Today we had an eeeearrrrlyyyyy morning. Early as in most people were up by 6:30 am and we were all (well, most of us) in the vans and ready to go at 7:30 am. This was all because today was our first day on the Habitat for Humanity site! Habitat for Humanity is an organization that I was vaguely familiar with before the trip, but that I learned so much more about today. You can read about this amazing organization on their website. As we drove down the Habitat street we ran across many houses that had already been completed, and even another team working on a house a little further up the street from where we were. Seeing all of this helped me wake up much more, and made me so excited for the day ahead.
After meeting our supervisors and fellow volunteers, going over ground rules, divvying up jobs, and gathering tools, it was time to get to work. The house that we had been assigned was built in the simple sense, but was still a shell in many areas. We were all spread out over the entire house and I had the opportunity to watch my team, and the rest of the volunteers, work selflessly and passionately to get as much done as possible. From a volunteer named Jonathan who insisted on taking pictures of ALL of us, to the woman that I worked very closely with in cutting up pieces of soffit (very difficult task), to my amazing fellow team members, I was flabbergasted by how easily these people worked, talked, and laughed, in the 77 degree sunny heat without so much as a whisper of a complaint. We worked from about 8:00 am until 11:30 am, took an hour lunch break, and then worked until about 3:20 pm before we started cleaning up to leave for day two at KCCA at 3:30 pm. Right before we left we were encouraged to go inside the door of the house and read about the woman we were building for. This was big for me because it made it all so much more human. There was a story, and a family, and multiple lives that we were now inextricably linked to through our work, and for the umpteenth time that day I was amazed by how blessed I was to be able to take part in this experience.
On our way to KCCA my team members and I were all desperately trying to find our "second wind" and prepare for the eager students who were excited for day two of our workshops. I was on the "Shalom Zone" team and we were all surprised today to find that we had almost double the amount of students that we had yesterday! This didn't further my exhaustion, but made me feel like I had taken a 5-Hour Energy drink! The kids were so rambunctious, funny, and smart, and I honestly couldn't stop smiling as we played team building games and talked about what mattered to us most.
We finished off our time at KCCA with each division giving us a snippet of what they had been working on. The Shalom Zone students shared some of what mattered most to them, the music students did some jazz and then a percussion piece, the drama students did an exercise that is meant to warm up the voice and body, and the dancers were taught a simplified version of our team dance that they performed with their own twist! It was overall a magnificent time and the kids were so responsive and excited to be there it made all the little bumps and blips that happened seem miniscule.
Overall today was jam-packed but so incredibly rewarding. My heart is full.
Zoe Hollinshead
BFA Dance '19
1st year NOLA team member
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