Columbia, SC - Health/Spanish Speaking

It's been two weeks since we returned from our trip to Columbia, SC, and we are definitely missing Spring Break life. We have a reunion coming up and we plan to grill burgers and play sand volleyball just to pretend we are back at our riverside cookout in Carolina del Sur. While transitioning back into our normal day-to-day routines, a few of us have been thinking back to the trip and what we have taken home with us. 

Personally, I gained insight on the life of a Spanish-speaker living in the US. I got a glimpse of the challenges that come with the language barrier and I realized that I take so much for granted. I can easily call up my doctor, make an appointment, go to the office, pay my copay, and explain to him any issues I am having. Not only do so many people not have much access to health care, those that don't speak English have trouble utilizing it in the first place in a country so dominated by English. I came home with opened eyes, 11 great friends, new leadership skills, and some bumps and bruises from our canoe trip. 

Megan Anderson wrote to me: "I loved getting to know everyone on the trip and meeting everyone in the community. I have learned that a "4 mile" float trip is a great bonding experience and that I can learn a ton of Spanish from little kids (we are pretty much on the same level with the language). I though it was amazing that I left COMO with 11 strangers and came back with 11 ASBuddies."

And Landon: "I was reminded how important it is to step out of our busy, hectic, and sometimes selfish lives and focus simply on helping others.  You end up helping yourself in the end and you meet a lot of cool people on the way." 

Overall, it was a great trip and we thank everyone who helped us get there. We can't wait until next year!!!

The Columbia Crew

Houston - Health

We asked a few of our participants what they'd take away from the trip and this is what they had to say:

Charles: I would say that what I learned from the trip was that any volunteering we can do is helpful. Even the tasks that seem insignificant have an impact on an organization because they free up other people's schedules to do more to benefit the organization and it's mission! However, I don't think that any of the tasks we were assigned to do were "insignificant." I think that they simply bettered the children's lives indirectly.

Luke: I learned how to make the best out of every situation.

Teagan: It was truly amazing to see the power eleven people can have in such a short time! We were really able to be the change we want to see in the world!

Knoxville - Environment

To our readers,

Don't think that the blog is going to stop just because we're back! We are writing our thank you notes to all of the friends we have made in Knoxville. Some of us still have seen each other everyday since returning. Basically what friends do.
We made bread today and are currently enjoying it while doing our homework. Nothing is better then homemade bread made with your ASBuddies. Molly and Jamie rock for making it, while Haley make some very fancy thank you cards.

We miss all being under one roof.

Love,

ASB Knoxville

All Trips Have Returned

What a week! We're sad that it is over but happy to report that everyone made it back alive and well (well, maybe a little tired). This year has been quite the experience. This past week alone, nearly 420 students traveled to 36 different locations to do more than 14,000 hours of service. In the process the trips were able to raise more than $130,000 to fund their experiences! Thank you so much for all of your support throughout this year. We will be asking some of the trips to post about their post trip interactions and reflections, so make sure you check back again soon. The year as a whole saw 480 breakers travel to 39 locations. That makes Mizzou ASB the fourth largest program in the country. Thank you again to everyone who made this possible. Mizzou has some truly amazing students and they are supported by awesome uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, parents, and friends.

Iowa City- being back in Columbia

I can't believe how quickly this ASB week went by!! I've seen endless tweets, pictures, Facebook posts, and blog postings about all the different trips, and I am completely blown away. Not only was there a record-breaking number of students involved with ASB this year, but they are STILL talking about it!! As someone who has dealt with student retention with other organizations in the past, I'm so excited for ASB that everyone is riding this "ASB service high"- and I'm guilty of it myself!!

This week was great. For the grad students, it went really quickly. The snow delayed our departure and the Easter holiday caused us to leave Friday, but we had some really incredibly and reflection-packed experiences in a short amount of time we were in Iowa City. Each of our three service sites- Johnson County Senior Center, Habitat for Humanity, and the Hope Lodge- brought something new and different for us to experience.

At the senior center, health topics of the elderly were brought to our attention. We made some very real human connections with the guests there. It brought up the topic of elder abuse, made us think about generational differences and how that might affect how we take care of our parents in the future, and thought about how the community and state policies can affect the elderly.

Then, we went to Habitat for Humanity. Holy cow, that was work. Sanding all the walls and ceilings, mudding, and fixing fences kept us incredibly busy. We met a family from the Congo who was working on their "sweat equity" for their habitat home. This time our service was manual labor. It was nice to be physically doing something and building something (or remodeling in this case!) for someone else. Our participants appreciated their own homes, parents, and lifestyles much more after working on the habitat home.

