Photos from Mississippi

Click on "View Gallery" to see photos from my recent trip to Mississippi:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=la8opbq.754vcesy&x=0&y=115tnx&localeid=en_US

Enjoy! :)

Hurricane Gustav Relief Trip: Day 5

Today was another day full of stripping, acid, and repositioning beds.

We are on track to finish early tomorrow for a fun evening in New Orleans. I might need to take a bath in turpentine before our night on the town. Whenever I think that I have removed all the paint from my skin, it keeps popping up in funny places...

Hurricane Gustav Relief Trip: Days 3 & 4

We took the first set of after photos today!!

We finished scraping the carpet glue off the floors, painted the walls and floors, and put more beds back in place! If we keep up this pace, we are going to have most, if not all, of the dorms finished by before we leave on Friday!

We watched the WLOX documentary, "Katrina - South Mississippi's Story," to remind us why we are here. The before, during, and after footage covered by local residents presents a very powerful perspective of the storm. The before footage helps us to recognize slow progress but the need for volunteers will be here for a very long time. Three years post-Katrina, the Mississippi coast is only 30% rebuild and experts estimate that it will take another 8-10 years to fully recover (statistics from www.campvictor.org).

Mississippi Nightlife

After dinner, my co-workers and I took a short walk to The Dugout, a local pub, to grab a cold beer after dinner. It was a pleasant surprise to find out that Monday night football is celebrated with FREE pork chops on the grill and jambalaya. I wasn't hungry because I had already eaten two helpings of dinner but I absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to enjoy authentic southern cuisine. It was delicious.

When I finished my second dinner, the chef introduced my co-workers and I to Connie Moran, mayor of Ocean Springs. It was fascinating to learn about her leadership in the midst of Hurricane Katrina. She urged us to consider running for public office someday. After she left, it was time for our group to get another round. As I was waiting for the bartender, a very nice elderly gentlemen (Francis) handed me $20 and said, "Thank you for all the work you are doing. Please let a citizen buy you a drink." Francis shook his head at me when I said thank you and tried to give him his change. After a lovely conversation with Francis, his wife, and a few other locals, they insisted on setting up a free dinner for our group at the Beau Rivage casino on a night most convenient for us before we depart.

I normally don't like Mondays but this one has been most excellent.

I'm having an amazing experience thus far. We are making a difference and every person we meet is so friendly with an interesting story to tell.

Hurricane Gustav Relief Trip: Day 2

The lights in our dorms came on bright and early at 6:00 am. We woke up to the smell of a hot homemade breakfast before our first day of volunteering.

We spent the morning moving 25+ bunkbeds and nightstands so that we could get the dorms ready for painting. The felt pads kept slipping out from under the bed posts so Eloise cut up large squares of carpet remnants to help us move the furniture. The carpet remnants were also great for moving people as noted by the races that Katie and I had in the hallway while two of our group members took their smoking break.

The carpet removal was finished before our arrival but we had to get on our hands and knees and use something acidic to scrape the glue off the floor. We put two coats of paint on the walls and will be reinstalling the outlet covers tomorrow. When paint splattered on me, I was thankful for my lifetime supply Bank of America clothing. We also put something that "WILL BURN YOUR SKIN" on the cement floor so that the paint will stick tomorrow. Two of my co-workers love to mother me and banned me from that substance. While they were pouring toxic chemicals, Katie and I began putting beds back where they belong in the dorms where the painting had been completed.

I'm thankful for...

• Good water pressure
• Showers
• Comfortable mattresses
• The acid didn't sting my hand for very long
  
• Jackie's common sense
• Eloise's brilliant carpet idea
  
• Connie's super-strength
  
• Katie's energy and enthusiasm
• Not falling off of the ladder while I was painting
  
• Successfully washing the paint off my body and out of my hair
  

Hurricane Gustav Relief Trip: Day 1

When my co-workers and I arrived safely in the Gulf Coast this afternoon, I wasn't sure where we would be needed the most during our Hurricane Relief trip. On the long car ride from New Orleans, LA to Ocean Springs, MI, it was unsettling to see how much debris still seems to go on for miles - I'll post photos upon my return. Camp Victor, a disaster response agency, that provides lodging and volunteer assignments was also impacted by the recent hurricanes:

"Volunteers [are] needed immediately for help restoring Camp Victor Ministry’s roof and dorm rooms after Hurricane Gustav!"

I was happy to hear that there are going to be 200+ volunteers coming to Camp Victor in October. However, the dorms are a mess and Bank of America is the only source of volunteers for this week. My co-workers and I are going to spend our week ripping out carpeting, painting the walls/floors, covering electrical outlets, and moving furniture.

