Lower Nine Last Day D=

Our last day in New Orleans was definitely a fun one. We left about 10am from the house saying goodbye to everyone except Darren who was off at work. I really do wish we had a chance to say bye to him. But in the middle of the night he left stuffed animals for all of us on the couch. I took a blue bear from the bunch.  We left for the French flea market where I wandered around a bit on my own till I found a stall that sold handmade strawberry ice cream. It was really good. Then I hooked up with Vanessa, Ashley, Gen Ida and Chelsea and we wandered through the city. Our first stop…real food. We stopped by this place called the Garden and got some po-boys. Gen and I split the alligator one. Surprisingly alligator is really good. Not as good as pork, but good. After this we wandered into Jackson Square where we went inside the church and then walked really everywhere and somehow ended back on Bourbon Street. Let me tell you…that street is definitely different in the daytime. We found a bead shop where I found a “Irish Yoga shirt” that I plan hanging on my wall for decoration and got a Packer beaded necklace for my dad, which is kind of ironic since he told me to not go on Bourbon till I was 30 and after being there I totally understand why. We wandered around some more stopping in shops and looking around. It was just really nice seeing the city for what it is.  There’s really no city like it anywhere. At the end we found a street performance in front of the garden of the church in Jackson Square.  Before the performance started, we saw a wedding parade go by and that was really cool.  We watched the performance, and as we did I couldn’t help but think how much I was going to miss it. New Orleans is different. It has it’s own culture, one that I don’t think anyone can explain with voodoo, pop culture, street performers and French and man the art scene is cool.  There were some paintings I wish I could’ve taken home. The people of New Orleans are just as unique once you get to know them.

All in all I would do this trip a thousand times again and not change a thing…well maybe one thing. I would’ve preferred we take the train down instead of driving.  14 hours is a very long drive and we were lucky there were so many drivers in our group. But other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing. I would volunteer again for Lowernine.org a thousand times over and most of our group would say the exact same thing.

Lower Nine Day 6 and 7~

Thursday was probably my favorite workday since I got to work with the boys. I don’t remember how, but the work groups got shuffled again and today Josh, Tyler and I would be on the peach house. But since there were only three of us it felt we worked more as a group than before and it went a lot faster than before.  We finished the up stairs room before lunch. We came back for lunch had it briefly before setting out again. The day went pretty smoothly and there was never the awkward silence that I had experienced in the days before with the peach house.  We actually finished early for one reason…we ran OUT of drywall so we cleaned up before went back to the house an hour early. It was actually nice getting done early. The farm group of Ida and Karen had also finished early so they were at the house as well.  Dinner started a bit late due to the Conrad group arriving back late.  The day was pretty calm and easy. After dinner, a bunch of us went to Baskin Robin’s for ice cream, which was a nice treat before going to bed. I wish there was more to write about the day, but at the Peach house it was easy, and being the shy person in the group there weren’t that many interesting conversations on my part. But we really did talk about everything. How the workday went, what we wanted to do travels that we’ve done, etc.  I was getting used to the group and the house and I think everyone felt the same.

Friday….last day of work was sadly one of the colder days that it was when we were down there.  Before going to bed the night before, Jesse said we didn’t have to leave till 9am due to a staff meeting that they would be having at 8am. Well needless to say we were all thrilled. Strangely the next morning, everyone had trouble rolling out of bed. When it was time to leave, only my bedroom was ready so we split up like that. I headed to Conrad’s because they needed people right then. For most of the morning I was an assistant. I rode with Darren as he got the rest of the drywall for Tim and Hugh and we dropped it off at Peach house before heading to Conrad’s where it was bitterly cold. By bitter I mean 30s when yesterday was 60-70s. In the afternoon it warmed up and I felt like I was actually being useful helping with tasks as moving wood from one end to another to finally helping to nail in the floor. For the last day, it was slow but I felt good being able to work on three sites. For dinner it was Josh’s turn to cook and let me tell you, the freshman did not disappoint. He cooked up burgers and baked beams. I didn’t have any of the baked beans, but those burgers were so good, I was afraid I was going to eat them all. For a last day…it was a good day despite the bitter cold, but I will still miss Thursday since it felt more like a group effort the individuals doing their own thing. It’s got me thinking…are 10 people too big of a group for real bonding?

Lower Nine Day 5!

