JJ

KSC group builds houses, friendships in Guatemala

2007-02-02T21:33:34Z

Staff commentary: 18 Keene State students and staff prove that a foreign language is no barrier to helping those in need JJ PRIOR Managing Editor
(More photos to come) You've probably never thought twice about flushing your toilet paper. A cold shower is likely a rare inconvenience and a new soccer ball is as close as a five-minute, $10 trip to Target. Such are the standards of everyday living we so often take for granted in the U.S. I had the opportunity to see for myself what life is like in a third-world country early this past January when, along with 17 others from Keene State College, I traveled to Guatemala to participate in Habitat for Humanity's Global Village program. Our objectives were simple: The group would work on the construction of two houses for families in need while experiencing the lifestyle and culture in a developing country. We did all that and more.
The 2007 trip was KSC's sixth, and the fourth to the town of Rabinal, located in the mountainous Baja Verapez region of central Guatemala. Every year, about 18 people from the KSC community are selected to participate in the 10-day trip. In 2007, the trip was comprised of three KSC staff leaders, two student leaders who had participated in the 2006 trip, and 13 student participants, two of whom were fluent Spanish speakers. According to Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, local operations began in 1979 following a major earthquake. In the time since, Habitat volunteers have built over 20,000 houses in the country. Relying on donations and primarily volunteer labor, Habitat provides low-cost, quality houses with no-interest mortgages. Families in Guatemala pay an average US$38 per month over five to eight years, which helps finance new building projects. After having our passports stamped and collecting our baggage our group exited the airport and faced a crowd of hundreds of Guatemalan people waiting to meet arriving passengers. Like most of us, junior Amy Patryn immediately noticed one of the most striking physical differences about the people.
"Everyone is really short," said Patryn. "And Rideout was a giant." Indeed, at "six-three and a half," senior Michael Rideout had quite a bit of height over most Guatemalan adults. He would later find himself "Gigante Miguel" by the local children. Trip co-leader Kelly Mullane, a junior, recognized our Habitat representative Yohanna Ovalle from the crowd and greeted her with a hug. The group piled into two large vans as the drivers, who spoke no English, climbed atop to secure our luggage to the roof racks. As we drove through Guatemala City, people outside seemed to reflect our gaze of wonder as, in all likeliness, we were quite a sight.	1/400 at f/4, ISO 100, 10mm
Traffic was busy in this city whose metropolitan area is home to about 5 million people, and although it is the largest and most developed city in the country, pollution was noticeable. Most vehicles use diesel fuel, at about US$2.45 per gallon, and at times our vans would be stuck behind buses belching black exhaust. Many pickup trucks or other vehicles would have people casually riding atop, holding on to steel bars intended just for carrying passengers. The people were friendly and waved, especially children who giggled when they received a wave back. "The people were just so nice. I don't think I expected them to be as happy and open as they were," said senior Elizabeth Raynes. Although the first stop on the trip was a mere 40 miles away on a map, the ride by van took about six hours. The highways that traversed the Guatemalan countryside hid none of the mountains' character and had many sharp curves, climbs and drops that made a long and tiring but nonetheless interesting ride.
Returning trip members joked that the group would have to get used to the time difference. While Guatemala does fall in the Central Time Zone, the concept instead revolved around the basic fact that things would just take longer in general. "Dinner at 6:30 means we would start eating at seven," said sophomore Adolfo Ramirez, one of the fluent Spanish-speaking team members. "There is a difference between our time compared to 'Guatemalan time.'" The first two full days were spent in the city of Panajachel, on the shore of Lake Atitlán and under the looming triple-peaks of dormant volcanoes San Pedro, Tolimán and Atitlán. Though not the most common tourist destination, Panajachel had many merchants who would follow the group as we moved, persistently showing off finely woven scarves or colorful beaded jewelry. Young children, dressed in traditional clothing, were often the ones selling goods and placed the various items on us before bargaining a price. One old woman handed off a small handcrafted item and declared the last person to touch it would be cursed if he or she did not give in to buying it from her. Often the price for a handcrafted item from one of these vendors would convert to only a few dollars, although it was clear that something of similar craftsmanship would sell for much, much more in the U.S.	1/400 at f/4, ISO 100, 10mm 1/400 at f/4, ISO 100, 10mm
The time spent in Panajachel was a good introduction to life in Guatemala, but the group saw true culture in Rabinal, where all the work would be done.
Juan Toj, the president of the local Habitat affiliate, welcomed our Global Village team to Rabinal with a dinner and festive ceremony. His six-year-old daughter Marli, dressed in bright traditional clothes, presented each of the team members with an orange, the fruit for which the area is best known. It was then, with the translating assistance of Ramirez and senior Brianne Ito, that the families for whom we would be building were introduced. One house would become the home of Marcella Ramirez, a local "American clothing" store, and her two daughters. The other house had a more personal aspect to the construction. The mason in charge of its construction would, upon completion, move his own family of seven in. "Rufino...was such a hard worker and was so thankful that we were all there," said senior Kassie Dupre. "He loves his family and that made me happy to see. He even tried to learn some English. I thought that was neat." The living conditions we faced at our hotel were tolerable, though each team member seemed to have his or her own take.	1/3 at f/4.5, ISO 800, 11mm 1/6 at f/5.6, ISO 800, 20mm
"The biggest challenge for me was the presence of large spiders and cockroaches in my hotel room," said sophomore Katelin Tolman. "I was expecting poverty, but I was not expecting to see some of the basic structures missing from the towns. In Rabinal there was not a sewage system." To prevent clogs, toilet paper had to be thrown away rather than flushed. Our group was warned in advance that not all food we would encounter would agree completely with our stomachs. I discovered this firsthand late that first night, but after taking a day to recover I was right back in the game.
The rest of the group found the two worksites as little more than shallow holes in the ground, each in the shape of what would eventually be a solid foundation. No electricity was used in the building process, so concrete was mixed by hand with shovels. Water for mixing the concrete was drawn by rope and five-gallon bucket from an open-top well adjacent to one worksite. "I felt pretty badass getting water out of that well," said Mullane. "[It] sounds so stupid, but that was some heavy water!" To reach the other worksite, water was siphoned through a hose and across a dirt road about 300 feet away. While Ito and Ramirez worked hard to translate instructions whenever possible, the other group members did their best to communicate with the masons and apprentices with simple phrases and pointing. Like most of the group members, Dupre took advantage of the unique linguistic experience. "Two of the boys in one of the families worked on the site with us every day and they taught me some Spanish and I taught them some English. It was a great experience."	1/1600 at f/4, ISO 100, 10mm 1/2000 at f/2.8, ISO 200, 32mm
In addition to mixing concrete, team members formed frames of reinforcing bar, around which the concrete would be poured to complete the foundation. While some of the team members are members of the KSC chapter of Habitat, many had no previous building experience. "I have never built a house before," said senior Caitlin Baum. "Learning how to cement bricks or put rebar together was challenging and scary at first but after a while I was able to do it."
While the mason at each worksite was building from the same standard blueprint supplied by Habitat, each had his own way of building. And since everything was done by hand, the team had to make the most of the strength in its numbers. To pour concrete into the foundation forms, team members at one worksite took turns shoveling the heavy gray muck into buckets, and passed the buckets down a line until they reached their destination. "My favorite part was the bucket brigade," said Patryn. "We really worked as a team and had to pay attention. It was also the most physical work we did, and it felt good to be tired at the end of the day from working so hard." "It worked amazing," said senior Carla Lessig. "They taught the other site how well it worked, and it made a huge difference.	1/800 at f/2.8, ISO 100, 105mm
On Sunday the masons took a well-deserved day off, and our group spent the morning at the local preschool that Marli attends. Team members stripped the walls of the signs and moved bookcases and chairs to the center of one large classroom and began applying a new coat of paint. Marli excitedly helped mix and apply the paint, carelessly covering herself in the process. Some of the teachers and the principal even joined us in working. For the size of the room, we marveled at how quickly we finished. Our group then presented a collection of school supplies we had brought to the principal. At most days' ends, our group would return to the hotel seeking relaxation and a shower. Warm showers were few and far between, as hot water is achieved through unreliable electrical heating units contained within the showerheads. "The first two minutes of each shower were usually kinda warm," said junior Katelyn Sullivan, who as a returning student trip leader knew what she was in for. "If it was warm it wasn't powerful, but who cares-you are in Guatemala. Showers aren't that important." Like many on the trip, Ramirez saw the showers as just another indicator of the kind of lifestyle in the area. "That taught me what their culture is really like," he said. "By taking a cold shower I felt that I was living the reality that poor people were living over there." Unlike years past, few children gathered around the worksites to watch the Global Village team at work. "That's the biggest difference this year," said Mike Ward, administrative assistant to the Young Student Center and a trip leader. "Usually there's anywhere from 20 to 150 kids. On another trip a school got out and they all came to the site. They'd yell at you in English or try and get you to say things in English. Then they'd practice it." However, children who lived in the area of the group's hotel would come to play soccer or Frisbee every night. The kids loved having their pictures taken, especially if they could see the instant result on a digital camera screen. Playing with local children was a highlight for many of the group members. "As soon as we got back from a day of working, they would be waiting outside the gates waiting to play with us," said Lessig. "They absolutely loved us, and desired the attention. Even though I was extremely exhausted from the work, there was no possible way to say no to them." On the last day of work, the families presented the each group member with a small ceramic gift during a closing ceremony. "I love the pots we received as gifts from the families," said junior Allie Warren. "That was so sweet." "To realize that these families who had little disposable income would be so generous was very moving," said Ward. The trip's end came quickly but the impact of the work will continue on as two families in a small town in Guatemala turn their new houses into homes, and the team members remember the people and experiences they encountered. "We may have been 18 different people, but we had one common goal that brought us together and we didn't let anything stop us from achieving the goal," said Sullivan. "I'm proud of every person on the team, because each one of us stepped outside our comfort zone and really learned from the trip." JJ prior is a junior majoring in social science. In Guatemala, children call him JotaJota.

