Eugene Lin
Today was great day! Why was it a great day? Because
EVERYDAY is a great day! J
But
seriously, today was the first day of our alternative spring break trip to
Bland, VA, which is located in southwestern Virginia and is approximately a 5
hour drive away from College Park, MD. The 10 of us gathered at the clock
pedestal tower outside of Mowatt Lane Garage and VMH at 8am, where our
experience leaders had graciously provided bagels and cream cheese. After going
over some logistics about van seating and driving logistics, we left at
approximately 8:30am and were off on our journey to Bland, VA!
Our
journey there was pretty smooth. I volunteered myself as copilot as I was one
of the other available drivers, in case Bria, one of the experience leaders,
got tired. Bria put on some music on her phone (we had no aux cable/port so she
just played it directly from her phone) and used it as a GPS as well, so I had
to manage the directions and music for her. Unfortunately, I had only gotten a
few hours of sleep the night before, so once we got past 495 and I-95 and were
on I-66 for about 60 miles, I told Bria that I was going to take a nap and
subsequently passed out. Mike, our staff advisor, joking chewed me out for
falling asleep once we reached Panera Bread after driving for about 2 and a
half hours, midway through our trip. Their van had been in front of ours and he
could see me sleeping like a baby up in the front passenger seat, leaning my
head to one side.
After our
short lunch, we got back on the road. I think Hafeez went back to sleep, and I
learned that Alice and Abby were studying for Organic Chemistry 1 in order to
keep up with the class, before passing out myself on a 100mi long road. I woke
up, just in time for Bria to ask me to call the other van to let them know that
we were going to stop for gas and also because Bria had to use the bathroom
because coffee. We took exit 114, and Mike, not wanting to go too far ahead,
decided to stop at exit 109 and wait for us until we got back on the road. That
was a smart idea, as we had some trouble using the UMD gas card as apparently
the lady inside kept charging it as a Debit card, instead of a Credit card.
Eventually, we got it to work and caught up to the other van, and made the rest
of the trip smoothly to the Bland Ministry Center (BMC).
Once we
arrived, we began a scavenger hunt for the key, located in a “large cardboard
box with an X marked on top”. We searched all around the building and the
neighboring buildings but couldn’t seem to find it until Sandaru found it in a
relatively small box next to a door with an X marked on it. We moved all our
stuff in, claimed beds, and met back in the living room to drive to the Big
Walker. The drive was only about 8 miles, but it went along a long winding road
up a mountain so it took a while.
We
arrived at the Big Walker, purchased tickets, and went up to the tower. The
tower was about 400 feet off the ground, at about 3760 feet or meters above sea
level according to Mike’s watch, situated perfectly in a small crest
between
two mountains with a gorgeous view of the landscape around us. The wind howled
and the tower shook as we walked up the rickety steps with rusted wires and
oxidized frame, so it was a little worrisome as we walked up but it was worth
it once we reached the top and saw how beautiful Bland, VA is. The sun was
hidden behind some clouds but it still poured rays of sunshine onto the valley
of farms and forests on the hills and mountains around us. A lone bird soared
through the sky, gracefully using the wind to its advantage. A medium sized dog
sat at the base of the tower, friendly and playful with strangers. It felt
quite peaceful and serene. After making memories with our cameras and leaving
our mark there, we went back down, played with the puppy a little bit, and got
some delicious ice cream from the store.
Sandaru
and Mike took the smaller van to go to the grocery store to buy more groceries,
such as meat and some other items that had to be fresh. The rest of us returned
back to BMC, but we realized that Sandaru had the house key, so we called them
and waited for them to return from the grocery store. Meanwhile, as we were
waiting, we explored the Dollar General store across the street where some of
us bought some random things, and just chilled afterwards. I managed to get
access to the Bland County Wireless wifi for about 5 minutes, and then I
couldn’t get access to it afterwards. Sandaru and Mike returned with just the
meat that we would be cooking for tonight, and then they went back to the
grocery store to get more food.
While
Joel and Erin began making the spaghetti for dinner, the rest of us found ways
to kill time such as studying, watching episodes, or drawing. Unfortunately,
somehow the pan for the meat got too hot and started smoking, and when oil was
poured on it, a short burst of flame erupted. There was smoke everywhere, and we
were smart enough to put a lid on it to put out the flame and opened all the
windows and doors and turned on the fans to let the smoke out. Fortunately, no
one was hurt, though there was some people coughing. The spaghetti and
meatballs was delicious.
Later
that night, once we had all finished dinner, we gathered in the living room for
reflection. We introduced ourselves again, just because, and played a short
activity that involved splitting into two teams, raising a blanket in between
the two so that we couldn’t see the other team, and once the blanket was taken
away to name the person who was on the opposite side. It was tough, but quite
fun. We also went over the procedures of how we would be splitting up the food
we had equally, establishing rules for breakfast (1 of: bagel, 2 nutrigrain
bars, 2 oatmeal), lunch (1 of: peanut butter and strawberry sandwich, chicken /
cheese sandwich, turkey / mayo sandwich), snacks (3 of: apples, bananas,
grapes, carrots, popcorn, 2 chewy bars) and dinner (whatever was on the menu).
Then, we established some guidelines for each other, and for the community,
which included some general rules such as respecting each other, listening to
each other, and helping out. We conducted a short activity about our hopes and
fears for this ASB, and concluded with a plan for the next day. All in all, it
was a great day and this blog reflection was wayyy longer than I anticipated,
so I will end it here because Sandaru also has to blog. I’m really looking
forward to this week! J
Sandaru Silva
This was our first day from an EL point of view!
After our staff advisor being changed for the third time
within one month, we were somewhat pensive because our new staff advisor was
added last minute. We got lucky; our new staff advisor turned out to be
amazing, and we knew instantly that he would mesh excellently with our group.
We got off to a great start because our amazing participants were super
punctual; we were actually able to leave twenty minutes earlier than planned! The
nearly six hour drive did not seem that long because the 5 people in our
mini-van had started bonding already (this is an EL’s dream come true!).
The Bland Ministry Center House turned out to be a quaint
white house in a very convenient location and the participants settled in very
comfortably. Once we got to Big Walker lookout, everyone got to spend more time
as an entire team, which set the foundation for an excellent day 1 reflection!
The participants all were very engaged in the activities, and they were eager
to share even after a tiring day. All in all, I am super excited for an amazing
experience!
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