March 25, 2012
Birmingham
Today was our first full day in Birmingham! We rolled in last night around 7pm after about 13 hours of traveling.
Several of us awoke at dawn to take a brisk run in the morning dew. We ran threw a cemetery, received several salutations from churchgoers, and saw a dog pooping. There was a pink truck as well.
We came made it back in time for Sunday mass with Father Paul at the St. Francis of Assisi Church, which contains the retreat center at which we are staying. The entire congregation was pleased to us and greeted us warmly. We shook so many hands! They actually sang us a "Welcome" song right after the sermon, though this came after some "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Anniversary" (sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday").
We made a new friend named Sam! He visited us after church and told a horrific story about the rain from Friday night. He was so scared! He LOVES peanut M&Ms and touched almost all of them. He was very interested in our red ASB shirts. He also made sure that he informed Dane he had a nice smile and refused to leave until saying goodbye to Laney.
We split into smaller groups and goofed around until lunch. Man-eating fire ants unfortunately attacked Laney as a couple of others played Frisbee. A few of us attempted to make a Wal-Mart run but were stifled by the bank's strict security on Debit cards.
Crisis averted, we all got ready for our first act as volunteers for Birmingham AIDS Outreach. We drove to a gentleman's club, called The Furnace, where we helped set up for the Bon Voyage Banquet. We learned that the average in come of an HIV-positive individual in AL is $7900 a year and that there are a total of 12,000 individuals living with HIV in AL.
The afternoon kicked off with a kick line by a group of 70+ year-old women called the Sugar Babies. They were a phenomenal group of women who performed for the show. They were followed by a group of two woman named the Hot Tamales who made sure the crowd knew that "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." They were then followed by a band named Once in a Lifetime, who performed strictly 80's (and awesome!) music.
This was followed by a live auction of mostly normal items with the exception of scantly clad male personal trainers. The actual item being sold was a yearlong personal training session, though the personal trainers quickly fascinated the audience. While it became a bit of a strip show, it ended up raising $4500 dollars. A few of our members practiced their skills at the rotating stripper poles! We ran spotlights, we passed programs, greeted visitors, helped the band set up and tear apart, and then cleaned up afterward. It was a great way to kick off our volunteering and meet the Birmingham AIDS Outreach.
Afterward, we drove home to the delightful sounds of "Call Me Maybe," which has become the theme song of our trip. We had some stupendous dance sessions in the vehicle as well as the creation of a great YouTube video!
We're very excited to start off tomorrow with AIDS Alabama and can't wait to see what they have in store for us! We're excited for our volunteer training so that we can go straight to work.
http://youtu.be/36U8lNh8eV4
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