jotajotap @ 2006-10-13T22:01:00

2006-10-14T02:04:54Z

I ran a 1:23 half-marathon sunday.

I haven't raced since last Thanksgiving.

I'm BACK!

jotajotap @ 2006-10-05T22:45:00

2006-10-06T02:47:06Z

@:-D

That's me!

I've been reading The Little Prince

2006-09-15T03:26:49Z

Ok, I'll admit it. Where LJ was once an important part of my daily life, it hardly exists anymore. 15 weeks since last I posted?

This summer was, as I have told many, the greatest summer of my life. I went to Europe with an amazing group of people, toured on my own and visited a good friend in a beautiful country few even know about, saw my cousins in their house before they moved back to the States. I worked at my summer camp for five weeks as a counselor, and another five weeks in the kitchen. I learned to cook lots of different things. I got to work with some really amazing people, and really feel more at home at camp than anywhere else. Yeah, it has that effect.

I can't believe that's how I'm summing up my summer, but I really don't think I could express it in words. And I was so busy and caught up in the experience, that for once I wasn't taking pictures (except when i was teaching photography).

All in all, amazing.

Now I'm back in the old routine. Taking a break from xc, training (slowly) for the Boston Half-Marathon next month.

Managing editor of the newspaper this year. Still taking pictures here and there, but now I only have to worry about the editorial staff and laying out the section of the paper that no one reads.

Just as predicted, I did fairly awful in my classes last spring, and I will be making up for it down the line. For now, I have a freshman-looking schedule of 100 level geol, bio, and history classes, plus concert choir and a 300 level education class that has no classroom experience component. I also added a 1-credit course on coaching. I'll be a ASEP-certified Level I high school coach at the end, halfway through the semester. Pretty sweet.

