Nailed It! [West VA] - Day 6

January 10, 2014

Last day. 

What with the warmer weather and end of our trip, we all decided we wanted to explore West Virginia in its raw form. First, we worked in the morning. We finished up working as much as possible in each of the three areas (wifi café, niches, gymnasium). We also cut and nailed (NAILED IT) wood to make wooden letters for our RUTGERS memorial. Explanation: There have been previous RU Alternative Breaks that have been to West VA to work with SALS, and a tradition has been for each group to make a wooden letter that would contribute to spelling out RUTGERS. Can't beat RU school pride. 

There had been a R U T when we got there, so we contributed by making the remaining letters. We only signed and dated the G. Can you read all of our names? Hashtags – perfect for referencing our time period and the hashtags we used on instagram/twitter (which y’all should follow if you’re not already – RUCommServe / @RUCommService), as well as some inside jokes/memories. 

After working, we headed out with 2 goals – to see a small nearby waterfall and visit the New Gorge Bridge. The waterfall was so pretty, and we took a lot of pictures around it. 

Next destination – bridge. We got a little lost due to some confusion over directions, but made it just as the sun was setting, via driving down a narrow, precipitous one-way lane. So so worth it. Did you know the New River Gorge Bridge is the third highest in the United States?! And fourth longest steel single span arch bridge in the world. It was quite impressive.

We had a special dinner of baked spaghetti, a la Vickie. For Vickie, SALS is her life, and it is inspiring to see someone so dedicated to a cause. There was live music entertainment and all the workers were present, as well as the other volunteer group. Our Alt Breaks group and the other group (from Michigan) actually had a catchphrase showdown. 

The competition was fierce, and tension was high. There were so many ties, which only amplified the stress. Eventually, however, a real winner was decided …. Rutgers! Woooo! Definitely most intense catchphrase game any of us have played. Is Catchphrase a division level sport, yet? We. Are. Ready.

We may be Team Two, but we were number One!

That night, we had a long reflection session that devoted some individual time for each of the 13 members of the trip. It was incredible and heartening to hear that your hard work had not gone unnoticed, or that people had so much faith in you. Everyone worked hard this entire trip, and honestly, I don’t think any of us would have asked for anyone else to have spent the week with. We all contributed to make this an amazing experience. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I feel as if the time spent in West VA, though relatively short, has had a huge impact on my life. I think all of us would say the same. One of the prerequisities to coming on this trip was keeping an open mind, contributing from our past experiences, fulfilling our love for service, and coming back home with a changed perspective. I think all those goals were actualized for all of us. 

Yatee