:)
I spent the whole of my 1-week spring break in Flint, Michigan with a bunch of random NU students. Well I did know 2 out of 13 of them before this, which is also pretty random. The site leader was my GSW facilitator for Chem 101 (Jenny) and a team member was my previous site leader to ASB DC (Marielle).
About Flint (copied from Wiki): Flint is most known for being the birthplace of General Motors, and the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37 that played a vital role in the formation of the United Auto Workers. It has also become a symbol of the decline in the auto industry. Flint area native Michael Moore created the 1989 documentary film Roger & Me dealing with the impact that the closure of several of Flint's General Motors manufacturing plants in the late 1980s had on Flint and the surrounding areas's population.
In short, the closing of Gen Motors caused severe unemployment, which led to poverty and crime. It is known as one of the most dangerous cities in USA O_O which i only got to know on the first day of the trip on the way to Flint. The pastor at the church we were staying at said there would be 35 (?) murders per year in Flint x.x Thank God i'm still alive and safe.
This trip was really diff from the DC one. Reasons:
1) Nature of the trip
This trip was almost 100% service (aka manual labor) as we got to paint the inside of a 6-bedroom house which would be used as a group home for children from Whaley's Children Center before they go on to live on their own/with foster parents. These children are under the court system, removed from their homes becoz of abuse/neglect.
Check their website here: http://www.whaleychildren.org/
Painting is costly. So our group of 13 ppl really really would help them out a lot. in terms of money and time. =)
I enjoy actually working (esp work that dun require my brain to work much, sad to say) more than listening to talks & discussion (coz i tend to forget most of what i heard/feel bored/feel not useful enough). It feels good to be actually doing something.
2) People on this trip
were mostly Asians. Interesting. Besides the two site leaders (Jenny and Adrienne) and Marielle, the rest of us were Asians (incld Indians), and out of the 10, 5 were international students. But everyone bonded well together =)
were mostly sophomores. 2 freshmen incld me, 1 junior, and the rest were sophomores. (Xin Kai is an exception coz he's finishing degree in 3 yrs, so he's kind of between soph/junior.) So i think it was a more 'naive' (i'm not sure whether this is the right word =.=), fresher atmosphere on this trip.
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Experience
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It might be bcoz of Lent. Or bcoz i had gone on ASB trip before. Or bcoz Marielle knows my crazy side. I think i fleshed out a lot during this trip. I surprisingly didn't hesitate much to do most things. Maybe bcoz i really enjoy doing those things (like washing dishes, painting, washing paintbrushes, life stories, being a goofball)
I confirmed that
1. I enjoy washing dishes LOL
2. I know how to clean a kitchen LOL
3. I love being funny and doing silly things
4. I can paint (Trim) the ceiling on a stepladder even though it was scary at first - and although my trimming sucked, to be honest
5. I can cut bell peppers, tomatoes, and chicken! I know (kind of) how to stir fry! And the dish i stir-fried tasted good! (Thanks to the kroger generic brand premade Fajita seasoning)
Talking to God and talking to people definitely helped me make better decisions/gain a clearer view of things during the week. There was a point when i felt down & dunno what to do (which turned out to be PMS as i found out later), but having my Lenten reflection booklets to depend on certainly helped me get out of the rut. And I believe it was God that led me to find the "Crucifix" - a electric/phone pole which was shaped so much like a crucifix, which can be seen from one of the doors of the church we were staying at.
Talking to Jenny was a wonderful experience. I love her. She's wise and genuine.
Lisa also taught me a lot. She knows so many things, and always ready to share knowledge, and yet is neither vain nor overly modest about it.
Ritu. seriously hard worker. inspired me to work hard too.
n others
i need to continue this post later coz i need to sleep. not good idea to sleep during first day of class OTL.............
[tsuzuku]
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