My computer is, yet again, broken. Anytime I'm online, or for that matter anytime I'm awake and not in class, I am in the newspaper office.

I've lost my inspiration. I wonder who still reads these? I'll admit I haven't checked my friends page all summer. Kinda surprised by a few posts though. Good to see a few old-schoolers are still kicking around.

It's that time again.

2006-06-18T10:45:51Z

I've fallen behind again here, since I've been home for two days and have yet to summarize my (amazing) trip via LJ.

But...I have to go to camp right now.

If anyone wishes to see the hundreds and hundreds of raw photos organized in no way other than chronologically by city destination, take a look here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/runincircles

As for now, I'm headed off again. To camp, for the rest of the summer. It would be nice to think I'll be back in Weymouth before school starts, but realistically I don't see that happening. It's just not easy to do without a car.

But, I have written before and here it is again, I would love it if you wrote me a letter--the old-fashioned, low-tech kind--and mailed it to me.

Getting mail at summer camp is every bit as exciting for counselors as it is for campers, especially since we're gone so much longer and probably have a lot more stuff we could be doing with friends. So think about that, and if you're reading this now, chances are you don't have a whole lot going on...so if you find youself having 10 minutes of spare time, write me a note or something...what you've been up to, if anything blew up in town, how Marilyn Slattery is ruining WHS this year, or just say hi. I can assure you I will write back, and think very highly of you. Cause most people won't write.

Haha ok now if that heartfelt request managed to convince you to actually spend some time doing this, the address is here:

JJ Prior
c/o Camp Takodah
55 Fitzwilliam Rd.
Richmond, NH 03470

I promise pictures will follow soon!

jotajotap @ 2006-05-31T15:37:00

2006-05-31T13:47:19Z

I'm off on my own now. The group flew out of Warsaw this morning at 10:35, but because of rail construction I had no choice but to leave them early at 6:00. I'm currently in Vienna, Austria, waiting for my next train in 6 hours. I'm sure this city is amazing, but I am both too tired and somewhat lonely without the group. What a bunch of friggin amazing people. It makes me sad that I don't have anyone to laugh with about the weird people I see on trains or to imagine the meaning of ambiguous warning signs.

Just a quick one while I'm passing the time here. I should get off though cause this place charges €4/hour which isn't all that cheap.

17 hours and 3 trains till Croatia!

 Station/Stop  		 Date  		 Arr.  		 Dep.  		Duration   	

Warszawa Centralna 	31.05.06 			 06:00   	7:28
Wien Südbf (Ost) 			 13:28  		
									Layover 6:07

Wien Südbf (Ost) 					 19:35  	4:46
Villach Hbf 		01.06.06 	 00:21  	
									Layover 3:47

Villach Hbf 						 04:08  	1:57
Ljubljana 				 06:05  		
									Layover 0:15

Ljubljana 						 06:20 		2:30
Rijeka 			 08:50

jotajotap @ 2006-05-28T00:08:00

2006-05-27T22:52:12Z

First order of business: Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls - Aug. 1 in N.H.
Any interest? Please let me know asap.

On to recent events. Oh man. Soooo much traveling. Coming to you now from Kraków, Poland, where the Pope happens to be visiting at the same time as us. Our whole trip is basically scheduled around visiting the professor's friends here, and then using them as local tour guides. Well yesterday when we were met at the train station by his two friends, both Ph.D University professors, completely shitfaced and ready to show us the city. Why? Because the Pope is here. The city is under a temporary prohibition during His Holiness' stay, so these two guys hit the bar hard right up until the restriction went into effect. Then, they complained about His presence to no end, "F the Pope," etc. Pretty much a complete embarrassment despite them being the drunk Poles leading a bunch of Americans around. Later on they showed us around the city. Kinda. At the restaurant we went to for dinner, where we were welcomed by locals with a chorus of "No Beer, the Pope is Here", one of the guys tried ordering our food for the whole group one by one, despite the waitress speaking better English than he did given his current state of intoxication.

So today we went to Auschwitz. I cannot describe that. It's just something you will have to experience for yourself. I will have pictures up soon; I should have some downtime before we leave for Warsaw tomorrow, the last leg of this first half of my trip.

little update via Slovakia

2006-05-25T14:48:08Z

So lucky for me all of europe has these internet cafés EVERYWHERE. I´m paying one Slovak Krown per minute to be online right now. The exchange rate here is awesome, about 28šk to US$1. Right now I`m in the Vysoké Tatry {High Tatra mountains} of northern Slovakia. It is absolutely gorgeous. I´ll be doing some hiking later and for the past couple days we`ve just been relaxing--this is the halfway point of the school trip, so this is our chance to catch our breath and take it easy in the beautiful country.

I`m really glad i popped for a new card for my camera before I left, I`ve almost filled up the 6 gigabyte microdrive, which is totally insane. I need to find a computer place that can burn the files onto a DVD-R for me. Then once I get to Croatia I should be able to put some pictures up on here.

Not a whole lot to report, my best commentary comes alongside photos, so I`ll just have to wait till then. Hope everyone is doing well!

jotajotap @ 2006-05-18T10:39:00

2006-05-18T08:40:09Z

Hello all. Coming to zou from a Prague internet cafe, home of kezboards that reverse the z and y kezs as we know them in the States. I§ll make an effort to type correctly from here on. First couple days have been fun and sleep=deprived. This city is really neat, with the old architecture throughout and not just in any particular §historic district.§

The group is great, we all get along really well and it is sure to be a great 2 weeks ahead. Today we plan to tour the Prague castle and meet up with a local friend of Brian, one of the professors. The weather has been changing more often than even New England, with rain and sun alternating almost hourly, but today looks to be a little better. I woke up early this morning and couldn§t get back to sleep so I went for a run and got VERY lost. Turns out the way I understood the layout of the city was completely upside down. 2 hours after I left, with probably about 15 km traversed and the aid of two English=speaking locals, I managed to find my way back to our hostel, where no one had even woken yet. We just went to breakfast at a cafe and stopped here for some online time. I think I§m being charged 1.7 Czech krowns per minute, which is a fairly good rate. The rate is about 22 to the dollar, and I got 1260 for US60.

