Alternative Spring Break Philly, day 1: Exploring Philadelphia, connecting to our site

While other students are looking forward to some rest and relaxation this spring break, close to 250 FIU students will be spending their time helping others. From March 13-22, the students are participating in FIU’s Alternative Spring Break, a program that gives them a chance to volunteer all over the world. One of FIU’s groups is in Philadelphia. Read what Ian Wogan has to say about their adventures below.

Sunday, March 14 – Today is our second day of exploration in the city where we will be spending our “Alternative” Spring Break (aB). We arrived in Philly yesterday on a 6:15 a.m. flight out of Ft. Lauderdale (this meant a 2:30 a.m. meet-up and 3 a.m. departure from FIU’s south campus). On our way out, we waved goodbye to the traditional spring breakers who were still stumbling in and out of a late night party. We were off to forge memories that will resonate with us the rest of our lives.

aB Phillies 2010, from left to right: Christina, Melissa, Danielle, Akilah, Ian, Klaudia, Matha, Berlaine

2010 marks the second year that the issue of “inner city education” is hosted in Philadelphia, PA.  In the spring of 2009, the Philly site began with a similar group of motivated members of the FIU community. We arrived in Philadelphia that spring with only an inkling about the details of the trip: where we were volunteering, where we were staying, how we would get around, the exact details of our budget, etc. While to many these details may seem to be the most important pieces of information, the remarkable part of aB is the sheer power that lies in the motivation of a few dedicated individuals committed to service. It is this power of dedication to service that has a unique and comical way of ironing out those creasy details.

So here we were in the city of brotherly love, ready to serve, ready to “change the world, one break at a time,” and by fluke of a phone call we happened upon the West Philadelphia Community Center (WPCC). The WPCC is located in West Philly and serves the community by offering day-care and after-school care, as well as classes for pregnant teens to obtain their GED. We could not have asked for a more perfect center to do our service, and last year was unbelievable.

So Saturday and Sunday we spent exploring Philadelphia, a city with deep historical roots and phenominal tastes of culture to prove it. Some of our stops included: a select few of the many murals that can be found around the city, illuminating otherwise drab sections of apartment buildings and grey concrete, The Philadelphia Museum of Art (aka the “Rocky Steps”), the City Hall and “LOVE” Park, Naked Chocolate Shop, The Eastern State Penitentiary (America’s most historic prison), Chinatown, the historic district with the Liberty Bell, Thomas Jefferson’s grave and the house where the Constitution was signed, and a great stop in a grocery store to stock up for the week. –– Ian Wogan

One of Philadelphia’s many eye-catching murals