It’s Wednesday! Time for job change! Ida, Tyler and I hopped into Lower Nine’s van where we picked up some ladders for Conrad before driving to Fabiola’s house where we would be doing the painting. While we were probably expecting a huge paint job, it was just some touch ups that we need to throughout the house. As they told us about the house I causally asked why people haven’t moved back yet. Jesse gave the answer that most didn’t have the money and have been scammed by fake contractors. Others probably didn’t because of the memory he guessed. Jesse had been there for 2 years I think…or maybe it was only a year. But we somehow got on the topic of the levy. When Darren explained it he said they made it better, but Jesse was more pessimistic saying they just built it taller and it won’t make a huge difference if a big enough storm hits again. He also began to tell us about the next parish (county) over before Katrina hit, had the county line stacked with police refusing Lower Nine residents into the county so that St. Bernard parish residents could get out. Apparently there were vigilante groups shooting people who crossed the line. He blamed racism and I don’t doubt there was, but it really makes you think especially on the day I write this being Martin Luther King Day. How far have we really come?

Well we finished painting the house by lunch time and headed back where we got the low down on everyone’s progress before the three of us split up to our original teams. I went back to Peach house to help out where I helped set up some more drywall before the end of the day.  This was the dinner everyone was waiting for and let me tell you Darren didn’t disappoint. It was really nice have some homemade New Orleans’ food. After dinner we lounged….for a couple hours since dinner was so good.  It was a good day of sunny weather and a good time at the sites.  Also...he's the Beniet!

Lower Nine Day 4!

Tuesday was pretty much the same as Monday was. We woke up early and got to the sites. But on my mind was dinner.  There were 10 people in our group and four other people in the house. So what could I cook that would be easy and wouldn’t take too long. Well by the afternoon I decided on Spaghetti. It was easy and would feed a lot. Anyway back to talking to the work! We put in more drywall and I finished the bathroom ceiling and began to cut drywall as Vanessa direction. I honestly don’t remember much about the work since it was the same as the first day. Once the workday was over I began making spaghetti and sauce. Now, Mindy was a vegetarian, and last meal, the person who cooked it didn’t really cook a vegetarian option and left her to fend for herself. So I decided to make a vegetarian sauce. Karen helped me cook and we put in carrots, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes in it. It wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever cooked but it would feed everyone! For reflection we talked more of the same. Most of us were looking forward to tomorrow’s dinner when Darren would cook fried chicken and Jambalaya. I’m not that good at describing people, but Darren was just one of the people that made the trip. We also interacted with Jesse, one of the staff and Clair who was volunteering there for a year and had just graduated college.  Everyone was great, but I really do think Darren made the trip. He made it authentic in a way I can’t describe. After Dinner, he took us out into French quarter where we went to Café Du Mone and had Beneits.  If you’ve never had beniets, you have to. They are the most delicious things in the entire world. The smart thing was to go this place at night since it wasn’t packed. Afterwards we walked around and he told us about the quarter and eventually took us to Frenchmen to show us the area that most people our age would hang out.   I did take pictures at night but, you can’t see any of them really because it was so dark. It was amazing though to see how old the streets were and to look in shop windows. Most of the shops were local and interesting. Some were vintage, others were pop culture, but all had the saint’s logo. I can’t even begin to tell you how it seems the football team is the town. Everyone in New Orleans is a saint’s fan. It seemed like a crime not to be.  After our outing we went back to the house where we had quiet time of reading before going to bed at around 10pm this time.  Wednesday would be a different day. We would have different set up. It was set to be a sunny day tomorrow so Tyler, Ida and I were to paint. Vanessa was to have house Duty. Josh to the farm and then everyone else the same. Wednesday would be interesting.

Lower Nine Day 3!

