Nasvhille2-Health

Hello from Nashville!

This is the first blog entry for the MAB Nashville 2 trip! For the next five days, different members of our trip will be providing a recap of everything we have been doing during our service trip.

We arrived at St. Augustine's Chapel, located on the Vanderbilt University campus, on Saturday around 9:00PM. After a night of rest, we had our first free day to explore what Nashville had to offer, and our day began at Loveless Café. Loveless Café has been a Nashville staple for many years, and was unanimously decided upon as being the best breakfast ever! The biscuits were top-notch, and the walls were covered in rich Nashville history. After that delicious breakfast we headed downtown to Broadway Street to look at shops and various eateries. Of all the cool shops we visited, GooGoo's was the one of the most interesting. GooGoo's is a candy company that was founded in Tennessee in 1912, and its claim to fame is being the first cluster candy bar. We all had to buy one after trying the amazing samples. After spending time downtown, we picked up food to make for the rest of week.

Today, Monday, was the first day of service. We spent our morning and afternoon at Project C.U.R.E, which is an organization that collects and distributes medical supplies to different countries such as Niger, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Honduras among others. Half of our group spent their time organizing supplies such as catheters, gauze, and surgical supplies into their respective boxes. The other half of the group worked in the warehouse preparing supplies for shipment on Friday. It was tedious work at times, but we all stayed committed, because we knew each of these supplies would be used to increase the quality of life or quality of care for patients and doctors alike in these underserved areas. It was easy to stay motivated for the duration of our service at Project C.U.R.E., because of the great example set by those who work and spend their time there to make it the most effective organization possible. One of the staff was a retired orthopedic surgeon who gave many of our members insight into what the supplies were and how they're used, and the director was a girl not much older than us that had no ties to healthcare, but just believed in the Project C.U.R.E. cause. Once we were finished at the warehouse, we headed to East Nashville to eat gourmet popsicles at Las Paletas. The popsicles were fantastic, and even the odder flavors such as "Hot Chocolate and Chili" and "Honeydew" were thoroughly enjoyed! The guys all went to Burger Up after Las Paletas, and enjoyed flavorful burgers. We finished out the night with football for entertainment, and chicken, rice, and vegetables for dinner. Overall, it was a great first day of service, and we all look forward to what tomorrow has in store.

Check out our Twitter for live updates and pictures! @MAB_Nashville2

Peace from Nashvegas,

Brett & Jimmy