Day One: Hannah and Priyanka

            Oh, what a day!

            Today was Day One of our public health odyssey, aka driving day.

            Hannah: I was really excited to be heading back to Gesundheit! after being a participant at the site with Alternative Breaks last year. I had an incredible time, and after spending so much time in the city, was totally ready for some fresh mountain air and puppy lovin’. (Did we mention three dogs live at the site?)

            Priyanka: Going back to Gesundheit! for the third year now, I feel as if I’m returning to a place I can call home. I’m so excited to see Wildman and Elisa (the land managers of the site) and their children, although I felt a tinge of sadness upon realizing this may be my last year going back. I’m excited to share everything with this new group. Here we go!

The day got off to a bit of a rough start. It took a long time to get our cars because the car rental place was full of plenty other site leaders (shout out to all you awesome peeps out there!) and even once we did, it was slow going.

            Hannah: It was hard for me because since I got the first van for our trip, I went to Third North to pick up Priyanka’s and my site leader bags before meeting everyone else. Because the environment I’m used to driving in – suburban Missouri with a compact car – is a whole lot  different than New York City in a minivan, I was stressing a little bit about it. I couldn’t find a parking space right in front of the building and I was nervous about double parking since it’s a big car in what’s supposed to be a one-lane street, so I ended up parking almost a block away. When I wasn’t stressing about squeezing into small spaces, though, driving was great! I’m proud to be able to say I’ve driven in New York City, and plus now I can tweet things like “DROVE AROUND NYC IN A MINIVAN TODAY #YOLO” because let’s be real: I’ll probably never drive a minivan again in my life.

            Priyanka: I left my jacket in my site leader bag. I was cold.

            Once both cars had reached Dunkin, where we’d all agreed to meet, we were all set to go… Except for one little thing. A participant who will remain unnamed was missing. Dun dun dunnnnnnnn! After frenzied phone calls to our board contact and Participant-Who-Will-Remain-Anonymous’ emergency contact, however, we heard from the participant, and after a quick detour to pick her up, all 12 of us were on our way!

            Despite random flurries of snow and rain showers, the drive was absolutely beautiful! Our route this year was different than last year’s, and while the tolls were no fun, we hit rolling hills and the unbridled beauty of the mountains much sooner. (Check out our pictures!)

            Also, FYI: don’t eat Mexican food at a stop right off the highway. We don’t care how good the chips and salsa are. Just don’t.

            Priyanka: It will taste like a bean hoagie. If you don’t know what a hoagie is, ask me and I’ll tell you.

            Hannah: Or you can just go to a Mexican place right off the highway in Virginia and find out for yourself.

Our last stop was in Lewisberg, about half an hour away from Gesundheit! and the last place one has solid cell service before it all goes away.  We gassed up, grabbed some supper at Subway, and after a little bit, loaded back up in our cars for the final leg of the journey.

And let us tell you, that leg.

Not only was it dark by that point, but it as also raining, with appearances by the very special guest of lightning. Normally, that may only be a moderate issue while driving, but when half of the drive is up one side of a mountain and down the other in what are essentially very many right angles with no street lights, it becomes a pretty high-ranking thing.

Hannah: I’d just like to take this moment to ask for y’all to give Priyanka some seriously mad props. She led the way driving – even after having been driving for a while – and was incredible.

Priyanka: Awh thanks Hannah J Yeah the drive was pretty scary, but it was funny how familiar things looked after a whole year of being away.

When we finally got to the site, we were greeted on the land by Wildman, who took us upstairs into the Library to give us a quick orientation as to the not-really-rules rules (more like “agreements”) of the site, and show us to our living quarters. As ladies, we’re staying on the second floor of the art house, while our two guys, Jacob and Kim, are staying in a room in the Dacha, a Russian style house up the drive.

Hannah: It was really fun seeing everyone’s reactions once we got on the land, met Wildman, and saw some of the spaces firsthand. It’s definitely not a typical experience. Even Priyanka and I had some re-orientation to do at the site; living arrangements had totally changed and been reorganized  since we’d been here last year, and not what we’d been prepping the group for. But that’s one of the great things about Alternative Breaks: rolling with the punches, thinking on your feet, and being flexible are all part of the experience.

Priyanka: We got a little bit of an unexpected surprise when we came, when we were told that 2 other groups would be here at the same time as us—totaling 37 people on site for this week! Luckily, we got here earlier so we get some time to check everything out on our own.

After our brief orientation, it was too dark to check out the land, so Wildman said goodnight. Once the guys were sufficiently oriented, we all met back up in the art house for a reflection about our day. We spoke a little bit about our fears and expectations – a general fear for most was all the bugs harassing us – but all were excited for the week ahead. After that, we closed with making Warm and Fuzzies bags, and few of the girls wanted to see the farmhouse – what Wildman calls our “clubhouse” on the land – and the opportunity to call their families, so we went up there with them. After everyone was done, we returned to the art house, and went to sleep.

Hannah: So one of my favorite things about being back on the land was something I got to fully immerse myself in already once we got up to the farmhouse, and that’s the three dogs that live on the land. Bumala, a chocolate lab, is the youngest, followed by Black Dog, a black lab, and Sway, a German shepherd. All three are female, and I missed all three so much. Bumala had been there as we were unpacking the cars, and she’d walked us back up to the farmhouse, but once we got there, all three were together. I probably played with them all for twenty minutes while everyone was making their phone calls, and when we headed back, all three walked us back, even Sway, who has severe arthritis. It turns out all three dogs came up to the deck right outside the window by which Priyanka and I were sleeping and slept there all night.

Priyanka: Despite some of the struggles to get here and coming in and seeing that things weren’t exactly as how everyone planned, I have really high hopes for this trip. The day was long but fun and I think we made some great steps towards bonding with each other. I’m looking forward to what everyone will accomplish this week and all the changes we’ll see in ourselves! GOODNIGHT WORLD