Waking up at 4 AM to catch a shuttle to Newark International is not something I had ever done before. However, it was easy to start the day at this early hour knowing that our service projects were awaiting us right past those airport terminals in Mississippi. After everyone had made it through airport security, the pre-boarding hours proved to be an exciting time to get to know one another. A majority of us were wearing glasses, so naturally a few #teamglasses selfies were in order.
Inside of our living space, there were ~15 bunk beds for both our group and a group from Georgia Southern University separated by a small hallway. The bathrooms and showers were co-ed, which seemed a little odd to me at first, but became the rule instead of the exception by the end of this trip. After settling in, it was time for dinner and for us to meet the Camp Wilkes leader, Steve! The choices were fairly continental, but the most interesting part about eating was cleaning the dishes. In order to produce the least amount of waste products, the scraps of food were saved for composting, while the plates were cleaned using the Triple-Dip (scrub, wash, bleach) system we all grew to appreciate :p. I brought school work with me (even though I avoided it), so after dinner I attempted to start it and ended up having a wonderful get-to-know-each-other conversation with my site leader Saad. I encourage all of you to have these types of in-depth conversations with your site leaders and peers while on this trip :D. At 11 PM, it was time for us to sleep and prepare for our long and eventful first day at the Head Start program.
March 17th, 2014 (Service Day 1 at the Isiah Fredericks School)
Our first day of service (for me and most others) started at 5 AM sharp. We ate a continental breakfast and then prepared for our rides over to the Head Start program location in Biloxi, MS. Up until this point, we were only told that we were going to be working with children of some age group at a school, so needless to say, we were all very excited and nervous to begin our first day of volunteering. When we arrived at our destination, we were quickly signed in and whisked away to our separate rooms. One Team Biloxi volunteer was admitted into each classroom and this was the last time we would see each other for a few hours. After being assigned to my classroom, I slowly closed the door and turned around to see about 20 3-to-5 year olds staring at me inquisitively.
I gazed around the room to see the teacher, Ms. Dusset, preparing breakfast for these young children. I arrived just in time for the meal, so I was asked to sit down with them in order to model good behavior. This was fairly humorous considering I am 6' 2" and the chair I was sitting in was made for 3 year olds. After taking a seat, I tried to subdue my anxiety by asking some of the kids what their names were. After many blank stares and no answers, I realized that I should probably wait until they start asking me questions to begin talking comfortably. When breakfast was finished, I was in charge of cleaning up all of the tableware (and most of the tables, considering a lot of the food missed the mouths of these young children on account of their unfamiliarity with silverware and its purpose).
Ms. Dusset began clapping her hands and singing which meant it was time to learn. I found my spot on the carpet next to all of the kids and began to clap/sing the nursery rhymes belted out by Ms. Dusset. Keeping the attention of the kids was a very challenging task and I commend Ms. Dusset for her ability to do so. After we were finished with the nursery rhymes, it was time for a bathroom break. As with any other time children are asked to line up, this was complete chaos. Eventually, Ms. Dusset brought them all into line and the trip was not problematic at all.
Lunch time was soon which meant it was time for me to set up all of the plates and other dining accessories for the kids. After wiping down the tables, it was then nap time. I went to the break room to meet up with the rest of my peer volunteers. Many of us were exhausted from our early wake-up and classroom service. This break would become a time for us to exchange hilarious classroom stories and our feelings about the nature of the Head Start program. Upon my early return to nap time, I had the chance to finally talk with Ms. Dusset one-on-one and learn more about her story.
Ms. Dusset was born and raised in the south (specifically, Louisiana). Currently, she was on her way to achieving a Master's degree in education and even thought about pursuing a doctoral degree afterwards. She had faced several hardships in her life with respect to personal matters and moving around often, but I never saw her not smiling in class. When I asked her how she made it through everything and still maintained a positive outlook, she replied with "Feel blessed wherever you are. Be blessed wherever you are". I thought this was quite profound and a wonderful motto to live by.
After nap time, we all left the school and returned back to the camp for dinner and reflection. Reflection was my most favorite part of the day because I really enjoyed listening to how my fellow volunteers felt throughout the day and how they handled the chaotic nature of a pre-kindergarten classroom. Understanding the connections between the kids, our teachers, and each other also made for a great reflection experience.
March 18th, 2014 (Service Day 2 at Head Start/Day 1 of Boys and Girls Club)
After another smooth wake-up, it was time to start our second day of service! We all felt a little less anxious heading into the school this time because we knew what was expected of us and how we should handle specific situations. Interestingly enough, on the ride there, we ran into one of Steve's cousins (The Tin Man) who offered words of wisdom and encouragement as we began our trek.
When we arrived at our classrooms, both the teaching assistant and the head teacher were there to help facilitate the goings-on of the school day. For most of us, the school day went by fairly fluidly. The main challenges were trying to keep the attention of 20 3-year-olds and having to constantly explain to them the behavioral rules necessary for a school classroom. My favorite part of this day was "center time" which was a 35 minute period in the day where the kids would play with toys and just be themselves. I was on "puppet duty" where I got to entertain a young kid named Morris. Morris was the only one at the puppet center today, so I figured I should keep him company so he didn't feel left out. It was heartwarming seeing that the smallest amount of attention or care meant so much to these kids. This Head Start program was organized for kids who may not be growing up in the best familial or geographical setting, so being able to make them smile and be carefree definitely made this a wonderful experience :).
