Asheville, North Carolina

This past week was spring break for us here at Lesley University. While some people went home and others travelled to Mexico and other spring break locations, three groups from LU did something different. Alternative Spring break. There was a group that went to Spartenburg SC, a group that went to Camden NJ, and my group went to Asheville NC. It was life changing. This was my first time going on ASB and it most definitely will NOT be my last. I met so many new friends and had the most amazing time. The people of Asheville were so warm and welcoming, and the nature that surrounded us was breathtaking. Even as I write this I feel the urge to find a way to get back.
We worked for Habitat for Humanity building a community of houses in Asheville called Enka Hills. My group worked on around eight houses altogether. We did landscaping (which they called landscraping), stuccoing, foundation work, painting, a group of us built a shed, all while becoming super close as a group. The foremen made us laugh and were the talk of many conversations as our van pulled away from the work site. Whenever anyone got frustrated with the work they were doing, like the never ending stucco or the damn shed that would stay up *cough*, we could just look to each other for a laugh and a smile - and if we were lucky and dirt/ stucco/ cement based hug!
It's hard to explain the impact that this trip and this group made on me, but I carry it with me every day - as the rest of my group does. When we got back into Cambridge I was more than saddened at the thought of leaving them. I was afraid that once we left, there might be some reunions, but other than that we really wouldn't talk that much. There was no need for that. Even as I type this, I am in a texting conversation with one of our group leaders Luisa. The other leader, Sarah, I see almost everyday. Some of us have made plans for movies or dinner or general life rearranging together. Joanna and I are going to be working together at the same camp! It is now that I realize that there is no shaking this group of amazing people, and I am perfectly okay with that. There are no words good enough to speak to how every night we all laughed so hard we cried, or the feeling of hearing one of the foremen say we did a good job, or how good it felt when a van drove through the work site with a woman hanging out the window yelling "Thank you so much for being here! I'm so happy that y'all are doing this! God bless you!".
These people have become a new family to me, and Asheville NC is where we grew up together. Hopefully, someday, we'll all get to go back to it. <3