Posting from Toni

As much as I'd like my posting to be as informative as the past postings, I (unfortunately) spent a good part of the day lying down in the van in an attempt to keep my brain tissue from getting projected out of nose (read: horrible allergies). The house we are currently working on – and finishing up tomorrow – has been a much more fulfilling experience for me than the first couple days. Having the owner around to talk to has definitely added to the positive environment. From my perspective it is much easier to get emotionally involved in a project such as this when there is a connection with the person (or people) you are helping. To back up the last couple posts, I'd also like to share that I fully agree with what has been said about Miss D (as Shital has affectionately nicknamed her). She has been fantastic to work with and very thankful for what we are doing. It really makes the frustrating parts of this experience more endurable by knowing that. Tomorrow the plan is to split up into two groups again. One group will finish up Miss D's house and the other will start on a new one. I must admit that being there for the first phase of the cleaning part is really fascinating for me. Its really amazing to witness the extreme destruction that wind and water can wreck. I doubt that I have been the only person to ponder what my house would look like if it was subjected to the same forces that these houses were. So, back to the allergies. I attempted to be useful a couple different times during the day, but the addition of dirt- and sheetrock dust-laden air throughout the house definitely wasn't conducive to proper sinus performance. I wasn't alone in my misery, which I am thankful for even when knowing there were others who weren't functioning in high gear. Because we were stuck in the van we had a chance to talk and get to know each other better. One of my reasons for coming on this trip was to form some connections with other Hamline students, so this worked to my advantage. To end, I would like to take a moment to share that all of us women are now fully educated in how to use hammers. :]