Whew, it's second semester with seven weeks left... Then I'm done and it's summer. What?! Where has the time gone?
Spring break was last week. I participated in an Alternative Spring Break trip to the Grand Bayou, Louisiana. Talk about eye-opening and life-changing. Nine other college students and myself stuffed ourselves (and all of our crap and mounds of food) into a twelve-person van for a 30+ hour drive down there. The drive down was split over three days, so it wasn't that bad at all. An interesting night was spent in Atlanta, GA... Interesting place to stay, interesting people encountered. Once we finally made it to the Bayou, we suffered all sorts of van problems, but once they were sorted out, we commenced in four days of relief work (aka, cleaning up debris, planting trees, cleaning houses, building flower boxes). The area was completely, and I mean COMPLETELY wiped out by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and there is still SO much to be done. It was ridiculous that we were cleaned up debris from storms that happened 3.5 years ago. The work was so rewarding and the people were SO welcoming and kind... They took us around the bayou and even took us to see alligators! We also took an afternoon/evening trip to New Orleans... A totally different kind of destruction, but destruction nonetheless. Then very early Saturday morning, very much against our will, we left the bayou to begin a 30+ hour drive home over the course of just two days this time. Somehow we made it, and now I've been back for four days. It's so surreal. It was surreal being down there, and I think it's just as surreal as being back. Two completely different worlds... The experience was definitely life-changing, and it was sure as heck the best spring break I've ever had.
Now I'm stuck figuring out my summer plans, waiting to hear back about study abroad, and trying to keep up with all of my work before my head explodes.
