LAST DAY :(

This morning Andrew and Melissa woke up and made some delicious pancakes. They looked wonderful. It was pouring rain, so Jeremy announced that we would not be building a paddle trail. Instead, we went to the Arboretum and the Western North Carolina Nature Center. We sped through the arboretum because Jeremy was rushing us and saw lots of animals at the nature center. The otters were ridiculously adorable and Andrew was really excited to see the bears but they ignored him. Brooke wandered off and went to feed some otters while the rest of us waited in the vans for her.

After we found Brooke, we drove to a Starbucks in a random Barnes and Noble and got some coffee. Then, we went to the Y to take a shower before coming back to the church and doing some reflections.

A short nap later, we got all dolled up and went to dinner at the Moose Cafe. The food was delicious and there was too much. Surprise: Mr. Bob and his wife and also Joy came to eat with us! We all had pretty big food babies and sped downtown to check out the drum circle. Brittany moved so fast she forgot to bring her leftover chicken back with her: "RIP chicken and napkin." The drum circle was amazing; we all joined in the festivities while Andrew held all our bags. Brooke was crazy and danced all over the place. It was super fun! Asheville seems baller at night.

We came back and shared our secret spy info about each other. We know each other too well. Tonight, we plan on staying up and schnuggling.

Day 5 - Removal of Invasive Species

We were woken up an hour earlier than we were supposed to thanks to our dad, Jeremy! We had breakfast and then we went to River Hills Park and met up with Mr. Bob and students from UNC Asheville. Once we got to the park, we walked through the disc golf course to the work site. Our four hours were comprised of removing invasive species that were taking over the native plants of the park. We worked in pairs, one person cut the plant close to its roots and the second person would dab it would with a chemical to stop the growth of the plant. Then we ate lunch at the work site and went to the YMCA for a much needed shower.

After our shower, we all went to the Coal Ash Cookout that was hosted by the WNCA. All 13 of us were split into separate groups, such as helping with food preparation, asking people to sign a petition, the photo booth, making signs, and working with children to help the organization with the cookout preparations. The cookout/rally was about informing the community about the harmful effects that the power plant was having on the water supply. The byproduct of coal ash from the power plant was being dumped into the two surrounding ponds around the power plant, that affected the surrounding communities. The water pollution caused by the byproducts is harmful to the community's source of clean water that will then affect the human health. For example the byproducts causes neurological damage, cancer and diarrhea as well as other problems because of the mercury that is present in the byproducts. The sentiment that was collected from the water contained high amounts of lead, copper, and selenium.

We also met a child psychiatrist who discussed issues of child brain development related to the water consumption in the community. He mentioned that it is an important issue to be addressed and educated. We were surprised to learn that the coal ash burning in Asheville also had an impact on College Park, even though both towns are miles apart. He said that 1.5 million tons of coal ash were used to make a golf club in Centerville, Virginia. And this had a negative impact on the Chesapeake Bay.

On the car ride back from the Coal Ash Cookout, Jheesoo got the best surprise of her life. We dared Andrew to flash Jheesoo, so we drove by them and Andrew pulled up his shirt. Luckily Jheesoo didn't drive off the road! Then we came back to the church and did our personal reflections about the day. We are staying in tonight, and preparing for our last day in Asheville tomorrow.

Day 04: Wednesday-->Health Adventure!!

Today was a long day for all of us. We woke up and helped a Trinity United Methodist Church employee, Lauren, to move some stuff and then watched the second part of the documentary film, Sicko. After that, we had to leave for the Health Adventure Museum which helped us to get an  insight into the health education in public elementary and middle schools in counties surrounding Asheville. It was great to see a non-profit organization like the Health Adventure promoting health education for individuals and the community. One interesting aspect about the museum's history is that the it was started by physicians' wives during the 1960s -- we were intrigued by the fact that women were the pioneers of this amazing museum. It would be nice to see more of these types of museums across the country, to teach the next generation about personal wellness and health. Following the museum visit, we ventured out into downtown Asheville and had time to explore more of the city and buy presents for the people back home.
---Jheesoo Caitlyn

After walking around downtown Asheville we met back up at the YMCA and took showers. After the showers we walked back to downtown Asheville to go to Posana for a Green drinks presentation.Before the presentation, we tried healthy elixirs, where Britney and Andrew took "shots" of the healthy drinks. We met Joy and watched three different presentations on clean water in Angola, water in Peru, and clean water practices for Asheville. We learned about problems in the world relating to water, such as how the leading cause of death in Angola is diarrhea due to unclean water, a problem which could be easily prevented.

We then went back to the church where Brooke made parmesan Tilapia, and we also had salad and mashed potatoes and all of the leftovers. We then did our reflections.

