Mississin' Mississippi

Today was the first day back at school after spring break, as well as the first day of tech week for spring ballet...we're performing on Friday (yikes!).  It was a bit rough getting out of bed this morning and getting back to the grind, but I am so unbelievably happy right now.

Last week, I went down to Biloxi, Mississippi with a group on campus called Y'ALL (Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning).  There were approximately 60 of us and we skipped the whole "Frat Lauderdale" thing in favor of staying in a church on bunk beds and working on several different housing projects in and around Biloxi.  I could not be more thrilled with how the week went.  I'd been wanting to do an alternative spring break for quite some time, and I am SO happy that I decided to do it. 

Breakdown of the week:
We left on a charter bus from Bloomington at 2 am Saturday night/Sunday morning.  It was a bit of a long trip, but at least we left in the middle of the night so I slept a lot of the way, though sleeping on charter buses is not the easiest feet, especially when you're 5'9".  When we arrived Sunday afternoon to Biloxi Christian Church, where we stayed, most of us dropped our stuff in our new living quarters and promptly went outside to enjoy the gorgeous coastal sunshine and throw a frisbee around.  I played what I think was my first game of Ultimate (by the way, I'm TERRIBLEEE).  We also played the largest, most epic game of Catch Phrase I've ever seen.  So much fun :)

 
We were all split up into groups of about 7 or 8, each with a group leader.  I fell in love with my group because everyone was just awesome.  Anyhow, our group was assigned to Gautier, MS on Monday, where we basically worked on picking up litter.  This didn't thrill us too much at the beginning because, after all, it was something we could have been doing in Bloomington...we didn't have to ride a bus for 13 hours to do it, but as the day went on, my group bonded more and more and we realized how poverty-stricken and desperate the city of Gautier is.  They simply don't have the means to clean up all the trash there is and rely on volunteers like us to do the honors.  Perhaps not the most glamorous or fulfilling day of the trip, but ok nonetheless.  We returned to camp and had dinner and ended the night with a bonfire, s'mores, and ghost stories.  Straight up summer camp.  Fabulous.

Tuesday, my group stayed at camp and worked on clearing tons of brush and ripping siding off one of the bunkhouses.  The camp was created and is maintained by volunteers, so it is up to groups like us to do this kind of work.  Tearing siding is HARD work.  My back was soooo beyond sore the next day, but it was so much fun.  It was especially awesome to see our faculty advisor, Conner, tear absolutely gigantic pieces of siding off the bunk house by himself with no help from anyone else.  Beast.  That evening was spent playing never-ending games of spoons and Apples to Apples.
Wednesday was probably my favorite day of the trip.  We had a half day of work and went to what is called the Project Houses.  We did a ton of interior painting and sanding.  Then, we got picked up and taken back to Gautier, where all 60 of us IU kids were served up a good old fashioned Mississippi Shrimp Boil.  One word: AH-MAAY-ZING.  Best jambalaya I've ever had.  Literally.  Then, we took a tour of Biloxi, which is still in need of so much help.  It was definitely an eerie sight to see pylons where a bridge used to be (in some places there are still pieces of road in the water) and driveways and walkways that led to nowhere.  It definitely put everything in perspective.  A woman spoke to us about her Katrina experience, and it was just heartwrenching.  She and her husband rebuilt their house just feet from where their old one was essentially blown away.  Imagine losing everything.  That's what happened to almost everyone in Biloxi.  People don't realize this, but Katrina hit New Orleans at a Category 1, but Biloxi at a Category 5.  The only reason N.O. got so much more press was because the levees broke.  Now, don't get me wrong, that was horrific and terrible and awful, but people don't understand that Katrina basically killed the city of Biloxi.  There is so much rebuilding still left to do it's unreal.  But enough with the depressing stuff.  We topped off the day with a visit to the beach, and, while it wasn't as warm as we'd have liked it to be, it was still great to be able to stick our feet in the Gulf. 

Thursday, we went back to the Project Houses and did A LOT of exterior painting.  I was up on 18 foot scaffolding (terrifying, btw) painting window sills and conquering fears.  It was pretty fabulous.  We were such efficient workers that we had about a half hour to kill before we got picked back up.  We then had dinner, some last minute down time, cleaning, a final meeting, and then got on the bus around 9 and headed back to Btown.  We arrived around lunch time Friday morning and I spent the remainder of the weekend hanging out at one of my new friend's houses with  a couple other people I met on the trip.

Everyone on the trip was so unbelievably wonderful.  I can't even tell you in words how awesome it was to have a break from the normal college greek life grind.  I feel really rested and definitely ready to tackle the rest of tech week.  I know God is doing something truly great in my life right now, and I honestly cannot wait to find out where He takes me next.  I'm so grateful for Y'ALL and all who went on the trip and for the welcoming people of Mississippi, without whom, we wouldn't have had a place to stay (or as many funny stories as we did). 

If you are even considering an alternative spring break, DO IT!  Seriously, you won't regret it.  I'm hoping I'll be able to do the Y'ALL summer trip, but it all depends on my summer school schedule.  Crossin' my fingers though!  Hope your springs are off to a lovely start.  I'm so excited to perform this weekend.  Serenade, here we go!!