At the Hope Lodge, each of us brought something different away. We met a lot of cancer patients and guests there which brings up all sorts of discussions about life, death, health, end of life care, etc. for all of us health people. For me, this service site reassured the fact that I want to work in the non-profit sector. The director was incredibly inspiring, has the same degree I'm working towards, and was a great resource.

But beyond all of these things, our week really inspired me and kept me in awe of the students at the University of Missouri. Every year I've been here (and yes, I'm pretty old and have been here for a while!), I've had these moments where I am in complete and utter amazement of our students at Mizzou. This is another one of those moments.

There were 426 students out, during spring break, giving up their time, energy, and money to do service across our nation. They weren't in Panama City or another typical spring break location doing the things parents want to pretend don't happen there. They were actively seeking opportunities to push themselves into situations where they would learn from another person. These students sought out talking about difficult topics and participated in reflecting about what they had learned each day. They are who are going to change our world for the better.

Thank you to the ASB Exec, Bryan, their advisor, all my participants and co-site leader, and everyone else involved with ASB in some capacity or another. Students of Mizzou, you have once again amazed me. I can't wait to see where this organization will go in the future.

New Orleans 1 - Homelessness

Friday, March 30, If you've been faithfully reading this blog (which you should, because it's clearly the best Mizzou ASB blog), then I apologize for the lack of posts the past few days. We haven't been able to post because we've been too exhausted from our service work! We've experienced a whirlwind tour of New Orleans this week, including the honor of working with some phenomenal organizations that are changing the world one small act at a time. On Wednesday we began our day by visiting the Ozanam Inn in downtown New Orleans. The Inn provides a very interesting service: a homeless shelter ran and operated by the people who utilize their facilities. Our team broke off into two groups. The larger of the two helped out with laundry, while the other helped prepare some authentic jambalaya for the tenants to enjoy. Team Laundry was accompanied by Paul, a man on his way to becoming a crew member with the Inn. He proved to be an excellent tour guide (our resident Tour Team member Brynn gave him her seal of approval), and was happy to answer any questions our group had. One thing that really stuck out was how excited Paul was about the personal bed and lamp that came with crew member status. Every time he brought it up his face lit up with excitement; everyone should take a page out of Paul's book and appreciate the small things more in life. This lesson came back up later on in the week.

Meanwhile, Team Kitchen worked with Bruce and Emil while chopping the Cajun trinity of vegetables (onions, green peppers, and celery, in case you were wondering) and stirring an absolutely massive pot of jambalaya (we were told it would serve literally hundreds of people). While the food was cooking, we got a chance to talk these men and hear their stories. Both were in town for Hurricane Katrina. Bruce was a social worker who helped with disaster relief. Fun fact: he's met Mother Theresa. That's right, we're two degrees of separation away from Mother Theresa. Get at us. On the other hand, Emil shared an absolutely breathtaking story of surviving the storm. He was staying in a hotel in the French Quarter during the storm (a room he got from his son who managed the hotel). During the storm his elderly sister fell and injured herself. After the storm had passed, he and a friend drove her to the Super Dome to receive medical attention. He stayed behind to make sure that she was attended to, and had to hitchhike back to the French Quarter. When he got there, his hotel had been evacuated, and he spent days searching for the rest of his family. Working alongside these men to continue to rebuild New Orleans was an incredible honor.

Thursday and Friday were spent helping to rebuild a church for Bishop Corrlen in east New Orleans. The Bishop, as we called him for short, was probably the most colorful character we met on our trip. I'll be honest: no words I write can do this man justice. You have to meet him to understand how hilarious he could be. None of us will forget him chatting us up about President Bush over po boys, introducing us to his not-so-friendly looking dogs Sissy and Robert, or lecturing Tia about the proper names of gardening instruments. Our work consisted mainly of sanding, painting, and yardwork. While it may not seem like much, it definitely helped him get further on his way to restoring his church to pre-storm conditions.

Our last afternoon with the Bishop was probably the most powerful experience of our trip. As a gesture of gratitude for our help, his wife showed us how a real southern meal should go. Sitting at a table right outside the church we spent the day working in, we chowed down on some crawfish and shrimp. They taught us how to pull the crawfish apart, right down to sucking out the juice. It was messy, it smelled like fish, and it was awesome. Afterwards, we were treated to a gospel concert, courtesy of the reverend on keyboard and team member Emily at the mic. Their combined musical talents were insane, and the experience became even richer when the Bishop told us that this was the first time he'd played his keyboard on the church grounds since the storm. You could hear the soul in his voice and feel the heartache of the storm in every note. This was gospel music. This was soul. This was New Orleans.