We haven§t really done too much super exciting stuff yet, but this city is really neat. I§m really having fun. Ok well I am paying to sit here and think of what to say so I¨ll just sign off for now.

Hopefully some pictures to follow once I§m not paying.

Am I really listening to Len right now?

2006-05-11T03:49:22Z

I think a year ago it was Erin Graham who posted something to the effect of "Sophomores in college...how old are we?"

Yea. So I have completed my second year of college. Let me restate that-- I am no longer in my second year. This semester was just short of a total failure, and certainly nowhere near complete. I just stopped doing basically all work altogether. I even had people checking on how my work was doing--friends who care--often to whom I would have to lie and say progress was being made. Well, it wasn't.

In denying how bad I was doing, I still don't really know. I'm not going to let it drag me down right now; I have a crazy summer coming up and I need the break. School will be there when I get back, no different from now, so I will deal with it then. I just need to identify and acknowledge my limits.

It's very possible that by the end of my fourth year I will have 34 journalism credits. I am not a journalism major. Hmm.

</negativity>

I bought a new camera last month. Should I have? Probably not. But I really like it. (see Guster concert pictures, previous entry) I did my sister's senior portraits this week and I'm pretty happy with the results.

I sorta wish I was around more to do more portraits. I found a good lab to do my printing and I think there's a market for alternatives to the ridiculous prices that studios charge.

That said, if anyone wants sibling portraits for Mother's Day...I'm here and I'd be more than happy to do something like that all professional-like for little more than the cost of the prints.

...it would be nice if the weather cooperated.

So I'm leaving Tuesday for Europe. Two weeks in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. Then I'm splitting off from the group for two more weeks in Croatia with my friend Sid from camp. I'm really super excited. I've never left the country, so this is going to be a real adventure with everything brand-new for me.

Kastav, the Adriatic coastal town where I'll be staying!

And apparently Catie Markesich will be in Croatia also!? Hopefully I can catch up with her. That would be neat.

So then once I get back on the 15th of June I'll basically have 2 days to recover and get ready for camp...the whole summer this time. How bad is it that I know my summer is exactly 15 weeks long because EVERY one of them is being used? Well either way, that's how it is. It's a good thing for me though, really. It means that I won't be able to take on any extra projects or anything that can drag me down.

Please help control the unwanted pet population and remember to spay or neuter your pets. Ok clearly I have exhausted my thought processes for the day. Goodnight.

jotajotap @ 2006-04-27T01:54:00

2006-04-27T06:04:22Z

In the van ride to the service work site in Keene:

Kaitlin: Yay for the only state where seatbelts aren't required.
Joe Pisapia: Really?
Me: Yea man, Live Free or Die.
(pause)
Adam Gardner: (somberly) New Hampshire loses thousands of people every year...to not living free.

ok well it was funny then.

What a weekend. Guster was super cool. Great guys, great cause, great concert. It was a little crazy actually..the PA cut out twice, but subsequently they played acoustic which was a pretty nice treat. Right up at the endge of the stage. (see last photo)

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 800, 28mm

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm

1/1000, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 115mm

1/200, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 28mm

1/200, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 17mm

and here's the rest:

http://community.webshots.com/album/549777225CDOAPd

Enjoy

Yay!

2006-04-07T03:59:33Z

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Good to know, now that I'm back to taking 6th grade math in college...

jotajotap @ 2006-04-06T01:32:00

2006-04-06T05:59:46Z

Please do not read this. I mean it. This will be a meaningless entry for my own use, and all I am going to do in it is complain. I really don't like complaining. I think way too many people do it, I think it's contagious, I think it's a bad habit, and it's something I'm trying really hard to stop doing as much.

I have been a wreck lately. This might not be outwardly apparent, but I have been so confused. Ever since returning from Mississippi I have just been lost. I was really glad my article came out good and people liked it, unless they are only going to say good things. I think it came out as good as I hoped for.

After visiting friends at other schools the following weekend, I became increasingly aware of my dissatisfaction of the student community at KSC. I convinced myself that I wanted to transfer somewhere more fun. My kind of fun. I convinced myself that I would be able to find somewhere else that had a more active campus and student body.

I got out of bed to write this and Keith turned the tv volume back up. Grr.

I'm just depressing myself more now. I just want to sleep. I want to take a nap and not have to wake up to any expectations. I quit slash was fired from my job the week I got back from spring break. I love the extra time I have now, but all I use it for is sleeping. I can't think of any real schoolwork I have done in the past two weeks. I really can't. I go to classes, but I haven't done anything outside of there.

I'm training for being managing editor of the paper next year, and training the incomeing photo editor. I bought a new camera. Why? I have no idea. I have no need for a new camera. I want to do more photography. It's not that I don't want to teach. I do. I want to teach now. I want to be done with school...even if it's just this year. I want to go back to working in 6th grade in Weymouth. I want to do portraits for hire. I want to learn how to photograph weddings. I don't really, too much stress. But good money.

I want to go camping. I want to cook. I want to cook while camping. In a dutch oven. I want to go hiking on a really like trail. I want to spend time away from the world I have backed myself into. I want to run. A lot. I want to have time to run; motivatio to run. I want to be fast again. It occurred to me the other day while running that if I want to be fast again, it will be something I need to keep up. That's a silly thought, or rather a silly thought to not have realized before. But getting fast again isn't a goal, it's a journey. It's gradual. If I'm havig trouble maintaining a regular running schedule now, how will I be able to do it when I need to run more to keep myself at the level I want to be at?

