Galveston, TX

Hello Bill Gwynn fans! Long time, no see. How is everyone doing? It's been a little while so let's get busy with the updating. I am currently sitting in the communications tent at my residence on Camp Tarmac. As the name implies, the camp is located on the runway of an operational airport. But don't let the location fool you, it is such a sweet set up. To start, I have been sleeping on a very comfortable cot in a 500 person tent. I have never had 499 roommates before (and I'm guessing most of you as well) but it has been working out surprisingly well with no complaints. We have a pretty big dining hall tent where they have been feeding us well.... too well. The first night we arrived here we had a surf and turf dinner of steak and fish. I know, right? Where am I? And most of the meals have been equally impressive with pulled pork sandwiches, pastas, omelet bars, and last night, the most delicious meal thus far, ribs. We also have a fitness tent with weights and exercise machines, a communications tent with laptops, and an entertainment tent with a huge flat screen and surround sound. That not enough for you? But wait...there's more! We have a medical trailer that pretty much can give you any over the counter drugs for free, the whole campus is wi-fi, and they do our laundry for us! That's right. I'll say it again in case you missed it. They do our laundry for us.

In all seriousness, I would never complain realistically about all the plush accommodations but at times I do feel guilty for all we get. When I planned to volunteer for a year, I planned on living simply and while some elements like our port-a-potties fit that life style, others don't. With that being said, I am so thankful to the services that help support us. They have really made it an easy environment to live in.

As for the surrounding area of Galveston Island, it went through a lot with hurricane Ike. I have seen a ton of destruction since arrival. Massive yachts on the sides of the road, endless businesses closed, and houses either completed gutted or leveled. There is much work to be done here and I'm glad our team was assigned here. The actual project that we will be working on has switched about a billion times since we've been here. We are now working through a program called Good News Galveston to do needs assessment. We are going to be going from door to door filling out surveys and interviewing people for, as the name implies, the things people still need. I'm very enthusiastic about our assignment because it will give me a chance to hear people's stories first hand.

On the lighter side, we had the day off yesterday and we had a lot of fun. On the other side of the airport is a pretty nice hotel and set of three pyramids. The hotel is where have been doing most of our hanging out. It's upscale but the lobby is quiet, with a moderate bar, pool tables, flat screens, and just a chill environment where you can do anything from sit and read to throw down some conversation over a few cocktails. The pyramids adjacent to the hotel each house a different attraction. The main pyramid is a beautiful aquarium that holds a ton of fish, some seals, and a bunch of penguins. It really is a fun aquarium with good attractions. The next pyramid is only partially open and is a discovery museum with an IMAX (that will be reopening shortly) and a ride-film. The final pyramid is a botanical garden that unfortunately will not be opening for 9 months. Also with price of admission, you get a boat ride around the bay that was quite pleasant.

So all in all, everything is going pretty well for me down here. I have a great living situation, a job with meaning and purpose, and things to do. Now, that I'm pretty settled I will try to write on this more with greater detail into the work I'm doing here. Thanks for reading. I hope this wasn't too long or boring. I worry about these things sometimes. Bye for now.