As our second school day finished, we decided to head over to the Boys and Girls club in Biloxi to play games with the older kids.
This was a nice change of pace from the hectic school setting, but was still just as rewarding. We were only able to stay for an hour or so on this day, but several games of foursquare and dodgeball still took place which brought along a lot of positive energy.
As the night came to an end, there were a few photoshoot opportunities that took place on the dock at our campsite.
It was great to see that everyone was having a great time and I could not have hoped for a more cohesive crew than #teambiloxi on this trip :3
March 19th, 2014 (Last Day at Head Start/Day 2 at Boys and Girls Club)
As we began our last day of service at Head Start, we felt saddened knowing that this was going to be the last time we would see our young students for a while. Fortunately, Steve's other cousin, the Hump Day Fairy, was there to see us off on this fine Wednesday morning.
The school day routine in the morning was basically second nature to us at this point. There was a moment of spontaneity in my class on this day because we were finally well-behaved enough to go outside to play!! Playing on the playground with my class was another one of the best experiences I had on this trip. I was growing closer to Morris, so naturally I was his playmate today as well. After bringing out a bunch of toys and asking him what he wanted to play with....he picked the empty container that was holding all of them. He then ran around the whole playground with this container on his head while chasing me. Again, seeing all of the kids having fun and just worrying about being kids was a neat experience. The rest of the day seemed to fly by very quickly and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Our respective classes lined up to give us hugs right before we left and then we were off to the Boys and Girls Club once more.
We arrived a little earlier to the club this time around which meant more time to hang with the kids! The best part about being around these kids was the stress-free nature of everything. We could just play games and talk about their day and everything. The dodgeball game was especially fierce today since we arrived at the very beginning of it. Nota Bene: They picked teams and I wasn't picked last, so that was a very exciting time for me :D. After dodgeball, we returned outside to play a large game of catch with a kickball. There was a great feeling of inclusion while playing and it was great to see that we were directly affecting these kids in such a positive manner.
After returning to the camp, it was time to prepare for our New Orleans trip!!!
March 20th, 2014 (Beach Trip/New Orleans Trip/#TeamNOLA Meetup)
After breakfast on this day, we decided to stop by a beach on the way to New Orleans to unwind and have another photoshoot. There were palm trees bright skies involved, so this was a great way to start the morning.
After this brief stop, it was time to make our way to New Orleans!!! Our first stop in this lovely city of eclectic art, music, and culture was the famous Cafe Du Monde. Here, we tried a few beignets, which were basically densified funnel cake, but were still very delicious.
We met an eccentric magician after leaving this establishment and then we proceeded to walk around town and view the colorful architecture.
After traveling down the very interesting Bourbon Street, we got dinner at an authentic Nawlins restaurant where a few of us had the always popular Po Boy sandwiches. I even tried the fried alligator here (which actually does taste just like chewy chicken).
When we were finished eating, it was time to meet up with our fellow Alt Breaks team! It was great sharing some RU pride and hearing others' stories of service and enlightenment on this trip.
We then returned back to Camp Wilkes to get a good night's rest for our last day of service (which we were told was going to involve environmental work with Steve!)
March 21st, 2014 (Last Day of Alt Breaks Service/Environmental Day)
On this Friday, we headed to a nature reserve to save the Mississippi-famous Live Oak trees which were covered in vines and unwanted underbrush. These trees would eventually die if such plants were not removed, so it was nice to know we were keeping history alive.
With the help of Steve and his son Francis, we cleared out a large chunk of area within a few hours. This definitely felt much different than when we were in the classroom, but it was still great to be conducting service with the #hellatight #teambiloxi. For lunch, Steve had a surprise for us and took us down to the giant Ruskin Oak tree nearby. This tree has been around so long that its branches have grown underground and formed roots again. As Steve said, this tree is a great metaphor of resilience for the people of Mississippi. Even after Katrina, everyone there re-grew their roots and began anew to face the day with an even stronger disposition.
After visiting the tree, we returned to the nature reserve to finish up our outdoors work and then we all headed back to camp for our last night together.
March 22nd, 2014 (Returning Home)
Just like when we were flying down to Mississippi, we had to get up very early again for our flight home. I didn't mind this wake-up because we were able to see the sunrise from the Atlanta airport :). After safely making it back to Newark International, it was time to prepare for our return to RU.
On a personal note, this trip was the best social/service experience of my whole career here at Rutgers. Working with Head Start, the Boys and Girls program, my peers, and with Steve has forever changed me in a way that no other academic experience has. I've learned so much about everyone else (and myself) and even the thought of this trip inspires me today. We set out to uplift others and become hellatight and that's exactly what we did. I could not have asked for a more lovely, positive-minded, thoughtful group of participants and site leaders on this trip and I can't wait until we meet up again soon :D.