I've been a jerk to some friends too. I want to be removed from everything, and I conveyed that message. They don't understand. Is it irresponsible? I think maybe it's unnecessary to discuss since I box myself into situations that don't allow me to seek the things I complain about wanting. School is done May 5, exactly one month away. From there I'll have eleven days. I'll then spend fifteen days in central Europe, which I am excited for, but haven't really thought about much. Notice how that is all the discussion it earns in this entire piece. From there, I'll have about three weeks before camp starts. Camp runs till the end of the summer. I'm excited for working girls camp. I'm glad I'm excited for girls camp. See even now, the thought has put me in a better mood.

Ok. I'm going to stop here. I really hope no one read this. If you did, you shouldn't have.

"Cleaning-up after Katrina is like trying to eat a whale. You do it one bite at a time."

2006-03-22T05:15:37Z

In some places, you would think the storm hit last week. Trash and rubble carried by flood waters still litter front yards and cars sit wrecked in ditches on the sides of the roads. Boats of all sizes are scattered about the coast, some being deposited on land miles from the shore. The lucky ones have FEMA trailers parked in their front yards to live in while their houses are fixed or rebuilt, but most don't know when that will be done. Others evacuated inland and have yet to return. It's a mess.

Last week, 19 members of the Keene State College community spent their spring break helping the Hurricane Katrina relief effort on the Gulf coast of Mississippi. I was lucky to be part of this group that drove the 1,500 miles to this area that is still slowly healing from the devastation that happened when Katrina struck last fall. Our trip, part of KSC's Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program, is something I will never forget. I'm sure others will agree.

The ASB trip was actually the second trip to the city of Gautier, Miss., where volunteer efforts were coordinated through the Overlook Presbyterian Church and its site coordinator Susan Duffee-Braun. Members of the January KSC trip were Susan's first volunteer group in her position as coordinator, so she was pleased to work with KSC students again.

We stayed at a church in Mobile, Ala. and drove the hour to the Overlook Church in Gautier every morning to work. From there, our large group was split into smaller teams and sent to different work sites in the area. Several groups worked directly with homeowners in need, (while) others started out working on another church in the area. The Restoration Apostolic Church of Gautier, a predominantly African-American church, had been planning a new building on land adjacent to its current location, a former convenience store, long before Hurricane Katrina hit. After the storm damaged the old building beyond realistic use, efforts on the new building progressed through the help of volunteer groups like ours.

One retired volunteer couple, George and Bonnie, had traveled from their home in Illinois intending to do work on the Gulf Coast for a week. From a list at the Mississippi Visitor's Center, they found their way to the Gautier Presbyterian Church and started working. Seven weeks later George, having acquired building skills along the way, was instructing our group on cutting and raising drywall at the Restoration Church.

Throughout the day, members of the Restoration Church would stop in to observe the progress. They were very grateful for our presence and hard work.

The attitude of the residents, even those who lost everything, is surprisingly optimistic. Senior Rachel Ladd was also a member of the January trip to Gautier, so she had some previous experience with the conditions of the area in which we worked. Rachel said her most memorable experiences included talking to the owners of homes and members of the Restoration Church. She noted that most people she worked with have come to terms with the fact that they have lost their house and possessions, but are just happy that they and their families are alive and healthy.

One work site where Rachel and sophomore Amy Patryn worked early in the week was the home of Don and Joanne Johnsen. Amy retold the story of what the couple did when the storm hit.

At the time of the flood, Don Johnsen refused to leave his home. Instead, he and his wife, both in their seventies, retreated to their attic with their dachshund "Peter" and watched the floodwater rise several feet throughout their house in only a matter of minutes. The water receded after eight hours, and the Johnsens descended to survey the damage, though Peter was reluctant to follow. They tied his leash to the rafters to keep him safe.

Their house was in shambles, but not knowing what they could do, the couple found clean chairs and set them up under their carport. Soon after, their faithful dog appeared outside looking proud of himself, after somehow getting down from the attic on his own to be back with his people. The Johnsens didn't know it then, but those chairs would serve as their beds for the next six weeks while they awaited help.

With their cars being damaged beyond use, the Johnsens were forced to rent a vehicle for more than 11 weeks, amounting to a $7,000 rental bill. They managed to talk it down to $4,000 and acquired a truck from their son. Eventually the couple were given a FEMA trailer to live in, but Joanne says living in the small space together is difficult.

Rachel had worked at the Johnsens’ house in January, and was happy to see them again. On that first trip she helped install new drywall, and this time around the group painted two rooms inside. Rachel says the house is close to being done, and once a building inspector clears it, the Johnsens will be able to move back in. Amy says she will never forget the sound of Joanne's voice as she told this story.

One couple that junior Becca Fuller worked with was originally from Guatemala. They evacuated their home prior to the storm and returned a week after, but soon after the husband suffered a head injury and could not live in the conditions. He had to seek a safer living situation in Virginia to recover while his wife lived in a tent on the front yard for three months with only her dogs and her "attack goose." She was frightened at night by "You loot, We shoot" signs, as she often did hear gunshots at night.

The woman was a dressmaker, and lost over 150 dresses of her own creation, as well as all her sewing equipment, to the flooding. She also bred birds to be sold, and lost all of them as well. The woman showed Becca and others the one dress she managed to save, a beautiful dress she made for her daughter's 16th birthday.

The feeling of appreciation towards volunteers is very clear. One afternoon after painting all morning, Becca and trip co-leader Carla Lessig went to Lowe's to buy more paint and supplies. An elderly man in line ahead noticed their paint-spattered clothing and asked if they were volunteering. "God bless you," he said. "You folks are the only ones who are helping."

A problem faced throughout this already poverty-stricken region is the denial of insurance money for damages. We learned that many insurance companies are trying to pass off damage to houses as being the result of flooding, rather than damage from the hurricane directly, deeming any claims ineligible. Driving through a neighborhood in Gautier we saw a house with a spray-painted wood sign propped against the boarded house. It read, "Katrina: Category 4 Hurricane. Not a flood." Many homeowners who lost everything have not seen a dime.