Our week spent here was indescribable. Everything from the personal connections we made through service to exploring the city in our free time was perfect. All of us will leave Who Dat Nation with memories made, lessons learned, and friendships formed. Through these experiences, we are better people. Seeing the love of New Orleans has helped us understand what it means to be a part of one humanity, a common culture we will continue to share until the saints come marching in.

Ft. Collins - Environment

Friday marked our last day of service (sadly) after an amazing week here in Ft. Collins. We headed out to Lory State Park at 9 a.m. The state park experienced a devastating forest fire last week and our job was to help start the cleanup process. Our day could be summed up pretty simply by saying "we got dirty." Ash covered each and every one of us from head to toe shortly after the day's work began.

We were broken up into 2 groups: one led by Isabel (Maelly's awesome co-worker who is basically Wonder Woman) and the other led by Tanner. The two groups helped cleanup some bridges that had been destroyed in the fire and then we began "swamping". For those unfamiliar with the term it's basically a fancy way to say drag cut down tree limbs to a designated location that is often quite a distance away. Isabel is an extremely hard worker and those of us in her group definitely had our most exhausting day of the trip. The other group worked hard as well, but they definitely reserved ample time to break out into dance parties…

At the end of the day Maelly stopped by to say goodbye. He did an awesome job of coordinating all our amazing service opportunities this week and we've all basically fallen in love with him. As he drove away one final time, tears were shed all around (I think Kaityln might still be crying).

After our service today we headed to the Community Center for some MUCH NEEDED showers. We then headed to the downtown district of Ft. Collins for a night out on the town. After a week's worth of hard work, we treated ourselves to a delicious meal at Austin's. Definitely recommend if you find yourself in Ft. Collins. We ended our night with some ice cream (I'd been having withdrawals so I was pretty ecstatic to finally have some sweet vanilla goodness in my soul).

Upon arriving back at the church, we made an on-the-spot decision to close out our last night by going stargazing outside of town. It was a truly incredible experience and one I will remember forever. Laying side by side with 11 other people that have become great friends over the past week and staring into the infinite wonder of the universe is pretty dang cool. We've worked in nature all week, but this was one final reminder of how awesome this planet is. And we are so, so small in respect to the majesty of the universe, but I'm confident this week we have done our small part to give back to this spellbinding planet named Earth that we all call home.

Tomorrow we arise at dawn and head home. Unless we decide to stay… If it weren't for that whole school thing I think we might just stay here forever. Eagles fly eastward tomorrow. It's the final day of what many of us have called the "best week of our lives." While some may say it's impossible to have a fun car ride across Western Kansas, I beg to differ because we have Zach and that means constant entertainment. We'll be having a blast all the way across the plains. Our journey may come to a close once the vans roll back into CoMo, but I'm confident our family will forever fly together.
- Sam

Birmingham 2; Day 5 and 6

IT'S CARA AND CARL HI OH HI!! AIYAIYAIAYAIYAIIIYYYYY

Okay yea so um we are not slightly sure if we are 'sposed to cover today or yesterday so ummm yea we gonna keep it soups fly and go ahead and hit ya with both days. Kk? Omg gooood.

So yea. Yesterday…
Woke up really early. Whoa. Woke up and consumed a scrumptious breakfast, compliments of the fantastic southern hospitality of Momma T (thanks momma t). We packed our things and transferred our base location to a nearby church in Winfield. When we arrived, we had an hour or so of down time, which we spent frolicking around the gym in the basement throwing basketballs at each other (literally, ouch.). Soon after we made our way to our second Habitat Home. The circumstances surrounding this build were a bit different; we began clearing a site on the land where one of the family members of our Habitat family had lost her home to a fire. We cleared the site, pulling up fragments like half burnt stuffed animals and glassware from the remains. Although it was hard sorting through the remains of someone's previous life, it was nice to be able to help them build something happy and new from something so sad.

