#HarlanHappy

We took off this morning for the magical Kingdom Come State Park. We met with the park manager, Sherri Cornett, when we got there. She was generously able to spend her whole Friday morning taking us around the park, which included many fabulous views and sights. We hiked up to Raven Rock, which is a huge rock at a 45-degree angle to the ground. We even got to see what they call the King and Queen’s chairs at the very top of the park. We also saw the amazing log rock, which is a rock formation in the shape of a log. It was a little treacherous to walk across it, but luckily no one got hurt. We also saw many scenic views from different overlooks throughout the park. Sherri was very patient with our group members wanting to take so many pictures with the Kentucky scenery! Sherri asked for us to take a photo with her in front of the park’s main sign so that they could use it on their Facebook page to welcome people back for the spring season. We were honored to be featured, and we all looked great in our matching AB t-shirts!

From the park, we went straight to Harlan County High School, where Mr. Eugene Farmer along with some other teachers and students showed us around their state-of-the-art campus. We were all extremely impressed with the only public high school in the county, and serves 1,200 students. They have a gymnasium which seats 4,000 students, and they even have a television and broadcasting studio where students do live broadcasts about school events, the news, and weather. We were truly floored by these amazing facilities and opportunities for the students in Harlan County. One of their most important programs is the dual enrollment program, which allows students to take classes for college credit. They have a 93% graduation rate and about three-quarters of them attend more school or the military after high school. Many of the students go to college and about three-quarters of them attend more school or the military after high school. Many of the students go to college at schools across Kentucky. There are also very many extra- curricular activities available for students including sports, drama, music, and other clubs. We enjoyed speaking with the students who clearly have bright futures ahead of them.

After our last day of activities, we had our celebration dinner at Sazon, a popular Mexican restaurant in Harlan that was recommended to us by many of our community partners throughout the week. We enjoyed food such as quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, and more. It was a great way to end our week in Harlan.

We have learned so much this week and are so glad we spent our spring break here in Harlan learning about Appalachian communities. We hope you enjoyed following along with us on our blog and learned a little something as well. Tomorrow at 8am, we will be headed back to College Park to finish off the semester. Thanks Harlan, for a great spring break!

Food Delivery and Lots of Gardening!

On one of the final days of our service trip, our team had the opportunity to dig in and do some hard work. We arrived in the morning to the Christ’s Hands Food Pantry to organize some of their dry food. We received an inspirational speech from one of the directors of the food pantry, Brian, about the importance of the pantry to people in the community and the importance of giving back. This invigorated our group and reminded us of our purpose on this trip. We split into two groups, one group organizing pasta and the other group lifting and loading boxes of a truck. We were surprised to see the large storage room at the food pantry and all of the dry food that they had in storage. The previous days we had been serving food in the main room and had not realized the extent of Christ’s hands rooms. The pasta group had a nice time splitting large boxes of pasta into small bags that could easily be distributed to families. It is important to Christ’s Hands mission that their food is as accessible and usable as possible. They know that a portion size bag of pasta given to dozens of family is more useful than a giant box of pasta given to one family. The other group helped unload a truck full of donations and organize these new boxes.

Cole, Adria, and Julian riding the delivery truck back to Christ's Hands

After working at Christ’s Hands, our group returned to the Church to eat lunch. The weather was nice and sunny today, if not a little bit cold. We had been asked by the leader of the church to help around the church, and because of the nice weather we were asked to do some landscaping. We weeded all of the gardens around the church and also remulched the flower beds.

A group of participants removing weeds like pros

Cole teaching the kids how to mulch a flower bed

              

Today our group did a lot more manual and difficult labor. We were reminded of the true nature of service, hard work! This hard work that we did for many hours gave us time to quietly and verbally reflect on our experiences. We had many conversations among each other about what we had learned on the trip and we thought about the community a lot. It was good after receiving so much knowledge and so many experiences from the community to be able to dig in and give back.

Snow Day Service Day!

This morning, we woke up to a beautiful blanket of white snow. Who would have thought after our warm hike on Sunday that it would snow so much today? We bundled up and headed off for our second full day of service.

Sarah got a great shot of the snow from the passenger's seat of our mini van.

