Mizzou Alternative Breaks Blog: Denver - Homelessness and Poverty

How can you make 10 best friends in under 24 hours?

Code names. Cows. Walkie-talkies.

The ASB Denver trip started off with a bang of caffeine and excitement at the ability to communicate between cars. As people slowly woke up and we distanced ourselves from Columbia, ASBDenver showed its true colors. We are a group of competitive, light-hearted tweeting-addicts. Every cow we saw one the road was claimed, and when the game spread to ASBDallas, it only got more out of hand. Hashtags were invented and shouts for the tweet jockey were called.

Quick slightly off-center group shot before we hit the road

Packing the car before departure!

ASB Denver con Starbucks

It is impossible to stay in a car with a group of people for more than 2 hours and not get to know them. Multiply that by 6, for a total of 12 hours, and you're guaranteed to have developed inside jokes, code names for your vehicles (The Dark Knight and Grand Cowavan), and an affinity for tweeting rants about Kansas. With the help of walkie-talkies, the cars were combined, and the random shuffling courtesy of the Reaping Goblet of Fire made sure that everyone spent at least 2 hours with every person on the trip.

After 7 pit stops, 7 hours bemoaning the endless Kansas highway, and $70 worth of delicious McDonalds cuisine, we made it to our destination. Denver, Colorado: home sweet home for the next week. I have no doubt the week is going to be filled with more jokes, but more importantly, we'll be doing some serious good. Working with various facilities to aid with Denver's 10 year plan – 10 years to end homelessness and ensure no one lives on the streets – we will doing the tasks that need to be done so that others can improve their lives.

Truman in the middle of nowhere Kansas

Now the trip begins, and with it our opportunity to give back some of our good fortune. We'll meet many people from different walks of life, and it's unlikely we will leave this city the same that we came in. So let the service begin, and may the odds be ever in our favor.

Here are some pictures of our lovely new abode: