Throughout my seventeen years of living in the United States, I honestly haven't traveled outside my home town much. One trip I was fortunate enough to experience was my church mission trip to New York to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2013. Going into this trip I didn't know what to expect. Would I be moved to tears or uneffected? What I did know was that this trip was going to be a completely new experience; like nothing I've ever done.
Our group stayed just outside the city for most of the trip and from there we traveled to our worksite everyday. My group’s work site was a woman’s house that had been flooded with about four feet of water. We tore down the damaged drywall and then put new drywall back up. We spackled, sanded, nailed and painted for about a week. Towards the middle of the trip we had guest speakers tell us about their experiences with Hurricane Sandy. There was one citizen who, through tears, recalled coming home to find his house in ruins. That was when it finally hit me about what had happened in that area. While working in my assigned house it was easy just to think of it as a piece of property, but after hearing this man speak about …show more content…
Just being out and about in the city I learned something new. While walking down the street with millions of people I had to reach outside my comfort zone that I was use to at home. Navigating, asking strangers questions, not having my parents by my side were all out of the usual routine. Although it was scary at times, it was also fun and built up my confidence, made me better to handle a similar situation for the next time it happens. When in New York City I was exposed to new places, food, people; the whole just of the place worked differently than where I was from. That mission trip was one of the few times I've experience a new culture, and because of that I have a better appreciation for other cultures
Our group stayed just outside the city for most of the trip and from there we traveled to our worksite everyday. My group’s work site was a woman’s house that had been flooded with about four feet of water. We tore down the damaged drywall and then put new drywall back up. We spackled, sanded, nailed and painted for about a week. Towards the middle of the trip we had guest speakers tell us about their experiences with Hurricane Sandy. There was one citizen who, through tears, recalled coming home to find his house in ruins. That was when it finally hit me about what had happened in that area. While working in my assigned house it was easy just to think of it as a piece of property, but after hearing this man speak about …show more content…
Just being out and about in the city I learned something new. While walking down the street with millions of people I had to reach outside my comfort zone that I was use to at home. Navigating, asking strangers questions, not having my parents by my side were all out of the usual routine. Although it was scary at times, it was also fun and built up my confidence, made me better to handle a similar situation for the next time it happens. When in New York City I was exposed to new places, food, people; the whole just of the place worked differently than where I was from. That mission trip was one of the few times I've experience a new culture, and because of that I have a better appreciation for other cultures