16 March 2006 - Katrina Relief Trip: Biloxi, MI (Final Log)
Alright, I told y'all that I'm going to try and post everything that happened in the trip each day. I guess I had too much fun while I was down there. Here's a recap of all the things that happened (with some pictures included):
Sunday, 4 March 2006:
I decided to try interior on my first day. It was a lot of work let me tell you. We pretty much gutted the house, taking out the floor tiles, dry wall, and tearing down the ceiling (in some cases). It was intense. For lunch, we went to the Point, which was one of the biggest signs of the hurricane. The first thing I saw at the Point was the bridge, which was torn to pieces from the hurricane. The only parts of the bridge left standing were the support pillars.
We took this picture at the top of one of the sections of the bridge.
Becky friggin' pigged out on the cake that night. I caught her in the act as she tried getting the frosting all over me as well.
Monday was pretty low-key. I worked admin for most of the day, processing papers, answering questions, taking people through tours, helping unload more supplies for the base. We had chicken parmesan that night. It was very good. I had to commend the air force volunteers for their cooking abilities.
Tuesday was totally unexpected. I was signed up to be with kids at the elementary school in town and I thought I was going to dread it. I felt like I was going to be like Arnold Schwarzeneggar from Kindgarten Cop. When I got there, I soon changed my mind. I was assigned to help with Miss Pribyl's class. The teaching assistant told me it was Miss Pribyl's first year. She is really pretty and the kids totally love her. I met most of the kids during their music class. I absolutely loved it. The kids are really great. They call me Mr. Paul. We had snack time, which consisted of spinach salad, and I had my first elementary school lunch in almost a decade. The kids were racing to sit with me at the lunch table. I was surprised to see that the teachers eat with the kids. It was delightful, much to the opposite of my memory of my old elementary school. Some of the girls, Brianna and Summer, would not let go of me. They started to fight each other when Miss Pribyl asked the kids to sit and listen to story time because they wanted to sit next to me.. I pushed the swings for all the kids during recess and, when the end of the day came, they asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. I couldn't say no to their little faces, so I said I promised I would. I asked Becca, the leader for that site, to add me to the list again tomorrow. That night, we had spaghetti with meat sauce, which was really good.
Wednesday was even better than Tuesday. We had bananas and pineapples for snack time and for lunch, there were burgers and goulash. We had nap time, where I totally fell asleep with my head down at the table with the kids. Miss Roberts thought it was cute because Brianna fell asleep holding onto my arm. Then, recess came around and Christian, the smallest boy (who wears a size three shirt) hung out with me. I pushed him and the rest of the class on the swings and some of them asked me to pick them up and throw them into the air. The kids really knocked the wind out of me, but it was really fun. Matt was assigned to work with me and he had a lot of fun as well. For dinner, the air force guys cooked porkchops, which were simply amazing. Becca asked me to talk during tonight's daily meeting. I talked about how great the kids were and how Mr. Matt couldn't get one of the girls to let go of him while nudging his arm.
Thursday, I was not assigned with the Kindergarten kids unfortunately. I heard that it was Miss Pribyl's birthday and I tried looking for flowers to buy for her, but couldn't find any in Biloxi. So, throughout the day, I exercised what I learned in all my drawing & painting classes in highschool and drew her a picture of some flowers and I snuck it to Miss Roberts to have all the kids sign it. Then, when my teacher for the day dismissed me, I ran as fast as I could to see the kids during their recess. As soon as they saw me, they dropped whatever they were doing and tackled me to the ground and hugged me. I waited all day to see the kids. Then, I went to Christian and I told him to bring the drawing to Miss Pribyl. All the kids ran to Miss Pribyl and Christian raised the drawing as high as he could to Miss Pribyl and she was totally surprised. The kids all screamed Happy Birthday and some of the kids told Miss Pribyl that they signed it as neatly as they could. I didn't get to stay with the class after recess, but Jaclyn told me that Miss Pribyl loved my drawing. For dinner, we had turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn. I gave one last speach at dinner. I announced that I wanted to testify and talked about how on top of the world I was because I loved what I did while I was down there.
Friday was our last day and I begged Becca to sign me with Miss Pribyl's class.
Here's a picture of Matt, Becky, and me on our last day before leaving back for SBU:
When I got there, I found out that neither Miss Pribyl nor Miss Roberts could be there today. However, I got some Caprisuns and got a book to give to the kids as a going away present. I worked with Luke and Katie (a girl from Boston College).
The girl on the left is Brittany who was really sweet. The girl on the right is Sommer. She wouldn't let me leave on my last day.
The girl on Katie's lap is Joravyn. She's so small.
I caught Luke taking a breather during exercises today. That's him sitting in the tiny chair.
We watched a few videos on our last day. The kids fought over who was sitting next to me.
This is Summer. Unfortunately, during the storm, her family was trying to get to higher ground and her eight-year old sister drowned.
Brianna is the girl on the left. She always asked me to carry her around and she always demanded to sit next to me during lunch.
Christian is my buddy and is one of my favorites in the class. I told him that he has what it takes and should ask Brianna to be his girlfriend and that he'll be all set for the rest of his life. The kid's so tiny; he wears a size three shirt according to Miss Roberts.
Originally, this picture was supposed to be of just the helpers, but Summer demanded to be in the picture.
The kids were all sad when I told them that I have to go and that I won't be able to see them anymore. I really want to stay, but it was our last day. Summer told me I could stay at her house and gave me her phone number on a heart-shaped piece of paper. Brianna wouldn't let go of my arm when I had to leave. Luis, one of my other buddies, told me to tell Mr. Matt that he is cool. I promised them I'd write them every week. So, I met the principal and told her how much I loved the Kindergarten class. She gave me a coozie and her business card so that I could write to the kids.
I miss Biloxi so much already. It was an amazing time. I wish I was still there, around the campfire or in class with the kids. I'm going to go back RIGHT AFTER graduation so I can get there in time for the kindergartners' graduation. I'm already so excited.
The trip back was really quick and when we got back, we arranged a party to end the break the right way. So, we all made our way down to the Castle projects and had a night for the books.
Mold crew had to wear these Tyvek suits. So, Becky and Emily took some home and had people sign them at the party.
Grand Island buds since grade school!
Accounting majors W00T!
Mr. Matt and I already miss Miss Pribyl's class.
3 seconds later, Kelly joins us in the picture. Biloxi rules!
3 seconds after that, Jessica and Ayshia join the picture!
Fight mold and cut bitches! - the motto of the Biloxi team BonaResponds
I can't wait to go back to Biloxi. I had a fantastic time. I miss the kids and I miss the Hands On Gulf Coast base. I've been hanging out with the Biloxi crew this whole week and spent St. Patty's Day at the Castles. We talk about Biloxi and even raise our wristbands from the site because we refuse to take them off. I'm really looking forward to seeing the kids and what they'll do when I show up backstage right before the beginning of their graduation.
Sunday, 4 March 2006:
I decided to try interior on my first day. It was a lot of work let me tell you. We pretty much gutted the house, taking out the floor tiles, dry wall, and tearing down the ceiling (in some cases). It was intense. For lunch, we went to the Point, which was one of the biggest signs of the hurricane. The first thing I saw at the Point was the bridge, which was torn to pieces from the hurricane. The only parts of the bridge left standing were the support pillars.
We took this picture at the top of one of the sections of the bridge.
Becky friggin' pigged out on the cake that night. I caught her in the act as she tried getting the frosting all over me as well.
Monday was pretty low-key. I worked admin for most of the day, processing papers, answering questions, taking people through tours, helping unload more supplies for the base. We had chicken parmesan that night. It was very good. I had to commend the air force volunteers for their cooking abilities.
Tuesday was totally unexpected. I was signed up to be with kids at the elementary school in town and I thought I was going to dread it. I felt like I was going to be like Arnold Schwarzeneggar from Kindgarten Cop. When I got there, I soon changed my mind. I was assigned to help with Miss Pribyl's class. The teaching assistant told me it was Miss Pribyl's first year. She is really pretty and the kids totally love her. I met most of the kids during their music class. I absolutely loved it. The kids are really great. They call me Mr. Paul. We had snack time, which consisted of spinach salad, and I had my first elementary school lunch in almost a decade. The kids were racing to sit with me at the lunch table. I was surprised to see that the teachers eat with the kids. It was delightful, much to the opposite of my memory of my old elementary school. Some of the girls, Brianna and Summer, would not let go of me. They started to fight each other when Miss Pribyl asked the kids to sit and listen to story time because they wanted to sit next to me.. I pushed the swings for all the kids during recess and, when the end of the day came, they asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. I couldn't say no to their little faces, so I said I promised I would. I asked Becca, the leader for that site, to add me to the list again tomorrow. That night, we had spaghetti with meat sauce, which was really good.