Today is Monday January 9^th!  All of use woke up pretty early and were ready to get to work. Before we got to work we met Laura the head coordinator who gave the description of Lower Nine. Lower Nine is a section of New Orleans, which was one of the hardest hit areas from hurricane Katrina. It also happens to be the highest area where is the highest percent of African Americans own houses. The demographic of the area is mostly African American. Before Katrina hit, it was 98%, now it is 93%.  The organization was set up by a carpenter in Maine who had come down with a different organization at the time. He then discovered that it’s possible to get a lot done by having a few skilled workers and lots on unskilled workers you can get a lot done by having the skilled workers teach them. That’s the basis of the organization. They do long term and short term volunteering. What I mean by that is that some volunteers have stay a year while others like us only stay a week.  After learning about the organization, we learned about house rules. One person would cook breakfast for the entire house, another would have house duty, which included, and someone would do the dishes at dinner. I signed up for dinner tomorrow but wasn’t sure what I was going to make. I don’t remember too well who all signed up for dinner. Josh cooked Friday night, Tim, one of the long term volunteers, did Thursday, Wednesday was Darren and I don’t remember who couldn’t Monday’s meal. Anyway, after the meeting we split up into our two teams for the two different sites. Karen, Ashley, Vanessa, Genivive or as we knew her, Gen, and I went to the peach house which was being run by Tim and Hugh. Everyone else went to Conrad, which was being run by Darren.  Before we drove off, we loaded Darren’s truck with all the supplies they needed, which…was a lot.  After half an hour of loading we loaded up the vans and set on our way. When we got to Peach house,  Tim and Hugh were already working. They split us up into two teams. Karen, Gen, and I went to one of the bedrooms that already have dry wall up. We screwed screws into the wall while Vanessa and Ashley helped Tim and Hugh put up more drywall in the bathroom. We almost finished with the bedroom by end of the morning where we went home for lunch. At lunch we had simple sandwiches and had a small discussion about what each site was doing. The other group seemed to be having as much fun as we were but were tearing down lot things and running all over the site. After the hour break for lunch we went back to work where Gen joined Ashley and Vanessa in putting up drywall in the rest of the bathroom before heading while Karen and I finished screwing in the ceiling and moved to the hallway. Halfway through that Karen started on the ceiling in the hallway where I squeezed into the bathroom and finished putting in screws there. At the end of the day, I had just begun to help them put up some drywall, where I learned I’m not that helpful due to my lack of strength. At 5:00 we all went home we showered then. At dinner we had our reflection. We talked about what each of the sites was like.  The other site had more strength required, and the boys came back dirty as could be from all the dust. At Conrad’s Darren taught them how to do it then let them and it seemed like a more learning experience at that site since they had a variety of tasks while we only had two tasks.  Afterwards most people read books and then we all went to bed around 9 or 10. In all it was a nice day to get used to how things would be and I had fun doing the work and seeing the peach house being put together.

Lower Nine Day 1-2

Hello! My name is Laura Damon and I was one of the students that went on the Lower Nine trip. Ten of us went down. We helped build houses and work on the urban farm for the Organization lowernine.org.

Today is January 7, 2012. I arrived back in Lawrence from Chicago on 5^th. As one of the driver’s picking up the vans from Enterprise I woke up at 7am and began to get ready. Our site leaders, Vanessa and Ashley were nice enough to pick me up from my apartment so I didn’t have to leave my car at Enterprise. We got there about 9:30. Picking up the vans were actually really easily. I’ve rented a car before and was surprised how organized they were. There was only one piece of paper I needed to sign. Which for it being very early in the morning…well 9:30 is early for me, I was happy. Since we had ten people in our group we got two vans. One silver and the other was white. I had the white Van. While I was loading my stuff in the trunk, I couldn’t help but notice how nice the van was. Anyway, We split up picking up different people. I picked up Karen and Chelsea then went to the Lied center where some of the people would be meeting with us. Once we got there, we shuffled the luggage around then set off. In my car were Chelsea, Karen, Tyler and Genivive. We decided to meet in Memphis for dinner since it was a 14-hour drive to New Orleans. I drove 4 hours before Chelsea took over till we got to Memphis. We got into Memphis at about 8pm where we went to a really fun street called Beale Street. It had bars, restaurants, street performers, stores and especially live music. We settled on this BBQ restaurant for the life of me I can’t remember the name. They had live music, which was really nice, and the décor really was like you were back in time. While I can’t remember the name I did get pictures and videos. Here’s a picture of it!

