Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Habitat Day 2
Our day began with an 8 a.m. wake up call. Since we were late to our first assignment yesterday, we sincerely tried our hardest to get to our new site on time today. By some strike of luck, we arrived promptly at the POH at 9 a.m., right on time.
Inside, we met Emily along with four other AmeriCorps members: Sarah, Tiffany, Garrett and Nick. Together we taped cabinets, windows, walls and the boarders of the house to prepare for painting. The previous owners of the house decided to paint their walls a scheme of dark brown, navy, bright pink and purple. This made priming the walls quite a challenging task. It took multiple coats of white paint to remove any trace of the previous stains. After painting all morning, our Habitat leaders decided we had done enough work and called it quits around 2:30 p.m. We did a quick clean up and tore out some carpet before piling back into our van and Yukon and heading back to the inn.
After our first two days of good, hard work, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the Hard Rock Café and chocolate from a quaint chocolate shop in downtown Indianapolis.
While today was a fun day of service, we have had some time to reflect on the people we have met and the work we have done so far. Emily, Tiffany, Garrett and Nick are all truly inspiring. While we have dedicated a week of our lives for service, they have put their lives on hold for two years to serve. They work countless hours in all sorts of conditions to build homes for people who otherwise could not afford it if it weren't for Habitat for Humanity. They are giving these people a chance at the American Dream.
Another thing we took special note of was the neighborhoods these houses were in. Nearly all the surrounding houses had been run down and left vacant. Windows were boarded up and "No Trespassing" signs were tacked on all the doors and windows. It was clear that the people that once lived here, as well as still live here, have seen some pretty rough times in life. Scribbled on the walls of the pink bedroom in the house we worked on today were short messages expressing hate towards their neighborhood and the people they know. The words were clearly written by a young girl in a very angry moment. None of us can fathom what life must be like without a home.
As the good times keep rolling for us, it's become apparent that life is not so easy for other people in the world. It has been an eye opening experience here in Indianapolis thus far, but we are all in agreement when we say there is no where else we would rather be.
P.S. Happy Birthday Mr. Lohsandt!!!
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