But lezbionest, dat clearing life was rough. Thorns are the devil. We got scratched all up and down our legs. While most of us were whacking dat brush with a pickax, poor Cara trimmed the vines around a mailbox. She became that mailbox's slave, furreal, giving it the closest shave it had eva' seen. After blood, sweat, and so very many tears, her work came to an end, only to find out that the mailbox was going to be redone anyways. Sometimes life gives you lemons, and you make a mailbox, and then life takes away your mailbox, and you cry, and then some random dog dat would be given the street name of my girl Beyoncé. Seriously, that dog was cray. It ate a rock, no lie. I ain't frontin'. So the day went on, with many a Mr. Fitzpatrick unrelated story, we cleared the brush and made way for the foundation. At the end of our work day, with a new skin tan called "Lobster red" on our skin (seriously) we headed back to camp to get ready for another feast that would leave our stomachs bloated (in a good way) and our spirits high as a kite. UNTIL THEY WERE DEFLATED BY PATRICK'S LIE-FILLED STORYTELLING. Imma let you finish, but Patrick had the WORST stories of all time. We were so emotionally invested in them, only to have been scammed the whole time. Don't know how long this PTSD will last.

After dinner, we headed to a traditional southern country affair: a CARNIVAL!!!! Roll tide, but not really because no one actually responds to this down here (see Lilli's vine on our twitter page). The carnival was supe fly, literally. Joe was ridin' solo in glasses and chompin' on some mike and ikes during what was considered the most THRILLING ride of all, the spinny upside down carousel ride. The overall favorite was the "Scrambler" which is ideal for screaming, laughing, puking, or staring contests with your ASBFF. As the night ended, we went to sleep with full tummies, lots of memories, and a gangster Chihuahua, oh and a Money bear. #Swag

And now for today . . .

The day started a wee bit later than expected (due to Patrick . . .) but we made up for it at the work site. We arrived at the site and began clearing more brush in the back part of the property so that the family would have a backyard. The brush clearing continued for some of our team, as they worked their way around the property and eventually to the front. Other members of our team began working on the foundation of the house, by putting boards in place that marked the overall shape of the house. It was quite an exciting time for us as many of our members got to use some pretty fly tools. Joe became best friends with a machete, a scythe, a pickax, and some giant bush cutters. Many of our foxy ladies had a hand at drilling and using the small, but mighty, sledgehammer. Cara finally got to fulfill her dreams by using a skill saw, HOLLA! There's so much more that goes into building a house than one might think and every person was vital to the process.

Mary, Lilli and Carl separated from the group to aid another Habitat volunteer in determining the energy efficiency of the first Habitat home. They worked diligently, and a little confusedly with some super expensive equipment determining how well the house was sealed up. It was a very educational experience, and interesting to measure and analyze the effects of the work they put into the building process. Plz don't ask any of them anything about it though because they probs won't be able to explain any of it correctly. When the entire group was reunited, we spent the last hour working on leveling sand so that the Habitat team could proceed with laying foundation for the house. It was really quite amazing to see the transformation that occurred over the two days. It went from what could be considered a wasteland, full of debris and sad memories, to the beginnings of hope for a family that has been through so much. It was humbling to be a part of it, even if it were just for a couple of days.

As our time with Habitat came to a close, so did our time with Greg and Mary. It was hard saying goodbye to two people who have selflessly given up many hours over not only that week, but many years working for Habitat. After trying, and failing, to take a jumping picture, we finally had one last Alabamily picture at the worksite and departed.

We spent tonight with each other, sharing laughs (and tears caused by the laughs) and reflecting on the amazing week we had just experienced. We ventured out to Walmart to buy some ingredients to make a pie for our lovely Momma T. On the way back, Black Magic lady tried to do a Chinese fire drill, but someone (*cough*White Chocolate*cough*) wouldn't participate. So basically we looked like fools . . . Thanks guys.

All jokes aside, this has been a week that none of us will forget. It's not easy to spend an entire week doing hard labor with a group of strangers and have zero negatives. Each of us will return to Columbia with memories and new friends that we will never forget. I think it's safe to say that Northern Alabama has the best people, and food, around. Our trip wouldn't be the same without the AMAZING hospitality of Momma T, and the other wonderful people in these towns. They truly made our experience unforgettable.

We left Columbia as twelve strangers, leading different lives, with different backgrounds. But this week, something happened, something changed. We laughed, we cried, we got lost, we neglected stops signs (*cough*Patrick*cough*), we learned a lot about each other (and Claire's mom), but most of all, we served. While we may return to our own lives, we shared an experience that created a bond we will never forget. As we return to Columbia, we return as one big family: Alabamily.

