I learned many conceptions we see today, especially in the media, are actually misconceptions. We have such a fallacy in believing the world is corrected once a disaster is no longer mentioned. But affected areas are still healing. Katrina's aftermath is still evident and alive, while the oil spill is still lurking in the Gulf. Neither is mostly absolved. Both are still there, still in need of help, though little apparent to people outside these regions. These disasters are still there, still causing pain and hardship for the residents.
I would like to challenge anyone who claims the Katrina region is fixed, that the Gulf is 75% clean of oil. We heard plenty of eyewitness accounts proclaiming continued pain. We saw for ourselves the infrastructure that must be rebuilt five years later, and will continue to be rebuilt long after our trip.
I learned much on this trip about misery, recovery, hope and stubborness. I feel I've been affected in profound ways, such as I can seriously feel stirrings of compassion on a much deeper level than I felt before the trip. I'm going to appear cliqued here, but one person can make a difference. How many people whom we talked to were grateful we had taken an interest in a forgotten disaster-recovery area in our country? How many willingly shared their lives painful stories to a bunch of college kids? We may have made a small difference in their lives and upon the Gulf region, but I feel the greatest impact was made upon me and my fellow Alternate Fall Break travellers. We came on this trip to have a good time, but we also willingly gave up our vacations to learn and work. We've made but a small stirring in a wide sea, but even a small stirring can expound to create further reaching results. Our experiences and stories are not hidden behind the agendas of others. No one needs to read between the lines and decifer the facts to get the real story. Our experiences and thoughts are raw, true and less biased by the outer world because we saw for ourselves the truth of the painful disasters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Great Experience!

Check out my blog from AFB:
http://mississippiafb2001.blogspot.com/

AFB Mississippi

This was such an awesome experience. I'm so glad I was given the chance to go on this trip.
It has taken me a few days to really understand what I have gotten out of the trip. I've only learned small bits of information, but have realized that it has changed my perceptions of the world. Perceptions about people, industry and nature.
I'm most surprised by people's resiliency. Why would people want to return to an area that was destroyed by Katrina and the oil spill? Hurricanes will come that way again. Wouldn't it be just as easy to buy a home and find a stable job away from the coast, rather than totally start over? I guess if my home had been destroyed, I'd probably try to pick up the pieces myself, instead of moving many miles away in unfamiliar territory. This is one perception I gained from the trip. People need the security of their homes and family, even after a terrible disaster, to correct their lives. It seems crazy, but in a similar situation, I would feel the same way.

Oil On Our Shores... First Hand Experience

On Sunday October 10, we traveled to Ship Island, on the western end of the Gulf Shores National Seashore. Here we witnessed the oil clean-up process first hand. Our students had the opportunity to talk with clean-up workers, and watched the process. Simple kitchen tools were the most effective in digging out the tar balls and sifting through the contaminated sand. Although very labor intensive, crews on this stretch of beach were successful in collecting an average of some 750 pounds of oil per day (as much as 1200 pounds on bad (?) days, or as little as 500 on good (?) days). Much of this oil was between 6 and 8" below the surface, but as noted by the clean-up crew, the beach changes so dynamically that they personally saw the beach grow as much as 6 feet in just a week's time - thus burying the oil for even deeper.

Upon our return home (see link), we learned about the possibility of a new, motorized method for removing oil from below the surface of the sand. Will it work? Is it going to be effective given what we learned about how this beach behaves/moves each day? Will the clean-up impact the organisms that live on/under the beach? What do you think?

Bus will arrive back in Ship this afternoon!

The bus is due back to Ship this afternoon. I know the crew will be tired after the all-night ride, but the trip was fantastic and rewarding. The students worked so incredibly hard and made a strong impression on the local community. The whole university should be proud of how they represented Shippensburg! Some of the experiences we had were quite intense and will take some time to process, so I anticipate some wonderful blog posts. Learn, serve, and pass it on!

We are here... just in time for sunset on the gulf.

