No really. The title of this blog post says it all… Suffice it to say, NOLA has taken its toll on our group this week. After three 7-hour days of construction with Habitat for Humanity, we are absolutely POOPED! We’ve got plenty to show for our efforts: sunburns, cuts, bruises, callouses, blisters, aching muscles, fingernails caked with mortar, etc. (I think you get the picture…) OH, and I can’t forget the progress on the house! 😉 By the end of our third day, we almost finished nailing down sheets of plywood which will serve as the home’s floor. We feel pretty proud of ourselves for what we’ve accomplished in our short time serving with Habitat. (We can’t take all the credit though… We had a lot of help from our friends from Emory-Henry College in Virginia and the Habitat staff, Megan and Tim!) We left the job site feeling pretty satisfied with our work, sad that our time is over (but also knowing that we’re probably too exhausted to continue.) 🙂
Later that evening, we grabbed a bite to eat at Rocky & Carlo’s restaurant. There, we munched on Po Boy sandwiches, yummy baked Mac & Cheese (Must be a Southern thing??), and Muffalettas. After dinner, we made our second trip of the week to Creole’s Creamy. (What can I say? We love ice-cream.) Plus, we felt like we totally deserved it after three long days of hard work. 😉 Upon returning to Camp Hope, we had reflection time. (One of my favorite parts of the day!) We talked about what it means to be an ACTIVE citizen. It was a cool conversation to have. 🙂
Some other random thoughts from today and this week in general: I am just so thankful for my group members! They have such fun, pleasant, and optimistic attitudes and personalities! My teammates are honestly super funny, which makes everything so much easier and better as well.
This Bear Breaks trip has been such a great opportunity and experience! Can’t wait for tomorrow – our free day to explore the French Quarter! 🙂
#Nailedit #Literally
~Alaina Sonksen 🙂