Peace, Love, and Roll Tide,

C Squared

P.S. Imma let you finish, but Alabam

Indianapolis-Habitat for Humanity

March 30, 2013

Indianapolis, IN

A strange silence filled the air as the Indy's gathered in the kitchen early this morning. By the end of the week, our 8 a.m. routine felt as natural as the work we completed each day, with building exhaustion and sore muscles becoming increasingly prevalent. We finished our breakfast and packed our lunches in record time, eager to get to the build site for our last day. We completed flooring systems for three houses in the previous two days at the site, so today's focus was on "decking" using OSB, or oriented strand board, on one of the houses. These are the boards directly beneath the carpet or tile in a house. Pete, a Tiger, led the majority of the build, calling for members wielding nail and glue guns every so often. By noon, we had finished decking one house, using only 13 tubes of glue and roughly 500 nails in the process.

The Habitat for Humanity leaders decided to reward such an accomplishment (or just got tired of listening to our constant tone-deaf singing) by releasing us two hours early, though we were sad to say our goodbyes to the strangers turned friends turned family. Relishing the chance for some extra naptime, the majority of us quickly fell asleep in the lounge after scanning the channels for Criminal Minds and finding that our new afternoon favorite was nowhere to be found yet again. The beautiful weather gave us an opportunity to do some more outdoor exploring, so we ventured to the famous Canal Walk, lined by museums and statues. A few of our members almost got run over by impatient bicyclists, while others (i.e. Jane) spent time talking to ducks along the way.

Famished from the day's journey, a half-hour drive to reportedly the best hibachi grill in the city seemed an impossible but worthwhile feat. Unfortunately, the "hibachi grill" turned out to be just like any other normal restaurant, differentiated only by the Japanese decorations hanging from the ceiling. Disappointed, we decided to bounce and hit up an all-you-can-eat Mongolian restaurant just down the street instead. Not only did eating at the Mongolian chain ruin our Indy local restaurant streak, but it also reaped some sweet rewards (and we aren't just talking about the food). One of our members inadvertently flirted her number into a worker's phone, which provided enough entertainment to last us the half-hour car ride back to Benedict Inn and a 20-minute car ride to and through Dairy Queen. Even two hours later, we're still laughing about it.

Even that couldn't top the group reflections at the end of the night, however. These gave us a chance to discuss our experience with Habitat for Humanity and ASB. Nikki was shocked by the communities that surrounded the build sites, which made her feel very fortunate to have a caring family and safe home environment. Jessica enjoyed the teamwork aspect of the week, relying on others to help each other through the building process. Tucker couldn't believe how quickly we bonded as a group and how comfortable we are with each other after just a short week together. Hayley was proud to be able to make a difference in one week, finding it so meaningful to be able to build a house that a family will be living in. Liz learned a lot from the Habitat for Humanity leaders, who were so willing to teach us and walk us through the process, no matter how tedious the task. Raean was glad that we could all work as a team and volunteer our time for the better. Cody liked sharing project sites with members, as compared to previous trips in which members were split up amongst tasks. Kim never thought that a trip could mean so much, but truly loved the time spent in Indianapolis and with the Habitat family. The trip really made the location, rather than the location being the focus of the trip. Dalton got to bond with a few Tigers throughout the week and coined the term, "Ladies, please." Jane was excited to serve the community, and enjoyed the time spent with everyone, even if it was simply falling asleep after a few too many episodes of Criminal Minds. Steph didn't foresee such a strong bond with the group and can even point out that we're all so different, but similar at the same time. [EX: We all wanted to get different Blizzards, but all wanted to get ice cream.] Allie contrasted her experience from this year to her experience from last year, noting more of an accomplished feeling. She also reflected on her time as a leader as a time for learning and growing. Overall, there was just so much that we gained from this experience. While we began the week with a goal to serve the growing community, we ended the week with a feeling of growth within ourselves.

Tampa-Animal Rescue

Wild Life on Easy Street
Blog #6: The Boys Are Back in Town

With every intention of waking up at 5:15, we drifted to sleep on our last night in this Tampa paradise. However, when you don't get to sleep until 1:00, 5:15 comes earlier than you'd think. So when we rolled out of our cots at 6, folded them up, loaded into our trusty vans-black thunder and white lightening, and pulled out of Mary Help of Christians for the last time it was right around 7. We waved goodbye to Tom and Kay, our hosts, Gloria, our new goat friend, and the gymnasium where we shared tattoos, secrets, knock out victories, mafia defeats, and quite a few cuddle puddles.

Tampa has been an opportunity for each of us to grow, learn, and expand our horizons. We learned the damage that one fur farm can do. But we also learned the power of just a few human beings with compassion and we found strengths within ourselves that we didn't know we had. Maybe it had something to do with all of those trees we uprooted.

Either way, we're all bringing something back with us-new friends, new jokes, new t-shirts, and a new perspective. We hope this new perspective will impact our everyday lives and in the end impact our campus and our peers. Also, if you happen to see a few people casually uprooting stumps around Mizzou's campus, just know it's MU ASB-Tampa....gone rogue.