A few people worked out and did abs, led by Instructor Brooke, and then we all played Never Have I ever until late, and talked about our relationships and bonded!

We began our Tuesday with a terrific batch of pancakes made my Amy, Andrew, and, sadly, Jeremy.  Fueled with righteous energy and the gallons of vegetable oil Jeremy doused our pancakes with, we headed to the ABCCM (Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry).

Kelly, the director of volunteers at the ministry, welcomed us and told us a bit about the organisation and the campus.  The ABCCM is a non-profit which supports veterans by providing a place to live, and a 2 year program which helps them get clean and attain educational and career goals, attempting to reacclimate them to society.  The campus is a 10-acre remodeled motel filled with about 250 male veterans.  The ABCCM is a national model for this type of organisation, and has been successful in its goals.

Our project for the day was to help recreate a section of the campus into an outdoor hang-out for non-smokers. We accomplished this by wildly swinging at things with sledgehammers and breaking shovels.  We put in a good 2 hours of this until lunch, where we got a chance to sit down with some of the veterans and chat.  We spread ourselves around the lunch room, patiently awaiting their table choice.  Needless to say the girls were much more popular than Jeremy and Andrew.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Brooke had quite the secret admirer and was handed a magnificent pair of earrings by a bashful, love-struck veteran.  In all honesty, the veterans seemed delighted at our presence and conversation, and we all enjoyed hearing a little about about their experiences.  It was right back to work after lunch, and the rain came in perfectly with our scheduled departure.  (Sidenote: Jeremy slurped up a particularly juicy and pooping worm on a bet.)

After a much-needed shower at the Y, we came back and reflected on our service and shared some highlights from the veteran lunch.  We had some free time and then it was time for taco Tuesday created by Megan, Melissa, and Manpreet. So good.  For dessert we drove for what seemed like an eternity in poring rain for free Rita's ("fritas") which poor Andrew could not even eat.  In fact, the generous giving soul that he is, he stood in line for someone else.  Anyway, people were excited because it was an in-door Rita's which apparently is novel.  

Now we're preparing for a night in, which is much more fun than it sounds with this group.  Peace.

DAY 3 - HIKING TRIP

This morning, we woke up to a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast made by Brooke and Melissa.  Then, we met Mr. Bob from WNCA and he guided us all on a hike through the Black Hills National Park.  Jeremy's driving skills were put to the test.  During the hike, Mr. Bob taught us a lot about the botany that we saw and the invasive species that were endangering the local plants in the mountains.  We saw a geo-cache hidden underneath a log which was pretty amazing, BUT in the middle of the trail, we came across a large rock that had a ridiculously BEAUTIFUL VIEW of the landscape.  Mr. Bob gave us a quiz on the species of plants that he pointed out and we did pretty well.

We took a nice long shower after the hike and came back to the church for personal reflections about our day.  After that we all passed out while Anjana and Manpreet prepared delicious pizzas for dinner.  We went downtown where we explored and shopped.  Some of us went to a tea house and drank some tea while others went shopping.  The tea house had a gazillion flavors and they were great.

After coming back to the church, we all explored parts of the town.  Then we came back and got a super awesome girl's night + andrew and jeremy. We played some nostalgic music and colored in coloring books.  We all put on some matching Disney princess tattoos and it was just great.  i JUST PRESSED THE BACKSPACE BUTTON AND IT ALMOST DELETED EVERYTHINGGGG BUT IT DIDN'T SO IT'S ALL GOOOD. We are not going to sleep anytime soon. 

Day Two: Sunday-Funday in Asheville!

After a long trip yesterday, Jeremy woke us up bright and early with a current weather forecast adding "it's going to be a wonderful day." Diane, a parishioner at Trinity United Methodist Church, had a full breakfast ready for us that we enjoyed with other members of the church. After, Jeremy, Jheesoo, and Caitlyn had videos set up to teach and inform us about healthcare in the United States, or lack thereof, compared to other countries. We were all in agreement that some in the government politicized healthcare rather than realizing that it is a right and not a privilege. Following lunch and a short nap, the group split up, half of us going to Downtown Asheville and half of us going to a local Catholic church. We walked around Downtown Asheville and explored local shops where Brittany found "the cutest store in the universe." Some of us stopped at a tea house where there was endless amounts of teas from all over the world. When we got back to our "home," Brittany and I made dinner with the helpful assists of Jeremy and Caitlyn. A few of us played some card games (Andrew won Boogle) and enjoyed the beautiful weather while others napped. Hopefully there is ice cream in our future tonight. If you ever encounter salted caramel ice cream, try it, we're all obsessed.

P.S.And...Family Size Cheezzit is always with us! =P

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