NASAdude

Getting to know you -- the traveling/working companions
One of the best things about a trip like this is spending time with old friends and new enemies.  erm...  new friends.  I'm not big on the whole friendship thing, but it's good to get to know folks.

I got more of a glimpse into Josh's sense of humor.  I met Matt for the first time while packing up the vans; his cheerful personality made life a lot more fun; just don't ask him about the Beatles, you'll never shut him up.  I spent some time talking with Melissa; after all, Aarons are interchangeable.  Time with Lynnette and Katie was well-spent; they are two people I've seen around Wesley but to whom I've only said a few words up to the trip; obviously it was poor judgment to wait so long.

I know I haven't named everyone, but that's not surprising since there were 17 of us on the trip.  Of course all the guys are great; at least that's what I say to them so I don't get duct-taped to my bed.  And all the women kept the trip from turning into a fraternity fiasco.  I give my thanks for that.

Fun with GPS (click on any of the images to see a larger more detailed version)

We took along a handheld GPS and laptop to track our progress.  On the way down to Philadelphia, MS, we overnighted in Chattanooga, TN at the Tyner UMC.  On the way back we stayed at the Trinity UMC in King, NC. The first image shows our actual track with the main destinations marked.  The second image is colorized to show elevation.
The elevation peaked at 2819 ft about 40 miles NW of Trinity UMC on Interstate 77 as we passed into Virginia, and dipped as low as 105 ft on Interstate 20 going through Alabama towards Philadelphia, MS. The three images depict different 3-D views of the terrain (exaggerated) around  the high point.
It all started early on Saturday morning... too early.  We all showed up at the Wesley Student Center at 5:30am and packed up three vans.
Saturday night we stayed in the Tyner UMC in Chattanooga, TN.  They even had showers in the church for us to get cleaned up.  (Yay!)  In the morning we had breakfast and went to a church service.
Sunday evening we rolled into Philadelphia, MS and onward to the Green Hill UMC.  The church/gym/kitchen/classroom structure is in the middle of the picture.  Directly north is a cemetery.  Northeast is the parsonage.  North of the parsonage is a home for a groundskeeper as well as storage sheds and three dorms.  The building furthest northeast on the image is an old church used for clothing collection and sorting.
Philadelphia, MS may not be a huge town, but it worked out for us.  There was a Super WalMart and a place to rent movies.  What more could we want? What's that little offshoot from our track in and out of town?  Yeah, that's the WalMart.  If GPS was being logged all the time, you'd easily see more than half a dozen tracks in that area.
On our way home we stopped in King, NC Saturday night at the Trinity UMC.  I snagged a really comfortable couch and got a whole six hours of sleep.  Someone kept us all up until after midnight.  We'll have to work on that, my friend. In the evening we were served a snack of chips and dip/salsa, veggies, and water/soda. In the morning, we were all treated to an absolutely wonderful breakfast.  There were sausage and egg casseroles, ham and biscuits, pastries, and a to-die-for coffee cake (with cream cheese filling).  Top it all off with coffee and OJ, and we're good to go for the day!
Late Sunday afternoon we're all back at Wesley... home again, home again, jiggedy-jig

Tales from the road
Tyson, the left lane is for passing.  Ok... I've said it.
While the driving was *really* long, it went pretty smoothly.  People talked, listened to music, watched movies, read books, heckled  the drivers, talked on the 2-way radios, and slept.  We stopped for stretching / food / fuel / bathrooms every few hours.  There wasn't really anything very eventful on the way down.  Coming back there were some minor engine problems, a flat tire, a few wrong turns, and a speeding ticket, but ultimately nothing slowed us down much.

Photos galore... erm... gallery (Click the link to see a large collection of the photos from the trip.  For a listing by category, click here.)

Stop your crying now
and put on a happy face,
because the skies are going to clear up.
Don't let this message confuse you.
We just want to make sure that everyone is level-headed in the end. (For those keeping track, Julia appears to be a little more level-headed this year than she was on last year's spring break trip to Louisiana.  Compare for yourself!)
E is for end and that is where we are.  Today's message was brought to you by the letter "E"...  to be specific, a red "E" made of foam and slightly waterlogged.

Working on-site
There were lots of projects to work on at the church/gym/kitchen/classroom and surrounding buildings and grounds.  I helped with painting the gym and putting up fence posts with reflectors along the two main roads.  I also helped with some electrical issues and weatherproofing some exterior doors.

Others took on other projects, doing screens on a patio, putting up screen doors and replacing bad screens on multiple buildings, making letterhead for the church, painting a mural, making crosses for the gym and sanctuary, cleaning/organizing the sports equipment room, cleaning/organizing the kitchen, cleaning the walls in the dining room, replacing all the shower curtains in the dorm bathrooms, ...  I'm sure I've left out a lot, because there was so much to be done!

Overnights on the road
I talked about our overnights above in the GPS section.  Suffice it to say, those who hosted us, fed us, and cared so much for us... they are truly awesome!  Some stayed up very late at night to meet us when we arrived; others got up early in the morning to see us off.  Such caring for strangers is a wonderful thing.

Bedtime stories gone awry
This is a short one.  In fact, it's just one word...  "vampigator".  You'll have to ask one of the guys to explain it.

Life as a tourist
We were able to tour the Choctaw museum and visit the *large* [burial] mound.  We also caught the end of an official pow-wow and found lots of ways to lose money in the casinos.
Some visited Jackson on Friday, checking out the sights and sounds of the city.  I'm sorry I missed out on that adventure; the museum sounded really nice.

Ultimately we didn't really do much touring.  However, we were glad to experience the Choctaw culture all around us. 

Choctaw
When it comes down to it, on a personal level there really isn't much difference.  On a larger scale, looking at the people as a whole, the culture, and the history is when the differences are more apparent. 

Our first encounter was with Pastor Charles.  He met us upon our arrival.  After a brief orientation, before we could unpack a thing, Charles concludes his introduction with the announcement that he would be collecting a love offering at that time.  After a long pause, we realize he was joking, and we all knew that Charles was a great guy who really enjoyed life.

Whenever anyone would speak Choctaw conversationally, all the PSU folk would be a little quieter to overhear.  During a church service Wednesday night, we all introduced ourselves "Sa hohchifo ut..." (My name is...)  

Links
Here are links to sites related to our trip, as well as links to other's person views on the trip.  Look how empty it is!
Choctaw language / phrases
WSF photo gallery (2005 spring break slide show is here)

What did I leave out?  Let me know and I'll add it!