Summer 2011 Update

Thank you for visiting the Atlanta, GA IRC Alternative Spring Breaks trip blog! This blog is inactive for the time being. It will be active once again in November 2011, when the new Coordinators for this trip are hired. Feel free to browse the information on this blog to get an idea of what the trip has done in the past. If you have questions about this trip, contact the Boston University ASB Program Managers, Leif Hede-Brierley and Suchie Ravindran, at altbreak@bu.edu

One month, 11 days to go…

hello my darlings!

Registration has finally happened and we are both so excited to get to know all of you that are coming to HOTLANTA with us!

Please feel free to tweet us. blog us.  facebook stalk us. we really would love to talk to you guys and let you know about all the trip. and plus we are both really interesting fun crazy people!

WE HAVE REALLY EXCITING NEWS….

ASB IS IN ONE MONTH AND 11 DAYS!

start your countdown now…we definitely have!

Anyways, in other news, Bethany has gotten a new phone that was not made during the 1900’s.  She also interviewed Fort! the band on Saturday and got milkshakes afterwards. she’s ADORBS.

Daniela is a frequent gym-goer so if any of you would like to go on a gym date/starbucks date/just wanna go on a date in general…please let me know. She has also downloaded significant amounts of music for our BUMPIN’ van.

We’re in the process of trying to get meals donated, so if you have any connections/family in Atlanta, please let us know!

That’s all for now! Email us if you need us.

Peace. Love. ASB.

DABR

REGISTRATION IS SUNDAY. BE THERE.

Hello my darlings!
it has been so long since we’ve been in contact with all of you. we have missed you oh so so so much!! We had a great break and we hope you are all ready to REGISTER on SUNDAY bright and early at 8AM. The night before is the ASB Fundraiser concert, so be sure to check it out!

This was our winter break:

BETHANY:
1. bought a shirt that says “nothing tips like a cow”.

2. bought green hair dye! (anyone notice I did a lot of shopping over break?)

DANIELA:
1. spent a lot of time shopping, chilling, and sleeping
2. spent a week in New Orleans on Winter outreach–build houses errdayyy and had some crazy fun experiences

 

Peace. Love. ASB.

D&B

It doesn’t snow in (our) Hotlanta…

Hello my darlings!

With winter break fast approaching, we naturally have Christmas on the brain. Bethany will obviously dye her hair red for this occasion while Daniela has been consistently playing Michael Buble’s Christmas playlist on Pandora. These are our plans for break (we thought you should know):

Daniela is going home to New Yawkkkk 🙂 Excited for home-cooked meals, shopping, and Law and order/dexter/house marathons! I will be living in my snuggie for a month. nbd. I will be coming back to Bahston January 9th to go on Winter Outreach. I will be saving the world for a week building houses in New Orleans. I have never been to the South so this will be a great community service experience! I’ll let you guys know it goes.

Bethany is heading home to Milwookie, where truffle-making with her mom and sister await her. I’m planning to spend lots of time with the family, doing crossword puzzles at Alterra, and sledding down St. Mary’s hill (you would be scared/excited, too, I promise). Since my mom adores Christmas music (and silver trees, but that’s another beast altogether), carols and holiday music are always a huge part of my celebration. Naturally, I’m obsessed with Glee, so please enjoy the following clip courtesy of the two cutest gay characters on TV:

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday break! We look forward to seeing you at the info sessions and pre-break meetings. Please comment/send us an email if you have any questions about: (a) our fabulous lives; (b) our fabulous trip; (c) our fabulous program.

Peace. Love. ASB.

DABR.

Alien Model Photo Shoot!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hu What?

Hu Rights!

Hello my darlings!

Our trip to the International Rescue Committee in Atlanta, Georgia is one of ASB’s only Human Rights trips (joined this year by the Flagstaff, AZ trip).

The Human Rights issue area encompasses several topics, but on a broader scale it works to ensure that people have access to their fundamental rights. You may remember the preamble to the Declaration of Independence from history class: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” While this may be how our founding fathers defined human rights, when the United Nations adopted the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 (and, later, the International Bill of Human Rights), they noted, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason andconscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

But what does that entail?

The Declaration of Human Rights outlines the fundamental rights that humans should have access to on a global scale, including: freedom from torture; the right to asylum; the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; the right to education; the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being; the right to marry and to found a family; and the right to nationality. You can check out the full list and its breakdown here.

In working with the International Rescue Committee, we’ll be focusing in a broad sense on the “right to asylum”. The IRC works in 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore “safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.” The IRC is committed to arriving on the ground 72 hours after an emergency crisis to help those in distress seek asylum.

We’ll be helping the IRC with the tail end of that, i.e., what happens once refugees have arrived in the United States and find themselves in a new country with a new culture. This means we’ll be helping with English as a Second Language and women’s literacy classes during the day, and in the afternoon we’ll be heading to middle and high schools to tutor immigrant children.

One of the awesome things about our trip is that, in a sense, we’ll be experiencing a new culture too. Georgia offers soul food, an extensive and eclectic musical output and, of course, a different climate! Today’s forecast for Atlanta, Georgia is 40 degrees and cloudy. According to weather.com, the average weather for HOTlanta isn’t actually all that hot, ranging from 38 to 63 degrees (global warming, help us out here!). Either way, this is still warmer than the 31 to 46 degrees that are Boston’s average for March.

Stay warm, lovies! It’ll be March before you know it. With the end of classes growing nearer, we’ll have more time to update the blog, so be sure to stay tuned! To tide you over, here are some fun facts about us and the IRC:

1. The IRC was founded in 1933 (before the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights) at the request of Albert Einstein.

2. The only colors Bethany’s hair have not been are: blonde and green.

3.  Apart from living in the Mugar for the last 2 weeks…Daniela has been indulging in starbucks 4 times a day. tea, coffee, lattes, mocha, the whole sheeebang!

One final thought:

Peace. Love. ASB.

DABR

Welcome to the Soul-ar System!

Hello my darlings!

We are so excited to be heading off to HOTLANTA, GA! It is going to be a wonderful and exciting trip. Get ready for 20 hours in a van with two of the hottest ASB co cos in the program! We will be working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) on human rights issues, specifically immigration and refugees.  We have already contacted our housing site and we will be staying at the Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, GA. We are now working on planning some really fun events for the evenings after site work!

As for your coordinators…here is some stuff you should know about us!

BETHANY REYNOLDS

1. Planning to bring some Wisco cheese from the gorgeous city of Milwaukee on the trip so you can all understand my love of all things dairy.

2. Since our theme this year is SPACE, you should all run through the first four seasons of the Big Bang Theory. This will provide you with not only hours of (a) procrastination and (b) entertainment, but also (c) a great way to get on my good side.

3. … I’m the crazy one who likes colorful things.

And now onto

DANIELA ABADI

1. During our 20 hours of bonding, I want to prepare you all for my eclectic sense of music. The playlist will include classic favorites from B.O.B. to Taylor Swift to Frank Sinatra to Lil Wayne to Lily Allen to Snow Patrol to anything your hearts desire. If you have any suggestions let me know!

2. I’m a huge fan of brinner! Get ready for pancakes/eggos/french toast errdayyyy!

3. I’m the spicy latina….

Look forward to more posts guys! If you have any questions about the trip or us please don’t hesitate and send us an e-mail at asbirc11@gmail.com!!

Peace. Love. ASB.

Daniela and Bethany