See you soon CoMo town!!!! MU ASB Tampa, signing out!

Columbia SC - Health/Spanish Speaking

You never know a day will be unforgettable when you wake up.

We woke up at 6:40 a.m. this morning, which means we were automatically 10 minutes late. Our drive to good ol' Micky D's was fantastic. Being that it is Kelsie's brithday (HAPPY ASBIRTHDAY, KELSIE!), we rocked out to T-Swift, One Direction, Spice Girls, and the legendary Ms. Britney Spears. Some of us (Evan) even tried to harmonize with the original songs, so that was pretty great.

Once we arrived at PASOs, we finished our laminations, booklets, and website editing. Most of us worked at Myriam's office while discussing every topic under the sun, from interracial relationships to high school drama. At 11 a.m. we were ready to have lunch. And boy, it was delicious. We had ceviche, rice and beans, chips and dip, and a really great vegetarian quesadilla for Evan. Also, TRES LECHES was a thing at lunch today. It was beautiful. We should probably explain that Tres Leches is the most delicious type of cake on the face of this earth. There are no words to describe its deliciousness. Trust us.

Finally, it was time to head to our now-infamous canoe float trip. We got lost on our way there, which in hindsight foreshadowed the rest of our day. We also drove by an impressive number of cemeteries... Which thankfully did NOT foreshadow the rest of our day.

It took about 15 minutes for one of our canoes to capsize. The first victims were Lance and Nate/Matt, who lost their shoes and life jackets in the river. Everything was recovered, though. The next victims were Landon and Jazmin, and keep in mind the latter can't swim. Landon almost lost his keys, and both of them were soaking wet. It was at this point that Evan spotted a snake, but no one listened to his scream because we were too worried about Jazmin (she was alright though, no worries!).

The trip was fairly uneventful for a while. Kelsie and Paula were masters at canoeing. They were ahead of everybody, and they dodged every branch and tree imaginable. Then, things got really crazy.

No one knew how long the trip was supposed to be, and that includes Kevin, our supposed tour guide. Audra thought it'd be roughly 4 miles long, but no one knew for certain. We paddled back and forth, up and down, trying to find the landing bank. Nothing worked. Then Audra and Alyssa went ahead of us to look for Kevin, and that was the last time the rest of the group saw them. Until we finally reached land, at least.

The rest of the group was confused, baffled, and amazed by the size of this creek. Actually, it was a swamp maze. We thought we were lost, and Paula began to worry about sleeping in the woods. She really didn't want to sleep in the woods. Maddie had granola bars and sweatpants, so she was a little more prepared. The rest of us debated when was the appropriate time to consider cannibalism.

Our arms were tired, and our minds weren't functioning. We just kept paddling, hoping the signs on the trees would lead us somewhere dry. It was all very dramatic.

Kevin was the talk of the town. Kelsie was the only one who did not associate the name Kevin with our tour guide, and her best guess was that Kevin was the name of Megan's paddle. At this point, we'd like to clarify this blog is 100% accurate and truthful.

Finally, after a long, exhausting, and mentally-challenging course, we found Audra and Alyssa standing on the landing bank with the "trustworthy" Kevin. Paula, Kelsie, Megan and Evan immediately began to sing "We Are The Champions" euphorically, driven mad by exhaustion. Paula actually swung her paddle up and down while yelling, too. It was very poetic.

We finally left the creek and got back to the church where we're staying. The girls stole the boys' locker room because it had more showers - we were determined to celebrate Kelsie's birthday as fast as humanly possible.

The restaurant was beautiful, the food was delicious, and honestly, everybody had the time of their lives. Then, the cherry on top of the sundae: Audra and Alyssa surprised us with a birthday pinata named Lucille. Kelsie beat Lucille up with a bat, but Jazmin was the one who managed to break the pinata. We ate candy, changed our clothes, and then most of us went to bed.

Our dramatic canoeing experience has made us closer as ASBuddies. This week went by so fast, and every minute of it was awesome. It was truly unforgettable, in the best sense of the word.

Well, this is it. We'll head back home tomorrow, and Megan and Paula could not be more bitter about it. But hey, all good things must come to an end. Hasta luego, ASB! At least until next year.