 Everyone had something different but most was all meat. I got the BBQ platter that had pulled pork and ribs with voodoo mashed potatoes. The food was so good; I can’t even really explain it. After dinner we wandered around a bit watching street performers and going into this really cool store that had a bit of everything and I do mean everything. There was chain mail that you could buy and a very cool museum on the second floor with old things that they used to sell. There was even a very old film camera from the 1920s or earlier. We headed back out on the road at 9pm. This time we switched up the cars a bit since apparently while I had three drivers in my van, the other only had one. So Chelsea switched to the other car and Josh came into mine since they had a full van while mine had plenty of room. Tyler drove the rest of the way while I slept as best I could in the passenger sheet. Which is very hard when you can’t put your seat back because it would hit someone’s knees. Anyway, I woke up on and off due the weirdest weather ever in Mississippi. I would wake up and there would be fog then go back to sleep and wake up to a storm of rain. Then there was a deer…then a possum. Needless to say I was very glad I wasn’t driving.  We got into New Orleans at about 5am where we parked outside a grocery store to wait for 6am since that’s when our site would open. Josh and Myself got out of the van and talked to Mindy who was the only one awake in the other van and talked outside.  We talked about what we were looking forward to and about the area around us. We also talked about the rooster that kept crowing. It was interesting looking across the street where we could see two very different houses. One that had obviously been renovated and another one that had windows broken and the window. When it was 6am we woke up Vanessa and Ashley who called the site and we made our way there. It was only 2 minutes away from where we parked. When we got there we saw that it was a house. I was expecting a church, but it was a very pretty purple house. The man who let us into the house was Darren. Darren is a New Orleans native. You can tell immediately from his thick accent. He is a true character, as we would come to know throughout the week, but right then, we were all very tired. We were given a tour of the house. When you walk in the front door you walk into the office. It’s a small office with two chairs a desk and a computer with a door behind it. There we signed some volunteer agreement papers before getting the rest of the tour. When you walk through door behind the desk you enter the house. There’s a small foyer that houses shelves of cooking dishes to the left. To the right are two doors. One lead to a bedroom, which has six beds in total. They were in bunk bed form. If you walk straight out of the foyer you enter the kitchen. It’s a simple kitchen. To the right of the kitchen is the living room that has a table in the back and two couches to the left and right of it. There is coffee table in the middle. If you continue to walk straight you walk past the pantry and are met by a door in front of you. That door leads to another room to the right is another bedroom, if you look left there’s another hallway. In that hallway is the bathroom/laundry room and another bedroom that housed the rest of our group. Then straight ahead is another door that leads outside to a deck. After the tour most of us took a nap in our beds. We all woke up about noon from our “nap”. We split up, with some of our group going to Wal-Mart…for some reason. While, Josh, Karen, Ida and I went on a walk around town. We wandered down the main street past a local market and the National Guard center, which looks extremely out of place. We walked around passing houses where some looked renovated and others were in really bad shape. Along some of the houses was “X”. If anyone remembers from the Katrina coverage, that’s what the rescuers put on the door when they checked it, so no house would be checked more than once. Later I found out that the number/letters at the top of the “x” was who checked the house. Walking around it was nice getting a sense of how different the architecture is in New Orleans than any other place in the country. After walking around we got back then went on a tour with Darren of Lower Nine. I did not take any pictures of this as I was driving. He took us to the levy that broke and has been rebuilt. Where it stood 6 feet before it now stands 20 feet but what it is really is a 20-foot wall and they built it exactly the same…so hopefully there won’t be another bad hurricane for a long time.  We then went to a bayou near by. Basically we walked onto a pier where you could see how many trees were missing and how bad Katrina did not only to the urban environment but nature as well.  As we drove through this part of Lower Nine, all of couldn’t help but notice how much space there were between houses and all the tall grass. The reason for this was simple. All the open space used to be houses. We made our way to look at the two houses we’d be working on. The first was Conrad’s. It was a grocery store with a second floor that they were making into apartments. So far there was a bit of floor down and framework but a lot to do. We then made our way to the second house known to me as the peach house…since I could never remember the name and it was peach. There they were renovating the entire house and putting dry wall on the walls.  We also went to the Mississippi river levy, which were more natural with a slope.  This area of Lower Nine wasn’t as bad as the other side. After the tour we went into downtown New Orleans where I made the mistake of deciding to drive there. I’ve driven in Chicago on a regular basis and made the mistake of thinking it would be similar. Let me tell you…it’s not. Not to mention LSU vs. Alabama game was in town…the next day at the super dome. So traffic and people were insane. We finally found a place to park before walking over to Bourbon Street and walking down it. It was….interesting to say the least. I would say that if we skipped Bourbon Street since none of us could drink on this trip anyway, I wouldn’t have minded. But some wanted to walk down it since it’s well…famous.  After this we searched for a place to each cheaply until we steeled on Popeye’s. After eating we headed back home where most of us, including me, went to bed at 8pm. Tomorrow was our first work day and we had to be up and ready at 7:30 for orientation. 

