Day 1

Hi! Sorry we haven't posted in a while--we don't have much Internet. We took a break to use McDonald's WiFi, so here is what we've been up to!

DAY 1: SUNDAY- (March 17, 2013).

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! We started the day bright and early and departed University of Maryland at 8am. After 5 hours of driving, we stopped for lunch at a Subway in Virginia. The car ride was spent sleeping, listening to 90’s music, getting to know each other, and eagerly waited to reach the Kentucky line. We were surprised to see the abundance of farms in Virginia, especially since many of us had preconceived notions that it was more urban/suburban. As we got closer to Harlan, there were many scenic views that we never would have thought of. The mountains were beautiful! As we drove closer to the Appalachian area, houses became more run down. However, it was interesting to see that there were some very nice houses that were in the same neighborhood has the smaller houses. There were many churches; one was seen in almost every neighborhood. On the contrary, we only saw one school. Neighborhoods and houses were very spread out. There would be land for many miles, and then a small area with many houses and possibly a church.

            At last, we arrived at Camp Blanton. Absolutely beautiful! John, the director escorted us to where we would be staying for the week. Needless to say, we were all pleasantly surprised. When walking into our cabins, we saw 7 bunk beds, a fireplace, table, outlets, and a beautiful view of the lake. We then took a look at our bathrooms/showers which were much better than expected. Hot water, tiled floors, stalled bathrooms--we were living in luxury! While Aly and Katie shopped for groceries, the rest of us went to explore the area. We visited the campfire, posed in front of a waterfall, and skipped rocks into the lake. After coming back to the cabin we decided to play a game of Mafia. As you can expect, this got very heated. With much convincing and persuasion, the mafia came out with a win. Shortly after the game, dinner was served. There was plenty variety of foods by our best chefs- hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, mac & cheese, salad, and bread with butter. After dinner and some down time, we regrouped and did a group activity where we came up with possible explanations to the question that may be asked by locals, “What are you doing here?” We discussed the difference between serving and helping people here. We emphasized making personal connections and avoiding generalizations by listening to the people’s stories. After a long day, people spent time before bed showering, journaling, and playing cards. Lights out!

Katie and Juliana