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Student Journals
Jessica Bush
Business Management
The morning of 3-7-04. The vans are loaded and we're on the road; the
time 8:26. Let this adventure begin. One would think we were moving
across country by all the items we have brought. Nonetheless, I think
we're set with plenty of snacks. I brought walkie-talkies along so we
could talk to the other van. In the past ten minutes the conversation
has been interesting. We're calling Al's van the grey goose and ours
white lightning. I'm sure these names will change throughout the trip.
I'm looking forward to this trip. It's been interesting so far to see
the group dynamics form. I think we will really gel, especially after
a ten hour van ride.
Six stops and ten hours later we finally arrived. I would like to add
we're still alive. It was interesting to see how we developed on our
ten hour drive down here. Initially we picked who we wanted to sit with
in the van. Six students in each van. Of course a couple people slept
which was expected, but the people who were awake gained a little more
insight into each other's lives. Conversations included everything from
hometowns to sports and at one point the movie "The Passion."
After we ate lunch, three people switched from each van. The whole idea
behind this exercise was to alleviate cliques. I think it worked to
a certain extent. I also think that Al might have wanted some new people
in his van. I am still trying to read some of these people. It's one
thing to have class with them but another to travel with them. Tomorrow
is our first day of service and it will be interesting to see our continued
development. I think that more of a respect is forming and also an understanding.
I know at some point I will get annoyed with some of the people on this
trip.
I didn't know what to expect about the city of Jackson. It's one thing
to read about it and another to dive right into the city. Downtown was
beautiful. I really would like to see the government buildings, but
I don't think it's going to happen. We had to drive through downtown
to get to Mission First. I wanted to lock the doors once we started
getting into the bad neighborhoods of West Jackson. Why this fear came
over me I'm not sure. Perhaps it had to do with the aesthetics of the
area. Of course, we forgot our map of the actual neighborhood back in
Indiana, but at least we knew the street and I had plenty of phone numbers.
We pulled into a church parking because some people were outside. I
hopped out to ask for directions. The people were very friendly and
we were only one block away.
Mission First finally! Greeted by an armed guard a sense of reality
set in that we were in a different environment. I just felt relieved
to reach our destination.
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