Tampa-Animal Rescue

Wild life on easy street
Blog #5: Warm bodies, the reckoning

We were able to fend off the cold by transporting our cots two clicks to the south, also known as the heated annex. We woke this morning and began our trek towards Treasure Island where we would be sweating alongside the Tampa Bay Watch building up their oyster shells to prevent the erosion of the coastal ecosystem. This incorporated shoveling shells into mesh bags and relocating them along the shore of an island nearby. We worked hard for hours, knee deep in ice cold ocean water, and transported these incredibly heavy bags.

We then went to the clock tower for some quality American burgers, wings, and ribs. From here, we're heading to the beach! See you soon, Missouri!

Greenville, SC — Children

This is it, guys.

After an incredible five days with Pendleton Place and a week in Greenville, we're headed home tomorrow. No one knew quite what to expect on our first day there, but we all fell in love with the place. The outpouring of love and caring we've received from the Pendleton staff has been incredible, and we'll miss everyone. To Jed, Brandon, Ms. Ranzella, Ms. Connie, Laurie, the girls, and everyone else who has welcomed us so graciously, this last blog is for you.

Today wasn't quite like the other days we've had at Pendleton. We didn't paint or de-clutter any more of Pendleton's rooms because the girls started their spring break today, and quite frankly, we had pretty much run out of things to paint. But we enjoyed a quiet morning while the girls played mini-golf at the sad (and now closed, actually) golf course downtown.

Since there wasn't too much work to finish in the morning, part of the team decorated the dining room for Claire's birthday. The hats were a particular hit, and Brittany even wore hers all day. Pendleton was amazing and bought a coconut cake for everyone to share. We hope Brandon will enjoy some of the leftovers tomorrow for his birthday! Before we enjoyed some of Ms. Ranzella's Southern feast, Laurie brought some of her own matzoh ball soup to celebrate Passover with the group. Let's be honest, we had no clue Greenville even sold matzoh, so we loved getting a chance to eat some authentic Jewish food and to be Sarah and Bari's passover family for this year. After the soup, we dived straight in to Ms. Ranzella's Southern smorgasbord. We were so grateful she was willing to cook for us. The meatloaf, sweet tea, mac and cheese, and greens were delicious, but most of all, we loved listening to Ms. Ranzella's stories. She's an inspiring woman, and we've loved to learn from her this week. We tried to compliment her on her fantastic cooking, but she shrugged us off, saying she was "just practicing." Her attitude, kindness, and devotion to what she does will definitely stay with us.

Since the girls were on break, we got to spend most of the afternoon with them. We baked and decorated cupcakes, worked on friendship bracelets, and just talked. It's odd to think that we stood in front of a roomful of strangers just a few days ago, because we weren't strangers when we said goodbye. We've loved listening to the girls this past week — they've let us into their lives, and for that, we're thankful. We've learned so much from the girls and the Pendleton Place staff. They inspired us, they challenged us, and they'll stay with us when we return to Missouri.

All we can say at the end of this trip is thank you. Thank you to Mizzou for sponsoring ASB, thank you to ASB for being an incredible org, and thank you to the girls and staff at Pendleton Place for being the best hosts for which we could have asked.

None of us are ready to go back to Missouri tomorrow. We would stay if we could, but since we can't, we're armed with ideas to bring back to Columbia. We already have plans for pinwheel gardens at Mizzou, and we're so excited to share what we've learned this week with others. It was a crazy, amazing week. What we hope to take away from this trip is that we're "just practicing," like Ms. Ranzella. We want to strive to improve — caring more for others and always finding other ways to help. We're inspired by what we've seen in Greenville this week, and we hope other ASB groups have the privilege of coming back to Pendleton Place.

We'd just get down for that.

Yogis4lyfe

Knoxville-environment

Today was our free day and we went to the smokies to hike. It was beautiful and we had a blast. There was a little more snow than we expected...as in we expected no snow....and there was a lot. But none the less, it was amazing. Naturally Adam was always ready for his close up. We're getting up at 6 for our final run in knoxville tomorrow before we head back to Columbia, we're a little sad but sleepy so were going to go to bed. night. love you.

ASBuddies out.

PS. Dear Bridgit's and others' Grandmothers,
We did not fall off the mountain. Thanks for thinking of us. We had a great time!

Love,
us again

Knoxville-environment

Lunch break!

