time our group leaves that house will be done and the house my group was working on should be in its final stages if not complete.
I'm really glad we got to work a full day today. As hard as it was and as tiring as it was, I feel like I really made some sort of impact on that house our group was working on. I can finally say I feel like I did something during this trip. On the ride to the site this morning we were discussing our goals for the day and mine was to get more dirt under my nails, figuratively. I wanted to put more work into this project and not let the fear trap me. I think I accomplished my goal for the day, I definitely did more work than yesterday and I'm proud of myself for that. Emma was saying how she was initially not very happy about coming to Mississippi, that like me she would've rather been in a bigger city like D.C. or New York. After experiencing Mississippi though, she told us that she changed her mind, that she was actually very happy in the end because she got to learn and experience new things. I completely agree with her. Sure, at the beginning of this trip I thought to myself I wish I was in D.C. working with HIV/AIDs patients or doing something in New York. However, after really experiencing Mississippi, even for just the past couple of days, I am happy with this decision. I think it's good for me because those other cities would have simply been more big cities, I wouldn't have really learned anything new. Here in Mississippi I am learning about different people and a different lifestyle. I am interacting with people I probably would not interact with on a daily basis. I am learning about how a tragedy such as Katrina or Rita is still effecting the community here in Ocean Springs and Biloxi. If I had been in D.C. or in New York, sure I would have learned about statistics of HIV/AIDs cases or about how hunger still plagues cities today, but that's all information I could have read in a text book or gotten from the daily news.
I think this truly was a trip I gained something from. I understand how much something so small as time can really help and build a community. I understand now how something that happens only once and impact people for years or centuries to come. I think in the end, this was a great trip for me to go on. It truly opened my eyes not only to other areas within the U.S. but also to other people. The group I've come here with are a mixed group. Some of these individuals I don't think I would've really thought to get to know, but after being on this trip and being forced to get to know one another, I realize that these are people I am HAPPY I got to know. I am really lucky to have been given this opportunity because I am getting to know some amazing people who will surely go on to do some amazing things, even more amazing than building houses together. I really feel like I am apart of something great. For tonight's reflection we're doing The Human Knot. It is definitely one of my favorite team building activities and it's something I've done before with other groups. I think it'll be fun and hopefully the group will get something out of it.
Around the restaurant there were dollar bills with messages from the patrons. Looking around we noticed there seemed to be a bit of pride for the Gators. As Bulls we definitely wanted to show a little bit of our own pride so we decided to show the Gators what we were made of. 
The night went by pretty fast. After dinner we went to Wal*Mart for some necessities. Before we left for dinner I noticed our group really became a group. I suppose we always were a group technically, but we bonded. We had a great conversation about politics, religion, abortion, homosexuality, and it was very respectful and intellectual. I am very impressed with the level of maturity in this group. At many points in this trip I found myself forgetting I was older than the volunteers, it felt like we were really on the same level. 
After we got back from Wal*Mart a few of the volunteers played Phase 10. I'm not really sure what that game entails but it looked intense. I tried to go to bed relatively early but I found I couldn't sleep at all. I kept waking up in a panic, not really sure where it was coming from. At some point I did eventually sleep but only for a few hours. I think tonight I'm going to have to go to bed as soon as the lights are out so I can get some rest. Today's work was very intense. 
Today we worked more on the porch (at least our group did with Brittney). I am happy to report I did not let the fear completely take over this time around. I did a great deal or work both on the porch and on the ground. I helped nail things up, hold boards, as well as with cutting and measuring. There was a tremendous about of climbing on my part. The house next to the one we were working on is turning out quite nicely. It is starting to look more and more like a home. The sidings are pretty much finished, I think the majority of the work left is interior work. I think by the time our group leaves that house will be done and the house my group was working on should be in its final stages if not complete. 
I'm really glad we got to work a full day today. As hard as it was and as tiring as it was, I feel like I really made some sort of impact on that house our group was working on. I can finally say I feel like I did something during this trip. On the ride to the site this morning we were discussing our goals for the day and mine was to get more dirt under my nails, figuratively. I wanted to put more work into this project and not let the fear trap me. I think I accomplished my goal for the day, I definitely did more work than yesterday and I'm proud of myself for that. Emma was saying how she was initially not very happy about coming to Mississippi, that like me she would've rather been in a bigger city like D.C. or New York. After experiencing Mississippi though, she told us that she changed her mind, that she was actually very happy in the end because she got to learn and experience new things. I completely agree with her. Sure, at the beginning of this trip I thought to myself I wish I was in D.C. working with HIV/AIDs patients or doing something in New York. However, after really experiencing Mississippi, even for just the past couple of days, I am happy with this decision. I think it's good for me because those other cities would have simply been more big cities, I wouldn't have really learned anything new. Here in Mississippi I am learning about different people and a different lifestyle. I am interacting with people I probably would not interact with on a daily basis. I am learning about how a tragedy such as Katrina or Rita is still effecting the community here in Ocean Springs and Biloxi. If I had been in D.C. or in New York, sure I would have learned about statistics of HIV/AIDs cases or about how hunger still plagues cities today, but that's all information I could have read in a text book or gotten from the daily news. 
I think this truly was a trip I gained something from. I understand how much something so small as time can really help and build a community. I understand now how something that happens only once and impact people for years or centuries to come. I think in the end, this was a great trip for me to go on. It truly opened my eyes not only to other areas within the U.S. but also to other people. The group I've come here with are a mixed group. Some of these individuals I don't think I would've really thought to get to know, but after being on this trip and being forced to get to know one another, I realize that these are people I am HAPPY I got to know. I am really lucky to have been given this opportunity because I am getting to know some amazing people who will surely go on to do some amazing things, even more amazing than building houses together. I really feel like I am apart of something great. For tonight's reflection we're doing The Human Knot. It is definitely one of my favorite team building activities and it's something I've done before with other groups. I think it'll be fun and hopefully the group will get something out of it.
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