The Open Road + Day One

As I threw my clothing into my suitcase late Thursday night after a long day of school and work, I questioned why I had signed up to go on a service trip with ten other people that I hardly knew. I kept reminding myself that I was doing this so I could grow—I needed the experience to be a better teacher. And since teaching is my passion, I knew if I held on to that one reason, it would keep me going.

Friday, my departure day, arrived. Before I knew it, my suitcase and I were piled into a van with five other people. The journey had begun. We left Columbia around 5 and stopped in St. Louis at 8 for dinner. There, our taste buds experienced a journey of their own—mostaccioli, sweet Italian salad, chocolate chip cookies, and brownies.

From there, we continued onward and eastbound. Late into the night, we arrived in Nashville where we crashed for the night with a Mizzou alumni family. We enjoyed our stay greatly! In the morning, they had fruit, croissants, bacon, and a breakfast casserole ready for us. Together, we devoured the delicious meal, stuffing our bellies for the ten hour drive ahead of us.

Around 1, we arrived in Knoxville where we stopped at Cook Out for lunch with another Charleston MAB/ASB group. The food there was also a delightful trip for our taste buds and bellies! For dinner, we stopped in Columbia, South Carolina where we basked in the glory of Chick-Fil-A.

Alas, we made it to Charleston. Dog tired, we unloaded our bags and took off to the grocery store. The competition was on—each of us had a partner and a $50 dinner budget for one night. My partner and I decided on homemade pizza. As we loaded our cart, I grew nervous about us going over the budget. We were going to be fine; however, my awesome partner and his darn sweet tooth put us over with the decision to buy more cookie dough. $5 over—curses! But, at least it was Nestle, not Pillsburry—you’re welcome, Nick.

By the end of the night, we were all tucked in bed and sound asleep. Oh wait. There’s a story there…

When we arrived to the house, we were trying to figure out sleeping arrangements. My trip leader, Alana, and I would be sharing a bed downstairs. This bed appeared to be a pull-out from a couch. We took off the cushions and gave the grip-handle a good tug. Then another tug. It came up, but then was stuck. Another good, hard tug, and finally the bed was pulled out. As we looked upon our mattress, our jaws hung and our eyes gaped. “That is definitely blood,” Alana said. Not far from the blood rested a squashed, dead fly. This is jankety, I thought to myself.

Alana lay down on the bed and suddenly the front end collapsed to the ground! It was settled—we would not be staying on that bed. Air mattress all the way for the win.

Now: Sunday. Our free day. After WINGS came for orientation, we went to Folly Beach to take family photos. So. Much. Fun. We had a blast and laughed so much. After picture time, we had a picnic on the pier—sandwiches, chips, cookies—hashtag nomnom.

After this, we drove to Downtown Charleston where we went to The Market. It was a huge in door shopping area with all sorts of merchants. Souvenirs, jewelry, clothing, hand-woven baskets, paintings, and more! Bursting with life and color, we made our way through the hustle and bustle, all easily identifiable in our matching white shirts. While there, I couldn’t resist the urge to buy certain souvenirs. I came across seashells with “Charleston, SC” written on them with small palm tree drawings. In addition, I had to continue my tradition of purchasing a spring break hoodie. My freshman year spring break, I went to South Padre and bought a hoodie that indicated my travel destination. I wear it all of the time. I decided a Charleston hoodie was a must-have. With them being on sale for $20, I could not say no!

In addition, I had to carry on the tradition of my spoons. My grandma got me into this one when I went abroad to France for two weeks during the summer many moons ago. My awesome group helped me locate the spoons, and I successfully bought one to add to my collection.

After the Market, we were wiped out. We headed home for an intense game of Uno. Following this, “Mom” and “Dad” made us Mexican for dinner. We all chowed down on beef tacos and chips and queso.

The fun only continued from there. We went outside and played catch with the football, touch-tag football, and knockout in the Church gym. After these eventful activities, we marathoned through a bag of popsicles and played the “Game of Things.” We settled down with reflection where we discussed our feelings about tomorrow.

While I cannot wait to meet the kids at WINGS, I’m anxious that I won’t click with them, or that they won’t like me. I’m an optimist, so I’d like to think that everything will work out. There’s always a learning and growing experience in everything, it seems. So, while we have successfully arrived alive in Charleston, the real journey has only just begun.