Wednesday was even better than Tuesday. We had bananas and pineapples for snack time and for lunch, there were burgers and goulash. We had nap time, where I totally fell asleep with my head down at the table with the kids. Miss Roberts thought it was cute because Brianna fell asleep holding onto my arm. Then, recess came around and Christian, the smallest boy (who wears a size three shirt) hung out with me. I pushed him and the rest of the class on the swings and some of them asked me to pick them up and throw them into the air. The kids really knocked the wind out of me, but it was really fun. Matt was assigned to work with me and he had a lot of fun as well. For dinner, the air force guys cooked porkchops, which were simply amazing. Becca asked me to talk during tonight's daily meeting. I talked about how great the kids were and how Mr. Matt couldn't get one of the girls to let go of him while nudging his arm.
Thursday, I was not assigned with the Kindergarten kids unfortunately. I heard that it was Miss Pribyl's birthday and I tried looking for flowers to buy for her, but couldn't find any in Biloxi. So, throughout the day, I exercised what I learned in all my drawing & painting classes in highschool and drew her a picture of some flowers and I snuck it to Miss Roberts to have all the kids sign it. Then, when my teacher for the day dismissed me, I ran as fast as I could to see the kids during their recess. As soon as they saw me, they dropped whatever they were doing and tackled me to the ground and hugged me. I waited all day to see the kids. Then, I went to Christian and I told him to bring the drawing to Miss Pribyl. All the kids ran to Miss Pribyl and Christian raised the drawing as high as he could to Miss Pribyl and she was totally surprised. The kids all screamed Happy Birthday and some of the kids told Miss Pribyl that they signed it as neatly as they could. I didn't get to stay with the class after recess, but Jaclyn told me that Miss Pribyl loved my drawing. For dinner, we had turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn. I gave one last speach at dinner. I announced that I wanted to testify and talked about how on top of the world I was because I loved what I did while I was down there.
Friday was our last day and I begged Becca to sign me with Miss Pribyl's class.
Here's a picture of Matt, Becky, and me on our last day before leaving back for SBU:
When I got there, I found out that neither Miss Pribyl nor Miss Roberts could be there today. However, I got some Caprisuns and got a book to give to the kids as a going away present. I worked with Luke and Katie (a girl from Boston College).
The girl on the left is Brittany who was really sweet. The girl on the right is Sommer. She wouldn't let me leave on my last day.
The girl on Katie's lap is Joravyn. She's so small.
I caught Luke taking a breather during exercises today. That's him sitting in the tiny chair.
We watched a few videos on our last day. The kids fought over who was sitting next to me.
This is Summer. Unfortunately, during the storm, her family was trying to get to higher ground and her eight-year old sister drowned.
Brianna is the girl on the left. She always asked me to carry her around and she always demanded to sit next to me during lunch.
Christian is my buddy and is one of my favorites in the class. I told him that he has what it takes and should ask Brianna to be his girlfriend and that he'll be all set for the rest of his life. The kid's so tiny; he wears a size three shirt according to Miss Roberts.
Originally, this picture was supposed to be of just the helpers, but Summer demanded to be in the picture.
The kids were all sad when I told them that I have to go and that I won't be able to see them anymore. I really want to stay, but it was our last day. Summer told me I could stay at her house and gave me her phone number on a heart-shaped piece of paper. Brianna wouldn't let go of my arm when I had to leave. Luis, one of my other buddies, told me to tell Mr. Matt that he is cool. I promised them I'd write them every week. So, I met the principal and told her how much I loved the Kindergarten class. She gave me a coozie and her business card so that I could write to the kids.
I miss Biloxi so much already. It was an amazing time. I wish I was still there, around the campfire or in class with the kids. I'm going to go back RIGHT AFTER graduation so I can get there in time for the kindergartners' graduation. I'm already so excited.
The trip back was really quick and when we got back, we arranged a party to end the break the right way. So, we all made our way down to the Castle projects and had a night for the books.
Mold crew had to wear these Tyvek suits. So, Becky and Emily took some home and had people sign them at the party.
Grand Island buds since grade school!
Accounting majors W00T!
Mr. Matt and I already miss Miss Pribyl's class.
3 seconds later, Kelly joins us in the picture. Biloxi rules!
3 seconds after that, Jessica and Ayshia join the picture!
Fight mold and cut bitches! - the motto of the Biloxi team BonaResponds
I can't wait to go back to Biloxi. I had a fantastic time. I miss the kids and I miss the Hands On Gulf Coast base. I've been hanging out with the Biloxi crew this whole week and spent St. Patty's Day at the Castles. We talk about Biloxi and even raise our wristbands from the site because we refuse to take them off. I'm really looking forward to seeing the kids and what they'll do when I show up backstage right before the beginning of their graduation.