My Appalachian Fling

What did I know about the Appalachian Mountains before I decided to take a risk and embark on an adventure. I grew up in a rich town, even though my family didn't have a lot of money, I still felt like we were better off than a lot of other people. I was blessed to have a good part-time job as a dietary aide, attended a competitive high school, and had all my immediate needs met. I had no idea what I was in store for.

When I was in high school I was very involved in my church, more specifically my youth group. This was a safe place for me to mingle with my friends, learn a little bit about life, and participate in community service activities. That the summer we signed up to take a trip to the Appalachians and fix houses as volunteers for the Appalachian Service Project.

After a couple of days of driving we arrived at our final destination in Kentucky. Exhausted we arrived to find our unique living quarters, an elementary school and our jaws dropped with disbelief. All the volunteers had to sleep in the gym that did not have air conditioning despite the fact that it was nearly 100 degrees outside. The staff used trash bags and rope strung from the fixtures on the walls to divide up the gym. Girls on one side and boys on the other. We piled into our make-shift temporary housing only to find out that we were cramped air-mattress to air-mattress. Most people ended up congregating in the dining hall, where you could receive cold. respite. When it came to showering you best like your neighbor because they only had group showers.

Even after the shock from my living quarters, nothing could have prepared me for my work environment. We woke up bright and early for a first day at work, traveling down winding roads, which were mostly unpaved and filled with deep holes, to reach the home we were scheduled to fix up. Once again, my jaw dropped when we finally reached our work station. Our major task was to put insulation in the basement, that would eventually help keep the house warm. However, I was confused how this home could be considered a house because it reminded me more of a shack. The outside siding of the house had all different colors and there were empty patches. Inside the house the floor was slanted nearly 45 degrees, making it appear unsafe to walk on it. The walls, like the siding were also different colors, not from paint, but from different materials mismatched together. The bathroom reminded me of what it must look like when someone gets in a severe accident and they have to take skin from all parts of their body to fix up holes. Nothing matched what so ever. The caulking was 3 inches thick, the bathtub had a combination of tiles and other materials slapped together. However, the basement was the scariest part because from that angle you can actually see how slanted the entire house was. This is where we did most of our work. I look one look at this area and thought, "How am I even going to be able to repair this?"

Feeling overwhelmed at the first sight of this house, my team took a break to brainstorm how we were going to help out this family. Mind you, none of us had experience with construction or repairing houses. We did a lot of praying and decided to call it a day early so that we could buy materials, seek advice from other volunteers and staff. It was pretty common for people to feel overwhelmed the first day and not know what to do because its extreme culture shock.

That night at our living quarters after putting aside our feelings of helplessness we came up with a plan. After all, we were there to help out families, even if their homes looked like shacks. Thousands of poor families in the Appalachians apply to have their houses fixed up and they consider it a blessing to have us there, even if we don't know what we are doing.

By the end of the week, with a lot of tears and sweat, we finished insulating the basement. I believe that the only way we were able to get through it was by praying and helping each other. There were many times that we were scared and unsure, but we made it through.

When I reflect back to my trip in the Appalachians I only have positive feelings. My friends and I joke about the school we stayed in, but mostly we reminisce about how we helped out these families. This will always be considered my best summer vacation because despite how uncomfortable I felt, I knew in the end that I was making a difference. As a result now, I have more of an appreciation for where I live and what I have. I have to remember that jobs are scarce down in the poorer parts of the Appalachians and people are grateful just to have a tin roof. For two summers after that, I went back to experience it all again.