I took my road trip for 2 and half hours and I learned that Kentucky makes everyone car sick and gravel roads that go up mountains are nothing like the gravel roads on a farm. I never realized how much I had or how our poor is nothing like East Kentucky until I realized that no one really cleans up the roads like we do in MO. Buses and old cars on the side of the road, gravel roads all over the mountains. This is a coal driven area and these people love the nature, but at the same time they need money. So they give up their mountains to help feed their families. But this is about Orientation not the Kentucky community, but one of the main things we all talked about was Kentucky and how those in the Appalachian were first the rebels of the area, the murders, religiously prosecuted, thieves, and so on. So pretty much the first people living in the mountains were the outcasts. The the coal came and the miners came. Being a coal miner was not the best job, but it paid well (still does) and provided homes, food, and life to the mountains. One thing I learned about East Kentucky is each place is different, there are very poor, very rich in the same area, and middle class all over the place.
Orientation was a good thing and helped me bond with not just the girls from my house, but with the other CAP volunteers all over the East Kentucky area. It was kind of like a retreat and since it was set up with God in mind everything seems like a haze. It not that I was in a haze for those days, but things happened that that are hard to explain. There were really nice people and some annoying people. Overall I loved all the people there and liked almost all of them too.
A couple of things I do remember is that we had an affirmation circle thing: were there was a big circle, and for 30 seconds they would say nice things about the person in the middle of the circle. I remember hearing, "bubbly, great smile, great laugh, and it ended with steadfast" I thought it was interesting that some of the things that I hate the most about my appearance are things people said that was good about me. the other thing I thought was interesting was the steadfast statement. I have heard that word all the time in the bible, but I never thought that I would compare it to myself. I asked what steadfast means and other told me it meant, "loyal, steady, constant, and consistent". I laughed, because one of the girls I met told me that she wanted me to write a couple of books about my life saying how I have done so many things for just ONE year. If I was constantly changing things about my life how could I be steadfast, but the two girls I was talking to interrupted me and said, "that my actions and heart were steadfast even if my life wasn't". So I hope that I will always be steadfast in my heart, even if I have a problem with being constant in my life choices.
I also went through my first hunger banquet and I learned that rice can taste way better than other things. I would go farther in my thought about being part of the low-income group, but I feel I couldn't cover it in one paragraph. I did learn something I always knew, but the United States is so much more wealthy then other countries. On a scale of the World Wide Poverty there is not a person in the United States that is considered low-income. We have the working poor and the people on the street, but even they get more food than the orphans in the 3rd world countries.Don't worry I'm not becoming a anti-money nut, but it was nice reminder that I should be happy about what I have, because others have way less than me.
Orientation was great and I'm glad I got to experience, I wish I could share more about it, but those five days have felt like months. I did get to explore the mountains and enjoy not having internet and phone service for a couple of days. I also learned about other programs in CAP and hopefully sometime this year, if there is a disaster ( I hope there isn't) I'll get to leave my job for a week or two and do disaster relief for a bit.
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