TFA Chicago Wrap-Up

The ten-hour Megabus ride back to Kansas City gave me more than enough time to think back and reflect on the trip individually and collectively. Each one of us had experiences that were unique and highlighted challenges in urban education and the way that TFA teachers are working to combat them. As promised, the rest of this post is dedicated to some of the experiences from various people in our group that I felt were noteworthy.

In one of my earlier posts I talked about the regimen that Urban Prep follows. The students’ ties are always over their top buttons, they have to ask to take their blazers off, they are always on time, etc. Sadie Simon volunteered in an eighth grade classroom at a UNO charter school where the student body was primarily disadvantaged Hispanic students. She commented that a similar structured approach was taken at her school. Her teacher commented that so many students do not have structure at home and the school has discovered that the students perform the best when they have a regimen and know what is expected of them each day. As a group, we discussed how privately run charter schools have adopted structure as a way to try to boost students’ performance. This structure that holds students accountable is found much less frequently in public schools. Sadie also shared with us a very interesting way that her teacher deals with the wide-ranging abilities of his students in the classroom at the same time. It seems like an impossible task to teach all of these students the same material at the same pace without leaving some in the dust or some unchallenged. On the other hand, splitting students into groups based on ability only reinforces the idea in the slower students’ minds that they are incapable of achieving at the level of other students. To combat this issue, Sadie’s teacher has students split up into random groups and teaches the lesson to one, has one do an activity, and one review the previous homework. When the groups rotate, he has some of the kids who struggle stay behind and listen to him teach the lesson again. This is a way to avoid propagating the “smart” group and “dumb” group stereotypes.

While seven of us worked at charter schools, Dani volunteered in a first grade classroom at a Chicago public school. The structure that most of us had in our schools was far from present in Dani’s experience. It’s hard to say if this was entirely due to the age of the students or if the students would have been better behaved if they would have been in an environment such as that at Urban Prep where a premium was put on obedience. Nonetheless, Dani shared that most of her days were spent wrangling six year olds, not helping them with reading or other foundations for the students to build their educations on. After hearing this, I wasn’t entirely surprised. It made me contemplate how students were expected to progress at the same rate and achieve at the level as kids in suburban public schools or private schools when they get behind so early in their educations. Dani’s teacher repeatedly expressed her gratitude for Dani being there. She had upwards of thirty students in one classroom and could not ask for a full-time assistant until she had forty kids! I’m convinced this is the true problem. No matter the way that a school is organized, thirty some first graders in a classroom with one teacher is a problem and the Chicago public schools must get more funding someway or another to hire more help.

I’ve enjoyed other group members and my experiences throughout the trip. Of course I’m biased, but The TFA Chicago trip should never go by the wayside. The achievement gap in urban education is one of the greatest issues facing our country and it’s vastly overlooked.

GKTW Day 6: Our last day

This morning, we were assigned to a more “traditional” volunteering shift. We helped serve breakfast in the Gingerbread House, which is the cafeteria at GKTW. It was our job to carry trays, help families get refills, and bus tables. Also, if a kid didn’t seem to be eating, it was our job to find them something they would rather have. For example, if a boy wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, we would order him grilled cheese. We were told multiple times to ensure that every child left full and they had eaten whatever they wanted.

Though this morning may seem like it could be dull compared to other assignments, that was not the case at all. We still were able to talk to kids, learn their names, and hear their plans for the day. Sarah J. got to meet T.K.’s parents (their relationship is moving fast!) and I got to see Emily, Mitchell, and Katelyn again. Not only did we have fun with the families, the regular Thursday volunteers were wonderful! They were very welcoming, encouraged us, and truly loved every child that came through the door. Even after our shift was done, we stayed and talked to them for a long time.