Today, we were professional painters. We spent the day at the Cumberland Hope Community Center, which is an addiction recovery center for women. We met Bobbie, the house manager, who was extremely excited to have our group back at the center this year. We toured the entire house, which is full of dorm-style bedrooms and bathrooms. We were really impressed with the quality of living in the house and how welcoming it felt with many encouraging quotes on the walls. Then, Bobbie gave us the supplies to paint the hallways by the cafeteria to give them a fresh, newly-painted glow! It took our group all morning and afternoon to finish painting. We ate our lunches in the cafeteria with all of the women that live there. We all got to know the addicts for who they really are. We also learned about the process of treatment at the center, as well as asked them what their goals were for when they leave the center. Many of them are interested in working with the community to give back, which is really inspiring after all they have struggled with.

Christy and Sarah painting away!

After all that painting, we returned to Christ's Hands to help serve dinner again. A few of us got to help deliver meals to some elderly folks in nearby apartments. They seemed happy just to see a new face and have some company for a few minutes. The rest of us helped serve meals and clean up afterwards. Emma was brave enough to say the prayer before serving the meal, which she did yesterday as well! It amazes us every day how the community members have embraced us as a part of their family. Unfortunately, only a handful of people came to the soup kitchen for meals today because of the snow and the cold. On the bright side, many of us took the time to sit with them as they ate and heard some heart-wrenching stories about their lives. We hope that just sitting and talking with them may have brightened their day.

Cole, Emma, and Christy serving meals!

We hope that even the small things we did today made an impact in somebody's life.

Children, CT Scans, and Chili!

Today we began with a visit to Rosspoint elementary school in Harlan, Kentucky. We got to visit kindergarten, first grade, and third grade classes and interact with the kids. It was Dr. Seuss week at Rosspoint, so we got to read some fun stories with the kids! After meeting the younger kids, we went to the eighth-grade class and talked to them about college life. Some of our participants even gave the kids an impromptu lesson in Chinese! The kids had lots of questions about what we were studying, where we had traveled, and how they could also take advantage of opportunities around them.

Stella, Lori, and Siyao teaching the 8th graders about the Chinese language!

Our group had a lot of fun with the Rosspoint Wildcats!

Our next stop for the day was at Appalachian Regional Hospital. We started our visit there with a delicious lunch that they generously provided! We got to choose between fried chicken and ribs, and sides- vegetables and cornbread…a true southern meal! After lunch, the community outreach coordinator gave us of tour of the entire facility. We got to see the room setups, some of the hospital’s newest equipment, peeked into the lab and the explored the morgue! Moreover, we were informed about the biggest health issues that the residents of this county face. Diabetes, occupational injuries, and chronic respiratory illnesses are some of the most prevalent issues.

The old morgue! (Not in use anymore.)

Lastly, we visited today was Christ’s Hands, a food bank and meal distribution center in the heart of town. Dinner was served at 5, so we got there a little bit earlier to help set up for dinner distribution and pack boxed dinners to be delivered to people who need food but can’t leave their house. Nearly 70% of the meals that Christ’s Hands provides are hand-delivered. After preparing dinners, we distributed the meals prepared. It was extremely rewarding to be able to interact with the other volunteers; some of which have been volunteering at Christ’s Hands for over 15 years. They were so friendly and enthusiastic about the work they do. We also spoke with the locals who were more than willing to share their experiences over dinner (it was chili night!). Afterwards, we helped the other volunteers clean up and pack leftovers that will eventually be distributed on “Leftovers Friday”. Back at the house we sat down to enjoy some toasty grilled cheese with tomato soup and broccoli-an American classic! We can’t wait to wrap up our day with a nightly reflection. See you tomorrow!

Our group by the beautiful murals at Christ's Hands.

Emily and Tory made good friends with Kale, who has been serving meals every Tuesday for 15 years.

Day 3: I Sold my Soul to the Company Store

We all started this beautiful Monday morning bright and early (not really) at the local community technical college. We found this place so interesting because as college students we value education and appreciated seeing others from a far off state and a different background value education as well. Seeing studens a lot older than us was very surprising, but we understood it was because they were looking for a new start in life after the fall of the coal industry. We got to sit around and hear all of their stories and learned much about how their stories brought them to the school. These were very inspirational people and we enjoyed hearing them speak about how lucky they felt and could really feel how much they loved their community. Next we went into the Coal Academy to see how people trained using simulators to practice with heavy machinery to eventually be put to work in the mines. It was a very interesting machine which we decided to call "the diggy thing".

Cole trying the simulator.

We also got to walk inside of a small mock mine that was also used for practice where we learned a little more about what it must be like to work in a mine. It was very small and dark and definitely not a lot of fun.

Our group in the mock mine- so dark and small!