I introduced the "I'm thankful for..." box this evening so that we can open it and reflect during our Appreciation Ceremony/Dinner on Friday night. I am thankful that I don't have to repair the roof over my head. I am also thankful that this trip is going smoothly. We have a great and diverse set of personalities and we are all excited about our upcoming week of community service.

"Life's a journey, not a destination."

Between heavy traffic in Rochester, crossing the border with Red Sox Nation, and construction on the QEW, our delays seemed endless. At 6:30, Byron, Jessica, and I realized that we were not going to arrive at Roger's Stadium in time to hear Peet sing.

Garmin helped us find the nearest sports bar where we frantically and politely explained that the three of us had spent the day traveling to see our friend sing "O Canada." Upon our request, the Lone Star Texas Grill (in Mississauga), kindly turned off the Olympics and changed all of the channels in the bar to Major League Baseball so we could watch Peet's performance on television.

Unfortunately, while he was singing beautifully and throwing the opening pitch, we were watching food commercials instead of enjoying the game from our fantastic seats on the first base line. Jessica won the arrival bet when we finally sat down during the 5th inning.

Jessica and I were originally going to root for the most attractive team but that plan was discarded in the midst of our search for ballpark franks. Being a Red Sox fan seemed like fun so we cheered loudly for the away team during the 7th inning stretch.

Byron tried to protest when Jessica and I suggested that we move to highest seat in the nosebleed section to finish watching the game. The voice of reason was outvoted and the three of us proceeded to climb to the top of the stadium. Our new friend, Val, the security guard, took our photo after he informed us that we could not have an entire section to ourselves.

We were craving Dippin Dots so the three of us left the nosebleed section and the stadium to get our beloved ice cream. When it was nowhere to be found, we decided to try poutine, an authentic Canadian dish, which seemed like a reasonable alternative at the time. We ran into our concession stand friends from Massachusetts at an Irish Pub and we were all happy when I received a confirmation via text that the Red Sox had won the game.

When Jessica, Byron, and I got back to the hotel we ordered a second dinner to go with our Simon celebratory champagne. We raised our coffee mugs for a toast to friendship and how much we have all learned in just one year. The night was filled with great conversation, laughter, and late night TV.

I was the first person to fall asleep and the first person awake in the morning. Not wanting to disturb Jessica or Byron, I went to the front desk to request a clean cup to quench my thirst. The hotel clerk mumbled something so I repeated my question. He still spoke softly but this time it seemed like he was talking slowly because he wanted me to read his lips. When I got back to the hotel room, I realized that I was still wearing the complimentary earplugs that I put on before I went to bed.

We spent our lazy morning laughing about our newly created memories. Byron stayed in Toronto another night and Jessica and I hit the road in time to get McDonald's breakfast. Traffic was still horrendous as the QEW was stop and go at 20 MPH and didn't clear up until we passed the Lewiston bridge.

To pass the time, Jessica and I began blaring Christmas music and wishing nearby cars a Merry Christmas. Most people responded with raised eyebrows, a five second pause, and reciprocal holiday greetings. Occasionally, we received dirty looks which prompted us to turn up the volume of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and start dancing in our seats. We were a sight to behold and were usually able to make the most grumpy people smile. At long last we made it to the customs booth with the least amount of questioning that either of us had ever experienced:

::Jessica pulls up and slightly lowers the volume to our Christmas Music as she gives the customs officer our identification::

Jessica (to the customs officer): "If people are crossing the border in a good mood today, it's because of us."
Customs Officer: "What was your business in Canada?"
Melisa: "We were spreading Christmas cheer!"
Jessica: "If we are going to be waiting at the border until Christmastime, we might as well have Christmas spirit!"
Melisa: "Oh! And, we went to the Red Sox game."
Customs Officer: "Did you bring anything back?"
Jessica: "Nope. Nothing, not even money."

::Customs Officer returns our ID, waves us on, and tells us to go ahead. Jessica turns up the music.::

Jessica and Melisa (waving): "Merry Christmas!"
Customs Officer (smiling): "I'm a Yankees fan but Merry Christmas to you, too!"

Although we didn't make it to our final destination as early as we had hoped, we had a lot of fun getting there. Friends that couldn't make it were missed. Overall, we had a wonderful time in Toronto and much needed break from our recent exam stress.

When we try this again, we'll arrive in time to hear Peet sing and might even catch a bit more of the ball game.