After being advised by the volunteers, our group visited the Gallery of Hope. This building tells the story of GKTW and its many attractions. GKTW was created after the founder was trying to help a little girl and her family visit his hotel near Disney World free of charge. However, she died shortly before her visit. Since then, Henri Landwirth has worked to ensure that every terminally ill child who wished to visit Florida before they die will have a chance to do so. Our group sat there, crying and watching the documentary Henri made to tell the story of the Village. We then all went to the chapel and wrote letters to God, or whatever higher power we believed in, in the notebooks they have. We each read our letters aloud, and we also read the stories written by other families. We all struggled to understand how such caring families could be tested by something like a terminal illness. Though none of us had any sort of justification, we left determined to make our last night at GKTW memorable. We wanted every child to be full of joy and hope.

This evening, we were all surprised to learn that we would get to be in costume for the Winter Wonderland Parade. This is something we had wanted to do all week! Karina and I got to dress up as carolers for the Parade. We walked down the main boulevard of the property, handing out toys and having a blast. At the end of the street, by the theater, we were able to interact with the families for a while. We sang Jingle Bells, danced to Christmas songs, and posed for dozens of pictures. The night ended far too soon!

After we cleaned up from the parade and changed back into our regular clothes, we met with some of the staff members. That explained that we were some of the best college students that they had trained and that we are more than welcome to come back and volunteer anytime. We were all really sad to leave such a wonderful place. I sort of wish that we were volunteering instead of having a free day tomorrow!

High: This entire day! This morning in the chapel was extremely inspiring. I absolutely love this group. I also had such a great time singing and playing with kids during the parade today.

Low: Today we realized that just like we have to return to Kansas, the children who visit GKTW also have to return to reality. Though they may be uplifted and hopeful after a week here, many of them probably won’t make it. I’m just so happy that I was able to make some of their last memories happy ones.

Bucket Fill: The whole group! We have had a great time. Everyone is compassionate and truly works to make sure the kids have a great time. I love them all!

GKTW Day 6: Killer bees and the Hoedown Throwdown

I was back in the Castle of Miracles for my shift this morning. Karina, Kate, and I were there to help children make pillows or give stars to the Star Fairy. As I was helping another family find their star on the ceiling of the Star Tower, I realized why the whole thing is so important to the people who come to GKTW. The stars are a lasting piece of all the sick children who have stayed in the Village. They will forever be there hanging on the Castle’s ceiling. Later, a woman came in to find her son’s star from six years ago. It was still in the same place and his name was still clearly written. Seeing her only solidified the importance of this small part of GKTW.

About 30 minutes later, a father came in with his three children. I helped his son, Mitchell, give his star to the Star Fairy and make a pillow. Afterwards, I played with his children for an hour and a half. We started by playing on the slide. This morphed into us playing house. Emily, the youngest girl, was my mom/ was the princess and I was her daughter/ knight. I didn’t completely understand her thought process, but that didn’t matter. Then, Mitchell decided he was a swarm of killer bees and we had to run from him. I was “killed” by bees at least ten times. Next, the oldest sister, Katelyn, joined in and we all played tag. I have no idea how children have so much energy! Though I loved playing was those three adorable kids, I was relieved to get a break after they left!

In preparation for our shift tonight, the group decided to learn the Hoedown Throwdown. At all the previous evening parties, this song has been played and our group has awkwardly struggled through the dance moves. This afternoon, Sarah J., Nana, and I got to work and learned the whole dance. It was so much fun and we were really anxious to show off our new moves!

Tonight’s themed party was Kid’s Night Out. Parents can drop off their children for a few hours and take a break. Afterwards was the Village Idol Competition. In theory, the volunteers for Kid’s Night Out are supposed to be matched up with a child one-on-one. However, because of a low turnout, Sarah K., Sarah J., and I did not have kids to play with. Instead of being down, we decided to have fun anyway. When helping serve dinner, we made up cheers for the French fries and danced around like fools. Sarah J. also found herself a boyfriend. A young boy named T.K. had the biggest crush on her!

After dinner, our group traveled to the theater to watch Village Idol. In addition to our group, several kids came with their families to participate in the show. Before the competition started, we KU students opened the show with a stunning performance of the Hoedown Throwdown. Admittedly, we did an awful job, but we all had such a great time! When the show started, we cheered on all the performers and held up signs like “Good Job” or “10!!” At the end, the judges announced that all the performers were winners and streamers shot from the ceiling. As we were helping clean up the streamers, Scott and Shandi started doing rhythmic gymnastics around the theater. It was so much fun!