Sunset on Biloxi

photo courtesy of Amanda Bumbaugh. class of '14

Maps of the Gulf Coast oil spill

The New York Times continues its coverage of the Gulf Coast oil spill with an animated slide show that displays the area and volume of oil as it spilled over time.

I made a blog :D

Hey guys, I made a blog for our trip and was hoping that posting to the AFB blog everyone would be able to see it and follow it. Let me know if it works

-- Kiana Elaine

Our Itinerary For Alternative Fall Break

Thursday, October 7, 2010

i. Depart Shippensburg ~5:00 p.m. (Coach Transport By Hunt Valley Motor Coach)

ii. Overnight - Bristol TN - Comfort Inn

Friday, October 8, 2010

i. Depart Bristol at 7:30 a.m.

ii. Breakfast in the hotel before departure

iii. Lunch on the road.

iv. Arrive at Gulf Coast Research Lab (Dinner and Check-in around 6:00 p.m.)

v. Dr. Drzyzga and Dr. Jantz arrive at GCRL Time TBA.

vi. Welcome and Orientation Meeting (7-8:30 p.m.)

vii. Free time ~8:30 to 11:00 Curfew - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday October 9, 2010

i. Breakfast 7:00 a.m. Everyone Departs for field/group activities at 7:45 a.m.

ii. Group 1 - 8:00 to 12:00 at the Schooner Pier Complex, Gulfport - Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum - Shoreline Cleanup and Landscape Improvement.

iii. Group 2 - 10:00 to 4:00 “summer days in the park” program in Gulfport, MS. Coordination with YMCA and HOPE CDA. (Will have lunch in the park).

iv. Group 1 - will return to the GCRL at 12:00 for lunch and from 1:00 to 4:00 will work in Davis Bayou area on educational trail clean-up projects.

v. All groups - Dinner at GCRL at 5:00 p.m.

vi. Evening Group Meeting, Discussion, and Activities- 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

vii. Free time 8:30 to 11:00 Curfew - 11:00 p.m.

Sunday October 10, 2010

i. Breakfast 7:00 to 7:30

ii. Group Work, Sunday Morning Walking Tour, Exploration Time

Before and After Katrina

iii. 11:00 Arrival at Gulfport Pier for Boat Trip to Ship Island

iv. Lunch on Ship Island, Tour of Fort Massachusetts (Civil War Fort), Exploration of Barrier Islands, Individual Reflection Time.

v. Return to Gulport, by 5:30 p.m.

vi. Dinner at a "The Shed" in Ocean Springs. to about 7:00 p.m.

vii. Group Meeting, Discussion, Activities, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

vii. Free time 8:30 to 11:00 Curfew - 11:00 p.m.

Monday October 11, 2010

i. Breakfast Time at GCRL 7:00 to 7:30?

ii. Service Program Morning 8:00 to 12:00:

Group 1: Pascagoula Site MS Land Trust - Marsh Clean-up Projects

Group 2: Hope CDA - Build Sites - Biloxi - Gulfport PART 1 (Same group a.m. & p.m.)

iii. Service Program Afternoon 1:00 to 5:00

Group 1: GCRL Tour & Project TBA (Same group a.m. & p.m.)

Group 2: Hope CDA - Build Sites - Biloxi - Gulfport PART 2

iv. Dinner - at GCRL 5:00 p.m.

v. Pack-up/ Clean-up Check out 6:00 to 6:45.

vi. Departure from GCRL by 7:00 p.m.

Day’s Discussion & Reflection - to happen on the bus.

Movies

Tuesday October 8, 2010

i. Drive through the night.

ii. Breakfast at a Shoney’s or Breakfast Bar place

iii. Lunch (in our coolers?) or at a Subway type of place?

iv. Arrival at Ship by 4:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Friday November 19, 2010 - Student Symposium

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Rowland 200)

Student Experience Showcase

Other Student Outcome Projects (TBA) but perhaps:

“Write the Ship” - special section for AFB 2010

Websites - Blog and Photo Archive

Celebration of Student Research Program - Spring 2011