The problems and stresses encountered by volunteers are often overwhelming, but the volunteer coordinators deal with so much as well, for much longer. Susan is an amazing woman and has cared so much about the people we helped and the volunteers she had working under her direction. On Thursday night, after working in one of the worst-affected areas of Mississippi, we headed two hours West to New Orleans, La. to experience the city, and convinced Susan to come enjoy our night off with us. Driving into the city, we saw from the highway that many of the houses in the run-down neighborhoods were still in terrible shape.

Bourbon Street and the French Quarter were still in good condition and bustling with night life and business, a sign that life is going on and there is hope for further improvement.

Through the efforts of thousands of volunteers, life on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana is slowly returning to normalcy, but the scars of this natural disaster will undoubtedly remain for years. As spring arrives, the people of this region will have to brace for another hurricane season and the potential for even more destruction where there is already such a struggle to rebuild.

The following story was told to us on two separate occasions by different volunteer coodinators during our trip:

About six weeks after the storm hit, a work group was sent into a neighborhood in Bay St. Louis, Miss. to begin working on "mucking" out houses in need of cleaning and repair. The team had been assigned a work plan with an address and map, prepared as a result of a damage assessment that had been done at this house at an earlier date. At this point many street signs were missing so navigting the neighborhoods would have to be done by counting streets and houses.

The group entered the house at the address they had been assigned to work on and found the owners, an elderly couple, living in a single room as the rest of the house was too damaged to use. The workers got to work cleaning out debris and preparing for further work that would get the house back to a healthy state.

At the end of the day, the couple thanked the workers for their work and attention. The man said that he and his wife had been living alone like this for the whole six weeks, and the team of workers was the first group of people they had seen. No other help had come, and the couple did not know why this group had. The man said that he and his wife had given up all hope and, before the help came, they were so distraught that they had planned to commit suicide together the very next day.

The workers had said they were assigned to work at that address, so someone had to have been by in the past, but the man insisted they were the first. He asked to see the work order. The elderly man told the relief workers that the address on the sheet, the house they thought they had found, was two blocks away.

jotajotap @ 2006-03-19T11:18:00

2006-03-19T16:19:45Z

I'm BACK!

We all don't realize how fortunate we all really are.

As promised...

2006-02-05T03:18:13Z

Well as I previously stated, this semester has been going well so far. Not an overwhelming amount of work, which has allowed me to spend more time sleeping and taking pictures. The equipment I proposed for purchase has proven well worth the newspaper's investment, and I have been encouraged to look into buying some more high-end lenses. The difference is really amazing.

So anyway, these are just in chronological order. Early on is just me playing around with the sweetest of the newest lenses, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L. It really is amazing. The f/2.8 aperture lets in so much light and depth of field is ridiculously shallow. Then most of the others are from various events or assignments for the newspaper. The concert was Florez, introduced as "the band that opened for Gavin DeGraw last year" and the speakers are candidates for an administrative position here at KSC. Ok, so here is some of what I've been up to:

1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 100, 190mm

1/1600, f/2.8, ISO 100, 145mm

1/15, f/2.8, ISO 800, 200mm

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 800, 190mm

1/160 (+2/3 stop), f/2.8, ISO 800, 200mm

1/640, f/5, ISO 1600, 165mm

1/100 (-1 1/3 stop), f/2.8, ISO 800, 195mm

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 800, 195mm

1/320, f/2.8, ISO 200, 108mm

1/3200, f/2.8, ISO 200, 98mm

1/25, f/2.8, ISO 800, 70mm

1/10, f/2.8, ISO 800, 185mm

1/8, f/2.8, ISO 800, 93mm

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 98mm

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm

1/80, f/2.8, ISO 800, 120mm

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 800, 200mm

1/30, f/2.8, ISO 800, 170mm

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 800, 110mm

1/160 (-1 stop), f/2.8, ISO 800, 70mm

1/500, f/2.8, ISO 200, 200mm

jotajotap @ 2006-01-29T02:36:00

2006-01-29T08:07:25Z

I was just going to say that I ran today.

But then as this page was loading I realized that I haven't updated recently. So I might as well write something brief. Back at school. Semester has a bright outlook. 18 credits is very busy for me, yet somehow it doesn't seem as if that will be the case. 3-day weekends are actually just that for me--weekends. Something I haven't known for some time. Classes are generally looking to be pretty easy. Photography at the Equinox is great. I have some of my new equipment, which is awesome. I'm pretty much in love with the new $1140 Canon 70-200 f/2.8L lens...it takes amazing pictures. I will post some soon. Also I have a huge staff this semester. I have six photographers, plus myself. I actually ran out of assignments to give last week. Never before!

Spring break is starting to come together. I feel terrible because I've missed several meetings, totally due to my own forgetfulness. I try to tell myself that I'm not unreliable and it's just been a few instances, but rally, this happens all the time. I'm going to start feeling guilty committing to things if I always fail like this. I know I'm being hard on myself and therefore I'm just going to stop. Anyway, it looks like it will be a good trip. Looking forward to it. (Oh yeah, we're going to Mississippi to work on Hurricane relief)

Let's see, what else. Work...not working a whole lot. This is good, but also bad because I have been spending a little too much time and money on eBay. It's worse than gambling, folks.

I have been spending more time (and money) on photography however. It might be turning into more of a hobby. We'll see. The Sentinel never calls me for freelance work, but it would neat if I could start doing portraiture...hmm...

Facebook is ruining my life.

So with the extra time I've found myself enjoying the less-rushed lifestyle lately. But as I'm not competing in running, and several (really the bulk/base) of my close friends find other people or places to be, I've found that pathetic loneliness setting in again. Could it be that avoiding this feeling is the reason I keep myself busy so much? I don't want this to turn into one of *those* pity party entries; the thought just crossed my mind and for some reason I continued to type my thoughts. Hell I don't even know who reads this! I know I read random friends-of-friends' LJs sometimes and while they don't really mean much to me, I do find it interesting. I also think it's interesting to think about how they will never know I read. Creepy? Maybe. But if you are reading this right now it's possible you fall into this category as well. So take that.

