So far in the month of November I have:
-traveled up and down the Pacific coast of California camping on the beach in San Diego
-eaten sorbet and a fried avocado taco in Austin, Texas
-driven through Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana and Texas
-had a total of 3 soy vanilla lattes at the Mockingbird Cafe in Old Town, Bay St. Louis Mississippi
-watched one Burning Man video about the destruction Katrina wreaked on Mississippi
-participated in the "blitz" build of 2 houses
-painted miles and miles of house trim, moonlight white
-met 5 Americorps State volunteers
-eaten at a Cuban restaurant twice in one week
-used a Port-a-potty all day, every day (give or take a few gas station and restaurant restrooms)
-turned a bunk bed in a cabin with 6 other girls into home
-had coffee at Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter
-spent 8 hours purging old x-ray films from storage at the Hancock County medical center
-really gotten to see southern hospitality at its greatest
-felt like I was a part of something big, important and influential
Whew. Quite a list. To elaborate slightly, I was officially inducted into Americorps NCCC as a member of the Pacific Region on Friday, October 31st and immediately afterwards I packed my bags to celebrate one last weekend with four friends. We drove south down the Pacific coast stopping once to camp an approximate two minute walk from the beach and then making the rest of the way down to San Diego where we camped again after exploring a bit. We then drove the ten hours back north to Sacramento all of us excited to leave the next morning for our first ever Americorps NCCC Spike project!
The Monday morning following our iduction I packed myself into a 15 passenger van with my 8 other team mates and our team leader and we set off, oddly enough, on the same California highway I had just driven in both directions the weekend before. Where were we headed, you ask? Why, the one, the only Pearlington Mississippi! It took us four and a half days, we crossed two time zones and five state lines to get here but we finally reached our destination, the Pearlington Recovery Center. Here, we are working with a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in the Bay St. Louis - Waveland area in Mississippi. Hancock County, the county which our Habitat affiliate serves, was the area hardest hit by Katrina and in Pearlington, where we are living, most of the homes suffered some flooding even during the more recent hurricanes; Gustav and Ike.
Since arriving here on November 7th our team has already put in over 100 hours of with with our project sponsor, Habitat for Humanity, assisting in the building of four or five different houses. I'll give you all a more detailed look into my life here in Mississippi as well as a recap of the past few weeks but, just for tonight, here are a few pictures from my recent adventures!
Some team mates standing on what used to be a pier in Waveland, Mississippi on our first evening in the area. Notice all the pieces of concrete that look like giant pebbles.
To the right is a picture of my bunk bed in our cabin at the Pearlington Recovery Center. We have 11 bunks (as in a bottom AND top bed) in our room and only 7 girls so we have each claimed one for ourselves.
Here is a picture of my team standing in front of 1003 Lincoln Street, one of the houses we worked on during the blitz build last week in which 2 houses were made almost to completetion in 5 days.
Last but not least, here is a picture that I love.
Of myself and two team mates, Sarah (who is from Stratford, Nh!) and Katie along with
a boy who was selling lemonade, brownies and cookies by the side of the road in Bay St. Louis.I wish you all an incredible Thanksgiving. With love, lemonade and laughs
--Walker