Our group in front of the school with Mr. Ronald Hayes!

Next stop on our crazy adventure full of wild and wacky shenanigans, we took an exhaustive tour of the Kentucky Coal Museum where we learned much about what it was like for those in the coal industries in the 50's and 60's. There was so much to see on the hundreds of floors of the museum. There weren't really that much, but it felt pretty large. There was a very interesting outdoor elevator that we all shoved ourselves into. The lack of personal space brought us all closer together. The tour guide was a lovely woman that was also a fountain of information. Something that really blew our minds was the idea that coal companies gave out their own currency that you could only use at that companies store. Can you believe that? Tragic!

We ended our day with a delicious meal and a great conversation with Joe, the husband of the woman providing us with housing this week. He was great, told us a lot, and I want him to be my dad. He was a very wise man, a great politician and, and told us a lot about what it was like to be an outsider in Appalachian politics. It wasn't easy, but he managed. Overall, it was a fantastic day full of good times and wise words from wise, old Appalachian people.

Lucky in Kentucky!

Today, we adventured for hours through the Kentucky wilderness. After a good night's rest, for some, we drove to Cumberland Gap National Park for a day of bonding and strenuous activity. To a wonderful surprise, the visitor's center had souvenirs! The majority of the group bought dad hats while some bought, T-shirts, a patch or a mini silver spoon. After hiking up a never ending mountain, we finally arrived at the Tri-State Peak. The view was breathtaking and the best part was being in three states at once without the drive. During our hike, we saw and walked over a waterfall. We all took a lunch break and ate our sandwiches next to the waterfall.

Our team at the visitor's center!

Our next destination was the Pinnacle overlook. However, this mission was easier said than done because unfortunately we got lost. But don't worry because we ended up finding  a very underwhelming cave, also known as the Gap cave. It was still cool, though. After our little detour, we ended up driving to the Pinnacle overlook. After a very short hike up the trail, we arrived at the Pinnacle. We witnessed the panoramic view of both Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia; we could see lakes, towns, and even people walking (they looked like ants)!

Cole took a stellar selfie with our whole group on the overlook!

After hiking for about 9.5 miles, or 22,000 steps, we deserved a break. We all drove to the town of Cumberland Gap, TN, where we stopped at a coffee shop. Many of us bought coffee or ice cream, which was sooo good! We still had time to spend, so we walked around the town and stumbled upon a blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith showed us his work while generously talking about casting iron and how he adopted the trade. It was a very peaceful town. Every person we encountered was sweet and welcoming; some of us are even considering moving to Kentucky one day! Needless to say, we had an amazing, yet exhausting day bonding in rural Appalachia.

The quaint Gap Creek Coffee House and Cafe.

Relaxing by the creek.

Destination: Kentucky!

Our AB trip to Harlan began bright and early! We departed from College Park at around 8am this morning. The group met in lot 1 and while we waited for everyone to arrive, those of us who were going to be driving practiced parking the vans! Then, we (somehow) fit all of our luggage into the cars and off we went! One of the doors of the minivan came UNHINGED but we got it back on and it hasn’t fallen off yet so all is well. The team was split into two vans, and while one of the vans was very chatty and listening to music, the other van was quieter and most people took naps.

We stopped for lunch around midday, at the Pink Cadillac Diner in Virginia. True to its name, the diner had a classic pink Cadillac outside and the inside was decorated in a 1950s style. There were all kinds of movie posters and records on the walls, the music was classic rock and roll, and there was even a vintage-style ice cream counter! We got all kinds of food: burgers, omelets, pork chops, and lots of French fries! 

Posing with the Pink Cadillac Diner.

Check out that pink brick!

After lunch, we kept on driving. As we got closer to Kentucky, we got to watch the scenery

change and become more mountainous. We drove by lots of farms with animals and so many cows! One of the vans took a brief detour into Tennessee and stopped at the welcome center. Then, we made it to Kentucky! We drove down steep, windy roads along a creek and got to see lots of towns and houses along the way (and more horses!). We arrived at our destination around 6:15 and set up our beds for the night. After everyone was settled, some of the group went to the grocery store next door and picked up supplies for the week. Most of the rest of the group went outside and played frisbee in the playground outside the house where we are staying- it rained a little bit, but that didn’t stop us! Once it got too dark to keep playing, though, we had dinner as a group: spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread-yummy!

Leslie, the best staff advisor ever, shopping for 16!

A delicious meal for our first night at the Coal Camp House!