Ehem. So where was I? Oh yeah. The solo thing. Whatever. I'm hardly as apathetic towards it as I generally lead on to be, but I'm not about to change my priorities to include actively... why the hell am I writing this? It's 3 am and I am a little sleep deprived so I don't really know... oh crap. It's 3 am I must be lonely. That was wicked frickin lame. I apologize.

Alright so now I will swing up to a positive. Hmm. I won a contest on the radio. I was at work and heard trivia: "What state has the word "Plantations" in its name. Well I knew it, so I called the number and got through and won. It's Rhode Island; the full name is the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. So I won lunch for two at Subway hahah. I love it! Now I just need to find a way to get out to the studios to pick up the coupons.

Ok so someone should remind me to put pictures up soon. I like doing photoessays--they take time but I like doing them. And it sounds like y'all like them too. ok Sleep time. yay.

I ran today.

photojournal

2005-12-10T20:45:13Z

Alright so I've been inspired by the fact that I don't want a paper to make another photojournal update.

This one dates back to thanksgiving, with most recent ones from today. I still haven't posted pictures from the trip to nationals in Ohio, much to the diappointment of my tripmates, but I'll get around to that eventually. Heck, not everyone has even paid up for gas yet. I think my priorities are in line.

So Thanksgiving was busy, but probably one of the best weeks of the fall. Jeez its been a while I don't even remember everything too well. I got a haircut after taking the cornrows out. I'm not sure exactly how long it had been, but the last time I cut my hair was right before Kerry's prom.

So I went to see HP with my Grandparents and my cousin and her friend from school. Her friend is from Hungary so she had Thanksgiving with us. So I spent some time at the farm with them, and my mom and sister, who I don't think I'd seen since June, came up the next day with the dog.

I then drove the mini to Weymouth, did some standard coning, and went on an adventure to a secret place. It is said that photographers, regardless of the level of their work, never get a vacatation. This is due ot the fact that if they are without a camera, they feel incomplete when something photogenic catches their eye. Such was the case at this secret place. Oh well. But many thanks to Marisa, Dana, Jill, and Meghan for the excitement. Thanks to Kerry Hanson for the use of her front steps, thanks to the Weymouth public works department for the use of your cones (the East Street one was replaced the very next day, I noticed!! Inside the tire even!), and thanks to Cuda Connolly for allowing us to kidnap her brother on such short notice.

Thanksgiving morning I overslept and almost missed the race--yeah. I'm awesome. Thankfully Joe called me a half hour before it went off so I managed to get there just in time.

Ran well considering I wasn't racing...just running hard.

Got to see these awesome guys for a bit. We're laughing because when we sat down on the table, it started to collapse. Joe does not know who originally owned the shirt he is wearing. Chris violated MIAA uniform regulations and can finally have the hair he wants. College rocks. I went to first and second grade at this school.

"Joe Joe" won the U-19 age group. Chris and I won all the extra water and go-gurt.

Retrieving locked keys. AAA is invaluable. And extremely fast on holiday mornings.

1/500, f/16, ISO 400, 55mm
Headed back to the farm with my dad. The farm is awesome in any season--except maybe mud in spring. The pond and Monadnock as seen from the cottage.

1/15, f/5.6, ISO 400, 55mm
My dog Cassie.

1/400, f/14, ISO 400, 55mm (cropped ~85mm equiv. in PS)
My three youngest cousins and one of the dogs running to the farmhouse from the cottage.

1/80, f/5.6, ISO 400, 18mm
My cousin travis with a reluctantly festive Maggie.

After dinner I decided I wanted another run to Weymouth so, since my dad was heading back for work the next day anyway, I went with him. We got back late so I didn't do anything that night. Did some driving around town...It's amazing how much can change in an absence of a few months. Ok, maybe it was more than just a few. I hadn't been back since '05 graduation.

Went to Walgreens to see Julia, cause even without asking I knew she'd be there. (cough)workaddict(cough)Went to the plaza to meet Katie, Jaclyn, Kathryn, Michelle and Adam for lunch and did some shopping in the mean time. I was extremely spooked by the live models, and especially disturbed by the young children modeling. This one kid on the stand in the food court had to be like seven years old, and he looked so bored. Proably hungry too--I mean, even if I wasn't hungry, I would become hungry just from being bored and having to stand there watching other people eat and look at me in my nice fancy expensive clothes. </rant>

Then I saw Caitlin. Yay!

I went to Ritz to look at flashes cause I have two gift cards. The guys basically didn't know anything about Canon EOS TTL II flash systems. Jeez!

I went to braintree to pick up my dad at the train and then went to Kim's where I learned how to play some version of Rummy that doesn't use cards(?). I dunno. I don't even remember how to play to tell the truth. it was fun though.

I swung by Oldens to say bye to Marisa and then hit the road back up to N.H. with my dad. Walking in to the cottage from the car I noticed how clear the sky was--it was extremely cold and that always seems to be the best for stars.

all 20 sec, f/3.5, ISO 400, 18mm

The first is crooked because I had nothing to sit the camera on. The second is out of focus but you can see Monadnock under the tree on the right. I'm done making excuses for my poor astrophotography now haha. All of these have been screened six to eight times in photoshop to bring out the brightness, but that's because a camera can't capture the real thing. To put it in perspective for some, think about YG camp. And although that might seem like the greatest star show ever, double the number of stars and that's my grandparents' farm. Because there are no lights visible from anywhere else.

Snow at KSC:

1/125, f/7.1, ISO 100, 28mm

1/400, f/11, ISO 200, 18mm

1/160, f/7.1, ISO 100, 65mm

1/20, f/20, ISO 100, 65mm

1/160, f/8, ISO 100, 35mm

So the chemicals I ordered arrived superfast--less than 36 hours I think. Some people are working super hard. So I had my whole darkroom set up--enlarger on my floor, trays in the bathtub, (probably not-so-safe) safelight fashioned out of my 75-watt cliplamp and three red solo cups, and blankets pinned up over the windows. I made a few prints I had done before and I knew worked well. I was very pleased with the results.

