Monday, March 7, 2011

Stay-cation Day 1


My name is Julia Noel, and I am a sophomore Health and Human Performance major here at the University of Memphis.
On the first day of the Alternative Spring Break Stay-Cation, all of the volunteers met on campus and traveled to MIFA (Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association) near downtown Memphis. I had never been to MIFA before, so it was my first time being an active volunteer inside the building. There we met Patrick Howie, Handyman Coordinator for MIFA Volunteer services. After a brief introduction to our first project, we headed over to the house that we would be renovating. I enjoyed working in the backyard, picking up what Howie called the "dead fall," and shoveling around several tree stumps that needed to be dug up. Even though it was very hard work, especially in the chilly weather, I felt like we made a lot of progress as a group and really bonded with our teamwork. For lunch, Angie bought some pizzas from the Memphis Pizza Cafe, and I could tell that everyone thought it was delicious. After our hard day's work, instead of bowling, we decided to go to the National Civil Rights Museum downtown. I had not been to the museum for a few years, so I was looking forward to seeing some of the newer exhibits. One exhibit that really stood out for me was the building across the street from the Lorraine Motel where James Earl Ray (Dr. Martin Luther King's assassin) shot from his bathroom window. Seeing the actual room and being in that building felt somewhat haunting, but I still really enjoyed the experience.
I had a lot of fun on the first day of ASB Stay-Cation, and I look forward to the other activities for rest of the week!

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