As the week continues, we have had experiences that have started to change our lives, and the others around us in Charleston, forever. Today has been the best day of our experience here in sunny South Carolina thus far. We started the day waking up bright and early to journey to Thornhill Farm, also known as Adaptive Gardens, to participate in horticultural therapy with children with disabilities. For those who don't speak Fancypants, that basically means we spent a couple of hours on a farm with a special education class, doing various activities like shoveling piles of weeds, moving a chicken coop, painting and cooking. I (Gina, the writer of this post) was particularly stoked about seeing this farm in person, because ASB has had previous ASB trips visit the farm, and has had such life changing experiences, that Mizzou Unity Coalition has been trying to create an adaptive garden for Columbia as result of this fantastic trip. It was an amazing experience because we were all able to bond with these amazing people who have incredible personalities. Some of the kids weren't able to verbally express the fun and happiness they experienced, but we were all touched by how they can communicate their feelings through their actions, rather than their words if they a severe disability. Without fully understanding what they were literally saying, we could fully understand what they were communicating.
I teared up when they were all returning to their school bus at the end of our time together, because the thought of having a full and loving life awaited them, and that's what these amazing people deserve.
Joe, as we all know by now, has a nut allergy. Dean, one of our friends coming to visit the farm, has a visible disability which involves being deaf, and mainly communicated through pointing at people. One of the activities the kids did at Adaptive Gardens was make a snack from the food they grew in the garden! They made pesto from carrot tops instead of the typical basil. When it was time to eat, one of the instructors warned everyone that the pesto had walnuts in it. Dean, who had not been told that Joe has a nut allergy, pointed at Joe and then promptly walked over and hugged him tightly. We thought that was pretty cool.
After Adaptive Gardens, we headed back to WINGS for our third day! It was awesome. The kids really know and respect us now, and we had a lot of fun. After WINGS, we went out to dinner! We went to a seafood restaurant that was right on the water and it was pretty great. We can't believe we only have one day of service left!
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