Now you can all be familiar with this corner of my room.

Our bathroom. My roommate came back and wanted to take a shower. He asked if I had turpentine in the trays.

This is my all-time favorite of all pictures I have taken. It's of the two big sea turtles in the ocean tank at the New England Aquarium. Some say it's hard to see what the picture is of, but I love it nevertheless. I neglected to take a picture of it or bring it to the office to scan, so this is zoomed, cropped, rotated, resized, and distorted to straight-down perspective, all from the picture above, where it appears lacking those edits, sitting on the toiletseat. I may possess some kind of divinity when it comes to Photoshop magic. Just kidding.

Bookstores are evil. Let me sell your books.

Alaska can come to.
The end!!

More from the files...

2005-12-07T06:27:06Z

More from the Geography files:

Keith: So is Dorchester a neighborhood of Boston like Dedham?
Me: Well yes, but Dedham isn't. That's its own town.
Keith: Oh. What about Suffolk?
Me: Well, that's the county.
Keith: Oh. Good thing I'm not a GEOLOGY major. (my emphasis)

Best part: He's currently taking GEOGRAPHY 100.

Might as well toss a brief update in while I'm here.

Sememster is winding down. Rushed as always to finish and turn in missing work. Had a great sememster of the Equinox. I love being an editor so much, I moved into the office. Actually, my computer broke. Again. So I only have late-night internet access if I stay late in here. Sometimes if I'm writing a paper I even end up crashing on the couch. Yeah. Real healthy.

Other classes? Who knows. I gotta write some paper for Macro. Soon. Before soemthing bad happens. History who knows. ESEC...I finally took the Praxis test today, in Lebanon. Borrowed Sammi's car and drove up at 6:30 this morning for the computerized test. Ridiculous. I did well though. According to this test, I'm smart enough to teach in any state. Maybe even twice in Mississippi. Kidding. But boy do they have low standards.

Been volunteering at the Keene Y, helping with belaying at three climbing classes and this other multiactivity program Friday nights. I will have accumulated my 15 hours just in time for the sememster's end.

Put up a $4200 photography equipment purchase in front of the Equinox Executive board, explained everything and why we need it. Got approved. I'm pumped. I have so many great ideas for how to use this stuff...I hope I have a bigger staff in the spring so we can make it worthwhile.

Shot some BW film the other day. Once I order the chemistry at work, I'm gonna start printing in my bathroom. I hope.

End of the semester, time for books. It hasn't been busy yet, but I see the onslaught on the horizon. Most of finals week will be spent accumulating books. Sweet. I'm already stockpiling boxes. This will be a real chore without a computer.

Ok. This building closed an hour and twenty minutes ago. I'm going to bed.

jotajotap @ 2005-11-26T23:47:00

2005-11-27T04:50:56Z

I am thankful for the friends and family I have. That is such a grossly unspecified understatement.

This weekend has been so great. I'm so lucky to have a family retreat place like the farm, and the opportunity to go back to Weymouth and go on adventures on such short notice.

Thank you all.

jotajotap @ 2005-10-19T21:42:00

2005-10-20T01:42:14Z

On course registration:
Keith: What classes are you taking? I'm taking TB Plant Diseases. But I don't know that the TB stands for.
Me: Keith, that says TBA. Meaning they don't know who's teaching it yet.

On US currency:
"Hey cool! One of those bicentennial quarters! E pluribus unum...What do you think that means?"

On Keene State current events:
Keith: So did you get pictures of the inside of the dorm that's flooed?
Me: It's not flooded. The river level was actually higher this time yesterday than it is now.
Keith: So who made that decision, Dr. Y?
Me: Keith, Dr. Y. has not been the president since June.
Keith: Oh. So who is the president now?

jotajotap @ 2005-10-16T11:20:00

2005-10-16T15:20:53Z

On flood prevention:
"I wonder why rain never just suddenly stops. It always gradually stops. I want it to just suddenly stop sometime. That would be awesome."

On dressing up as the Mad Hatter:
Keith: Did you wear a hat and sunglasses and sip tea?"
Me: The Mad Hatter didn't wear sunglasses."
Keith: Oh, I must have been thinking of Tom Petty."

On household cleaning:
Keith: You don't happen to have some Comet, do you?
Me: No, but we need some. And a scrubber for the bathroom.
me: we need a scrubber (for our bathtub)
Keith: what you mean a swiffer?
Me: No that's a sweeper. I mean like a scrubber.
Keith:What do you mean like a sponge?
Me: No, Like with bristles.
Keith: So like a Brillo?
Me: No. Like a brush thing.
Keith:: Oh you mean like those cartoon things?
Me: The scrubbing bubbles? Yes. Just like those.

jotajotap @ 2005-10-05T00:31:00

2005-10-05T04:33:24Z

On cause and effect:
Me: I burnt my mouth on some pizza.
Keith: Oh. Was it hot?

On practical safety measures:
I walk into the room wearing a helmet and bike shorts
Keith: Did you just go biking?
Me: Nope, (patting helmet) you never can be too careful walking around campus. There's your sign!

On home state geography:
Keith: Does Keene get more extreme weather because we're in the mountains?
Me: We're not in the mountains.
Keith: Oh. Where is the presidential range from here?
Me: Way north.
Keith. Oh. Does anybody live there?

jotajotap @ 2005-09-26T13:29:00

2005-09-26T17:29:36Z

Let us not pretend your past didn't make you who you are, in good or bad.

You don't have a sister.

I am ligitimately insulted.

jotajotap @ 2005-09-25T11:04:00

2005-09-25T15:04:36Z

On the Clarence DeMar marathon, which finishes on the KSC quad:
"What marathon? Why have I never heard of it?"
Me: It's a small marathon.
"What is it, like a mile?"

JJ