Johnny LokHoustonCollab-2018

Arriving at the houses for the second time to help SBP out on carpentry and measurements was indeed an exhilarating moment. I’m grateful that we get to make productive progress with our cooperation altogether. My greatest takeaway of the day is how one of the SBP member complimented our volunteer group being different than others, apparently our willingness and motivation stood out and they’re amazed by our endeavors. Even though it’s a shame that this is the last time of working in Houston, the entire trip will forever remain in my memory and constantly push me forward by inspiring and reminding me how important teamwork and unity are. Most importantly, everyone had fun working with one another.

After our service at Salvation Army, half of our group including myself went to a farm to help planting and cultivating the crops. According to Rachel, most of the farmers were from Africa and they despise the frigid weather. Nevertheless it did not cease our will to help by spreading the hay and digging paths in between crops. I was surprised that our British friend at the hostel, Ed, came out to support us. Then, we prepared ourselves with brand new clothes and departed from the hostel to the Institution of Hispanic culture. Here we met Doctor Rocher once again and she educated us on the differences and stereotypes on Latin America and Hispanic cultures, these knowledge will come in handy if we are encountering Hispanic people or living in South America in the future. For dinner, we went to an Argentinian restaurant called Marini’s and I tasted Empanada for the very first time. I am obsessed with the Gaucho Empanada that I devoured six of them as well as the sopapilla. I am more than thankful to Dr. Rocher for buying our food and giving each of us a cute souvenir - an Argentinian Armadillo.

Waking up early as the first shift was very agitating, because I’m both excited to help people but I struggled to get up from my cozy warm bed. Unfortunately, SBP and “Star of Hope” both shut down due to the same icy weather. According to Doctor Maria, the state of Texas have not encountered similar conditions in nearly twenty years, although it is considered common in New England area, its rare here. We visited the Salvation Army instead, it is a social services organization that provides rooms and beds for families that suffered from the natural disaster. We helped out from cleaning, preparing food to feed 90 families, to sorting resources like hygiene products and baby diapers. Most of these families are single parents taking care of multiple babies, their recidences were destroyed from the hurricane and have no place to stay, due to the low income they were incapable to recover and restore their properties. By serving at the Salvation Army camp, we learned and witnessed from the other side of the community.

Due to the gelid weather today, SBP was closed hence we couldn’t continue the remaining work from yesterday. Instead, we visited an organization named “Star of Hope”, a Christ-centered community supporting Houston’s homeless men, women and children. We sorted many resources from towels to blankets, at some point I have realized that if there are only a few workers, the workload we completed would take them at least a week to finish. The more people we have, the more productive the process gets. Working as volunteers, we don’t ask for profit or money, we work for ourselves: our education, and a “thank you”.

We are finally getting hands on today, building the foundation of a house is completely new to me, however I enjoy learning new knowledge about the construction of a house and working in a group. Every moment was fulfilling and enjoyable, although it was full of challenges, yet we were able to manage to get through them as a team eventually. Tomorrow we will face new challenges and I am well-prepared after the experience today. Getting all messy and dirty is absolutely fun in many ways, seeing everybody’s positive energy and smiling faces is why this trip is worthy.

Day 4 - Jan 14 Breathing the refreshing air in Hermann Park and going around with a mini train was absolutely fascinating. We got off the train and visited Houston Museum of natural science, although we didn’t see any specific exhibits, the entire building intrigued me especially the butterfly center. Our group had planned to return on Thursday when it has free entrance. My favorite part of the day was seeing different varieties of ducks 🦆 and paddling with Luke and Mr. Stepp. The scenery was impeccable and memorable, I have never seen anything like this in New England. I really appreciate the sufficient flexibility afforded by our leaders, we were able to shop in a massive mall freely and had dinner around the hostel of our own choice.

In the evening, we learned some moves in a dance lesson, it certainly amused us and helped us to recover after long day. Later in the night, we had an fantastic dinner at El Patio with Doctor Maria and celebrated Sophie & Luke’s birthday. I am overwhelmed by the lively ambience and I hope they are too. Everything was very surprising, we all enjoyed the night.

Day 3 - Jan 13 Participating in the Major Toxic City Tour with two amazing guides Juan and Yvette, they had made me realize and awaken from a potential hazard that impacts the daily lives of residents in Houston. After hearing all locals’ stories, I have got into a contemplation that made me feel extremely appreciative and blessed with what I currently have. I feel empathetic yet so powerless for them, but I will try my best to spread the words and raise awareness in my power. Yvette seemed faithful on our generation that we will be able to blast out the message through social medias, thus Yigit and I had decided to pick environmental justice as our symposium topic. P.s. More details on this topic will be presented on our Symposium, please come check it out!!!

Recovering from all the exhausting transportations, we started our day at the Minute Maid Astros ballpark witnessing the spectacular baseball field and the astounding 40,000 seats stadium. After that, we visited a very local restaurant to have an authentic taste of El Salvador. Finishing our amazing meal, we met a very passionate local, a record store owner. Sharing his very own experiences and stories, he was very outgoing and friendly to us. The Spanish music industry somehow connected us together, and eventually we got to learn more about Hispanic cultures.

I had my first experience with Southwest Airline today, and I prefer their service over all other airlines in America. Unfortunately, we detoured and landed on San Antonio after spending nearly six hours on the plane due to the unstable weather in Houston. Restlessly, after a series of twists and turns, we finally made our way to our destination. Houston greeted me with its gentle breeze sweeping off my face, the city’s eye-catching scenery impressed me, the palm trees and skyey buildings particularly. We ended the day with a life-saving meal across the street.

Johnny Lok