I was really sad to return back to our housing tonight. We found and killed several cockroaches around our dormitory today (My room is pictured on the left). It was disgusting! During our reflection, many of us said our housing situation was our low of the day.

High: Playing with Emily, Mitchell, and Katelyn this morning. They were all so spirited and giggly! Had I not helped Mitchell make his star, I would have not known which child was sick. However, thinking that Mitchell has some form of illness is really sad! I pray that he continues to be healthy and full of energy.

Low: During reflection, Nana called us all out. She said that she was saddened by how much our group complained about our housing situation. Yes, our water is really hard and smells like sulfur. But in Ghana, her family went for three days completely without water. We are all incredibly lucky to be able to be here in Florida volunteering at such an amazing place.

Bucket Filling: Sarah J. did an awesome job tonight playing with T.K. He was very shy at the beginning of the night and didn’t want to play with anyone. She helped him come out of his shell and have a good time. Later, when he wasn’t feeling well, she cheered him up. Also, a big high five to Nana! Though she embarrassed us all, she helped us remember that this trip is not really about our unfortunate housing at all. It is about making children feel special and giving them a wonderful vacation!

GKTW Day 5: A pool party in January

This morning, I got to see even more of the incredible GKTW property as I joined Kate and Erin for a shift in the Amberville Train Station. This building is amazing. There is a huge interactive model train set, video games, arcade games, ping-pong, pool, and put-put golf. This place truly had everything! To top it off, there was a train that rode all the way around the building and put-put course. If I were a kid, I could spend hours there!

Soon after our shift began, a little boy named Ethan and his dad came in wishing to play golf. The thing that instantly struck me was that Ethan was in a wheel chair, and it was the smallest wheel chair I had ever seen. My next thought was, “Is the mini golf course here wheel chair accessible?” This was not something that had crossed my mind when we were touring the facilities earlier. Of course, every attraction at GKTW is handicap accessible, but until I saw Ethan I had not considered it at all. I then immediately thought of our class about social privilege. I was saddened by my own failure to realize the necessity of equal access to attractions. However, I was also happy to be helping an organization that works to give children and families an equal chance to experience a normal vacation.

For that evening, we all geared up to help with the Big Splash Bash, a pool party and cook-out. Four of the members of our group helped serve snow cones and cotton candy while the remaining five helped with activities. Sarah K. and I filled water balloons, danced to all the songs, and helped the party’s host, a volunteer named Amy, play games. The party started with me leading a Conga line. Despite the groups of families standing in the pool area, only five children joined in the dancing. At first I was little disappointed and embarrassed, but then I realized that if just one child was having a good time, I was doing my job.

After the Conga line, we played several games such as hot potato and water balloon toss. A little boy, Kevin and I played for nearly 30 minutes, even though we broke several water balloons in the process. He and I were very not good at the game! Our fun was abruptly ended when Amy told me that I was not supposed to be giving the children water balloons and I had to tell Kevin I couldn’t play with him anymore. This left me in a foul mood for the rest of the evening. Though I still danced and had a good time, I was angry at Amy for not telling me the rules before and making me stop playing with Kevin. However, after the party was over, Amy took Sarah K. and me aside and apologized for yelling us. GKTW had experienced problems with children getting hit in the face by water balloons in the past and now monitors the situation really carefully. She felt that in the middle of the party she had not had time to explain the whole story to me and did not want us to be mad. I immediately felt guilty for being mad at Amy. I had not considered how stressed she was trying to run the whole pool party and had not been forgiving when she forgot to mention one rule. If I volunteer with her again, I hope to be more kind and understanding.

High: Dancing like a fool at the pool party. I was wearing a lei and a ridiculous beach hat and having the time of my life. I got to play limbo, be hit with water balloons, and show my mad Cupid Shuffle moves. It was a blast!

Low: Wrongly judging Amy. I am ashamed because I became angry with her so quickly. She volunteers her time with GKTW every week and is very dedicated. I feel so bad!

Bucket Fill: Sarah K. did a great job playing with the kids. She is full of energy and all the kids want to play with her. It was so adorable to watch! Secondly, Erin did a great job playing with Ethan this morning. Tonight at our reflection, she told us about the disease he has. We were all emotional as we remembered how slim the chances of survival are for some of the children.