March 26, 2012
Birmingham
Today is Monday and we had a fantastic time meeting AIDS Alabama. Our day started off preparing sack lunches like we belong in elementary school again, complete with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! We all matched in our Mizzou swag today, which most of us wearing gold.
We made our way (after some questionable driving! #Jong-In) to AIDS Alabama where we were met with a lot of enthusiasm. Carly and Nigel gave us the run down of the organization as well as some HIV 101 facts. We of course had to show them our video from last night and the inspiration for our song.
We learned so much information! As it turns out, Alabama has the 11th highest HIV rate in the nation. In fact, 22% of the HIV-positive individuals in Alabama live in Birmingham. Nigel was hilarious! Although he presented on some serious topics, he made sure to entertain us. While talking about the transmission of HIV through fluids, he gave us a fantastic quote: "If it's warm and wet, you don't want to exchange it with any body."
We aced the HIV quizzes and followed Carly to a park for lunch. We had a great time chatting with her, taking some pictures, and playing Frisbee. Afterward, we headed to campus… but not for school! AIDS Alabama has a series of housing units that they refer to as "the campus." We were given a tour of their houses and other living units. We were very pleased to see how nice, comfortable, and spacious they were! In fact, one resident said that these facilities were better than the dorms at their university!
We were consistently "welcomed" to the SEC and told to get ready for some "real football." They noticed us walking around in our Mizzou gold and made sure to comment on our conference transition.
After our campus tour, we made it to the Railroad Park where we had more time to relax and explore Birmingham. Carly and Amanda (also from AIDS Alabama) escorted us and spent some more time with us. Allea entrusted her life in the hands of three of our guys in a "trust fall," earning her the title of "Daredevil" for the rest of the trip.
We had some more picture opportunities and then traveled to the Vulcan statue, where the pictures never stopped! Colbey (the mom of the trip) ensured that his camera was out at all times and took as many pictures as possible.
We made navigated our way through a bunch of one-way roads to the Five Points area. There was a demonic-looking statue of a goat-headed man fountain with green water. After a quick Starbucks and ice cream break, we headed home.
A good portion of us fell asleep, exhausted from a busy day while others had an epic game of baseball outside. We ended up at Walmart yet again and decided to purchase triple the amount of fruit we thought necessary. We had a yummy Kindergarten dinner with 150 chicken nuggets amongst the 12 of us, some mac and cheese, some veggies, and some juice. We saw that the other HIV/AIDS trip in Dallas had a Kindergarten Dinner, though we believe ours was superior to theirs! They told us that their salad reads at a third grade level, to which we responded: "Whaaat?"
Though we had a very informational day, we're excited to spend tomorrow with some of the clients of AIDS Alabama while visiting the Civil Rights Institute. No more music videos, but in case you're saddened, call us. Maybe.
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