Everything is larger in Texas! Rebuilding Galveston, Texas.

I know this is a long blog post but I believe it is definitely worth reading.

So this past week was our spring break, a time where most of us were able to chill and relax after mid-term exams and papers and prepare for the rest of the semester (for some, studying was a part of the break as well!). I was fortunate this break to be able to travel to Galveston, Texas as part of the Alternative Spring Break Crew to help out with the hurricane relief efforts that hit Texas hard in mid September of last year.

There were 23 of us total who went down to Galveston to help out and boy was it a worthwhile experience. I have never participated in such a large volunteer excursion and wasn't really sure what to expect. We stayed in an elementary school that was no longer operating, woke up around 630 every morning and worked on job sites from around 8-4 everyday. We worked alongside religious groups, college/high school students, and community groups. Some of the students that I had met were from Arkansas, illinois, Maryland, California, and Wyoming which really shows you that the whole country is pulling together to help out Galveston get back on its feet.

It is very difficult to convey the experience in words, but I will try my best. Some of the projects that we helped out with were gutting houses, painting exteriors of houses, cutting/setting up drywall, cleaning debris from residents' yards, and planting vegetation on sand dunes.

Gutting houses was an interesting experience and was quite fun. To gut means to rip everything out of a house; ceilings, floors, walls EVERYTHING...sort of like the demolition part of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition without actually tearing down the infrastructure of the house.

For those who do not know, Galveston is a town where tourism was once and still is a rather large revenue source to keep the town going. When we were down there, it seemed like construction was going on everywhere, yet many people were vacationing on the beaches for spring break as well (two complete different worlds).

Most people had just moved back into their houses the week we arrived and were trying to get their lives back in order. Though most parts where we were at were not completely destroyed, it was obvious that the area was not what it used to be. There was trash everywhere, homes looked like they were about to fall apart and needed serious renovations and paint jobs, and stray dogs roamed the streets.

When we traveled to a section of Galveston called Bolivar, we saw where the extreme destruction was. There were houses that were obliterated, trash and debris were everywhere on the yards, on the pavements, on the roads, and there wasn't many signs of residential life. It is hard to imagine that this could happen in your own country, but it can and it did.

One thing I noticed though about Galveston is the atmosphere of the place. The residents of this community were so welcoming and thankful for our service in restoring their town. While just walking around, many stopped us just to say hello, to ask about what we were doing, and to show us gratitude for helping their community in a time of need.

One lady who we helped out on Monday was extremely thankful to us when we helped her clean out her yard. She went out of her way to get us tickets to see a historical ship, to take a boat ride of the inner harbor and tickets to the Rodeo (a large event in March where there is a large carnival, livestock and rodeo shows, and large concerts). She told us that she wanted us "to see the good part of Galveston," and wanted us to realize that there is much more to Galveston than all this destruction. It was really interesting to see the two parts of the town, one that needed a lot of construction and renovation and one that was so serene and was trying to attract tourists once again.

Spring break is now over and I am back in good ole' PA wishing that the Texas weather had followed me. I do have a lot of work to get ready for the week ahead, but am truly glad that I was able to partake in this eye-opening experience. I will try to post some photos to show you what all we did in Texas, but that might take a couple days. I hope that by reading this you realize that the sky is the limit for helping people ou;, there are no boundaries and the experience is something that you will cherish forever.