Post Alternative Spring Break

I had quite a week last week, a week that is hard to put into words. After about 6 months of planning, Alternative Spring Break actually occurred. Ever since I was a student, I've found myself spending time planning and eventually going on ASB trips doing hurricane relief and rebuilding. Three years ago, I found myself in New Orleans leading a group of 11 other students on a Habitat for Humanity build in East New Orleans. Last year, I ended up in Waveland, Mississippi working on a house with a homeowner the entire week with 17 advisers and students. This year, with 12 students from UMass Boston, we made our way to Galveston, TX. We worked so hard the entire week.

Day 1 and 2 we gutted a house in Galveston for Ida, a retired nurse. She returned the favor by taking us all out to Golden Corral, a southern buffet chain (YUM). Day 3 we led students in replanting beach grasses on the beach (thanks to Artist Boat, a nonprofit based out of Galveston) in hopes of keeping the dunes together and growing (more than 15 feet washed away in the storm). We also painted primer on Rosa's home, another Galveston resident. Day 4 we found ourselves trekking out to Surfside Beach, a local beach community and hot spot for summer vacationers in TX. On the drive to Surfside we saw businesses, homes, and the road (we drove on the beach 3/4 the way) utterly destroyed. While in Surfside, students worked on painting and power washing the deck of the local town hall, and a smaller group put up sand fencing to help protect and rebuild the dunes. We returned Friday to paint Rosa's home with a final coat (Avocado green!).

While having this experience was the highlight of my year -- it was physically and emotionally draining all at the same time. I led reflections at night and slept little. I'm still tired today, I haven't had much time to recover. We AmeriCorps*VISTAs are always on duty!

We had fun too though! We checked out Nasa and the Kemah Boardwalk, went to the largest Rodeo in the US, and got a glimpse of the waters around Galveston on an air boat tour. Lastly, we ate so much good food (seafood, burgers, Sonic -- there are no Sonics in MA!). I miss TX and want to go back and help more, but I know that I felt better being able to serve alongside fellow AmeriCorps members there -- I met a fellow Maryland Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA and our amazing AmeriCorps*NCCC Leader Aparna while in TX.

I'm sharing a few videos of the experience on YouTube more are to come!


Yours in Service,

Erika