Americorps: our lives

It has been awhile since I have written a blog, don't worry I am alive and kicking, although we have a lot of down time, it seems like I never really use it for productive purposes. So I am sure you people are curious just what is taking up my valuable time and what a day in the life of Emily is now.

A DAY IN THE LIFE
We do PT 4 days a week...PT starts at 5:30 AM, we do it for an hour, then we eat breakfast and have a little bit of downtime, at 8 AM we go to work, we work till noon, have lunch then work till 5. Come home, some days I shower then eat dinner at 5:30. Now, after work we often visit the local watering hole Clydes or we visit the Mockingbird Cafe which has been described as the living room of Bay St. Louis. The Mockingbird has live music on Thursday nights and is basically a coffee shop with perhaps the best vibe of any coffee shop I have ever visited. So, that is a day in the life of moi! Oh sometimes I lay in the hammock and often go to bed around 1o:30ish.

THE WORK
Our team has been separated into 3 mini teams of 4. We each had our own house that we were working on with a site supervisor telling us what to do. My team was lucky and got the best supervisor ever with a lot of knowledge who also happens to be our age. So we have had the opportunity to use many power tools, plumb, do instillation, lay down lament flooring, tyvek, paint, work on the deck, and a lot more. So, basically I am learning how to do a little of everything. The other two teams have had a more frustrating experience of painting and fixing other volunteers mistakes...but now our houses are done and we are working on the interior of a new house, so my other teammates are soon to experience lots of new things!

LAGNIAPPE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Our site is Lagniappe, Lagniappe was founded after Katrina in order to help with the rebuilding efforts. www.prayforthebay.com is their website if any of you are interested. Lagniappe is an amazing organization with a great staff, the staff are mainly made of people who came down to help out for a weekend or so and decided to commit this time of their lives to the rebuilding efforts. Everyone is very welcoming, laid back, and extremely friendly. Immediately we felt a sense of joining a family. Our accommodations are great, we are very comfortable and living in the lapse of luxury compared to other Americorps teams. Many of the staff members are also young and in addition there are Habitat staff and Americorps state members who are also our age, so we have a lot of people to talk to other than one another. In addition, multiple groups come in and out of Lagniappe to volunteer for weekends or week times, so there are people around always.

THE TEAM
Our team is the best. That is basically all there is to say. We get along very well with each other and seem to understand when someone just needs their quiet time (which is really important when you are living and working with the same 13 people). We tend to do just about everything together and there is not a single person on the team who cannot talk to anyone else on the team. Everyone is fairly laid back and loves to laugh and have fun! We may still be in our "honeymoon" stage but I think that this bond will follow us throughout the year and forever... We also are a bit exclusive, we already don't want to make friends with anyone else but each other...

BAY ST. LOUIS
Words cannot describe this town. I am confident that not a single teammate can put in words the way we feel in Bay St. Louis. My teammate Jill was trying to describe how much we love this team and found herself saying that everyday is a good day in Bay St. Louis. It seems that even when we have a rough day at work, we end the day happy. Bay St. Louis has this feel to it, this sense of calming. Rather than feeling like I am working in a town, making a difference, helping people, I feel like I am visiting a family at their house and simply helping them get some things done. There is still quite a bit of destruction in the town and many people are still living in FEMA trailers, but you rarely meet a person who complains or is upset. Everyone is happy to be there, loves their town, and is very welcoming of volunteers. When we return from break we have been invited over to a man's house for dinner that we met while volunteering. We have made friends with many people from here. I really do not think I can describe to all of you just how wonderful this town is. Everyone on my team is different, yet we all love this town and are all very nervous about leaving. People are already considering coming back here after our term of service is over. Bay St. Louis is a gem that hasn't been discovered yet...

THE STORM
Since being in Bay St. Louis, I have heard numerous storm stories. Just about everyone is willing to share their story, and every story is different and just as inspiring as the next. People tell stories of holding onto tree branches for hours as the water viscously flowed, others tell stories about refusing to evacuate because they did not want to leave their pets, and still others tell stories about what they returned to after evacuating. The town was torn apart by Katrina, Bay St. Louis once had restaurants and stores all along the water, they no longer exist. There are still numerous houses that have roofs caved in and buildings without any sides. The rebuilding effort is slow but progressive. Many people are still living in their FEMA trailers, but many are finally moving into houses. There is so much to learn down here, so much to learn about perseverance, hope, and love. There is so much beauty in the people and the town. There is also a lot of red tape and a lot of issues that go unnoticed. Had I not joined Americorps and been sent to the Gulf I would still be ignorant to so much of what is happening down here. Many people feel forgotten about, there is still so much to do, so much rebuilding and healing left to do.


Some of my teammates and I went out to breakfast the other day at one of the local cafes and our waitress was thanking us for all the work we are doing in Bay St. Louis and she said one of the most touching things I've heard since we've been down here..

"Before the storm, looking at the mass media you'd think that nothing good ever happened on the planet...Katrina changed my mind about that. I really feel blessed by the storm, I really do, because of y'all."

I had never thought or heard of the storm as a blessing before, that quote illustrates how so many people who have returned to the gulf have found such positive ways to view Katrina. These people are truly amazing individuals with such beautiful spirits.

HAPPY HOLIDAY'S! I hope everyone enjoys their time with family and friends and sees the beauty in their own lives.


p.s. i apologize for typos...i am not proofreading today.