Knoxville-environment

Top of the hike

Knoxville-environment

ASBackseat-babies

Iowa City - Public Health

We left Iowa City this morning and have arrived home in Columbia, Mo.
It's great to be back, but we already miss our friends from the
University of Iowa. Here's a short recap of who we served and what we
were up to the past two days:

On Thursday morning we helped Habitat for Humanity remodel a home for
a family. We sanded the walls and ceiling, mudded the corners, and
helped fix a chain fence in the backyard. The work was really
difficult, especially sanding the ceiling, which covered us in white
dust and was hard on our arms and backs, but it was also so rewarding.
It's great to know we played even a small role in providing a family
with home ownership. The Habitat employees were also very
inspirational. One 41-year-old man is a private contractor who signed
up for a six-month shift with AmeriCorps and will be hired by Habitat
after; he had built his own home and now wants to give back to others.
We also got to meet a couple who are putting in 250 hours each of
sweat equity toward their own Habitat home; they were from the Congo!

At the Hope Lodge on Thursday evening, we cooked wayyyy too much pasta
and had a ton of fun eating with residents, who were mainly over 50.
We really enjoyed seeing the lodge and meeting the people, who had a
lot of flexibility and independence, such as cooking their own meals
and coming and going as they please. Many of them live just over an
hour away and some as far as 300 miles or more, so the lodge is a
great home away from home as they undergo treatments. The director was
also fascinating. A survivor herself, she ran the lodge and
participates in Above and Beyond Cancer, a group that's racing across
the U.S. from the west to east coast in a relay of marathon runners to
lobby for health care access. She'd also climbed Everest with other
survivors. And she has an MPH, which a few of our group is getting in
grad school now.

In our reflection we talked about how it can be easy to be too
sympathetic toward people when they have cancer, so not wanting them
to do dishes or other chores, for example. But actually they're very
strong and want to continue living normally and even caring for
others, so we should treat them as we would anyone else but provide as
much support as possible, which the Hope Lodge does very well.

On Friday we ate at Bluebird Dinner, which had the most fantastic
cinnamon crunch French toast and omeletes, then drove the 4.5 hours
home to CoMo so people could turn around and depart elsewhere for
Easter.

It was an amazing trip, and we're excited to hang out with all of our
new friends! :)





Sent from my iPad

kissimmee-child health

Abbie Bouse and Kristin Otteblips

Coming to you from the land where calling burnt pasta-roni out of one pot for ten people at 11pm dinner is not even questioned. To begin to describe the past week in words would not even come close to doing it justice. Give Kids the World is a place like nothing else in the entire universe. Give Kids the World is a place where kids, no matter what their life story, are given the opportunity to soak up every moment of their childhood, and for this one week, live in a world that is not reality. Give Kids the World is a place that is only imaginable in dreams, and for this one week, every child that walks through the doors is given the opportunity to have all of their dreams come true. To have been given the opportunity to be a part of these children's week is something for which I will be eternally grateful.

As the Gingerbread House opened Wednesday evening, and the families started coming to eat after a long day at the parks, I noticed a young woman walk in with a small boy with physical and mental disabilities in a wheel chair. As she made it through the line, she got two plates of food, one for herself, and one for the boy. After filling both of the plates, the woman asked if the boy's plate could be blended together. A little while into the evening, as I went to clean off a table, I noticed that same woman, sitting in the back room, feeding the small boy. She sat there patiently, with a smile on her face, feeding the boy bite by bite talking to him the entire time not expecting any conversation or anything in return. At about 7:30, as I went again to start cleaning the chairs and tables in the back room, I noticed that the woman was still sitting with the child, but had now moved on to eating herself. She had sat with this child for an hour and a half, as her full plate got cold, before even thinking about herself. This is just one of the many small moments that I will always remember from this week.

This week has been more than I ever could've imagined, and like many other spring breakers out there, I can't help but wish it wouldn't end. Knowing that this morning was the last time that I will ever see the families that I have begun to recognize these past four days is heartbreaking. Thinking about this past week, and knowing that I will probably never again be given the opportunity to hear "sleep well" from one of the cutest volunteers ever, Annabelle, as we leave the village for the night is sad. But thinking about the little girls face after I painted her nails this morning, or the boy's grin when he saw his new airbrush tattoo I attempted to perfect, are things that I wouldn't trade for anything. Before this week, I would not have thought that the simple act of carrying someone's dinner tray to their seat would completely make their evening. With the beginning of each volunteer shift, whether it was to carrying trays at the Gingerbread House, helping write letters to Santa at Winter Wonderland, or painting nails at the La-Ti-Da Spa, we were reminded that there is no day but today. Today is the day, so everything, whether it be that "good morning" at 7a.m. when you've barely been awake for thirty minutes, that wave while walking past a stranger, or simply a smiling face, really do matter.  So coming to you, from the land where it's Christmas every Thursday, from the land where ten people who barely knew each other spent a week making memories that will last forever, a land where kids are literally given the world is an extremely happy and grateful ASBer.