Understanding the Cherokee People (Maryville, TN)

By:  Cherylynn Finklin & Angela Yao

Trip:  Once Upon A Time: Exploring the Stories of the Cherokee People

Today we finally were able to work with the Cherokees. We met a man named Gilliam who was a Cherokee Indian himself. We split up into three teams, all to work on separate trails along the Smokie Mountains in Gillian's family territory. Each person was given either a maddock, a clopper, or a rake and we used those tools to clear out a path in the woods. This was really fun and we were able to really work together to cut through the forest and clear out a path in the woods. This was really fun and we were able to really work together to cut through the forest and clear the path. During our lunch, we sat around Gillian who told us a little about life as Cherokee. He talked about the general organization of Cherokee government  a structure and his role in advocating at Standing Rock. This was really interesting and exactly what a lot of us were waiting to learn about throughout the week. After lunch, we walked through the other two groups' work to see the process that they had made. It was really amazing to see just how much we finished in the short hour and a half that we worked. Throughout the day, Gillian kept emphasizing the importance of touching the earth in order to destress and relax from the everyday life. After working, it was easy to understand exactly what that meant and how we could move forward with that in mind.

Following our time at Gill's, we went to go see Shortie Kirkland, another Cherokee Native American. At our time at Shortie's property, we played a fun outdoor game of "The Fish game." The Fish game is a traditional game used by Native Americans to determine if a couple is able to get married. There are two teams, men versus women and the objective of the game is to hit a fish that is on the top of a tall pole with a ball. During our experience of playing this game, all the universities that attended the service trip joined us and it made for a fun and awesome time! Through these activities, we had to step outside of our comfort zone and not only learn to trust and communicate with the Rutgers students, but also students from other universities. 

Exploring Caves and Hiking Trails! (Maryville, TN)

By:  Cherylynn Finklin & Angela Yao

Trip:  Once Upon A Time: Exploring the Stories of the Cherokee People

On Wednesday, our Once Upon A Time, team took a much needed break after two days of cutting down trees and removing massive amounts of privet. Our first adventure led us to

The Lost Sea tour in Sweetwater, TN. On the tour we explored the rich history of a cave that traces all the way back to the 1800s! We learned how native Cherokee people used this space at point for living and secret meetings. After walking ¾ of a mile in the cave, we arrived to the The Lost Sea and took an exiting boat ride, with a glass bottom, on the 800 feet long by 220 feet wide lake, that’s 50 feet deep!

Following our tour in the depths of a historic cave, we made our way to Laurel Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On this trail we walked 1.6 miles to reach a beautiful scenic view of the Laurel Waterfall. Along this hike, some team members were able to share special moments with one another—learning new and personal facts to form deeper relationships. Although this hike was not easy for most and surly a challenge for some, the experience of pushing towards the Waterfall was a reminder that great things worth having or seeing takes hard work and dedication—in the end the sacrifice would be worth it! We were all delighted upon arriving to the Waterfall and basking in nature’s beauty. Of course we couldn’t leave without taking multiple selfies and a great group picture!

Dear Mom, From Sim (Washington D.C.)

By:  Simran Nanwani

Trip:  Stopping Traffic at the Corner of Humans & Justice

Dear Mom,

As you know, today is day 3 of my alternate break trip! We had a personal session with Laura Lederer who is the founder of Global Centurion which is an organization that works towards combating human trafficking. This session with her really helped us dip our feet in the water and get a better understanding of human trafficking. Post this session, we went to the mall for on the street surveys to get a brief sense of what the community in DC knows about human trafficking since it is a prevalent issue in the USA today.

However, I am writing to you today to thank you for giving me the opportunity to move out of India and study at Rutgers and be as involved on campus as I wish to be. Because, today, everyone in the group spoke about why human trafficking is important to them and it really is a fulfilling experience to work on a project with a group of people who feel just as strongly and passionately about social issues affecting us today.

Sometimes, I feel like my focus is geared towards the bigger picture of completely solving the issue at hand, but the girls around me constantly teach me that there’s a whole process that goes along with that and make me draw back my attention to the smaller things that make a big difference. When I first thought of human trafficking, the first thing that came to my mind is prostitution and sexual trafficking and this can be a very complicated issue to overcome. But, if you start out small, even as simple as getting people to take surveys on the street, you are slowly working your way up and building through the struggles to overcome a complicated social issue and I couldn’t be more excited to take on this journey with twelve other incredible women so thank you Mom for giving me this incredible opportunity!

-Sim

Bringing Welcome to a New Day (Maryville, TN)

By:  Angela Yao & Cherylynn Finklin

Trip:  Once Upon a Time

We started today off by standing in a circle and singing a song to bring welcome to a new day, to the people and places that we would encounter. We sang Cherokee verses four times, facing each cardinal direction. One of the most resonating things our hostess, Erlene, said to us was that it didn't matter how we sang it or how we sounded compared to the person next to us - what mattered was the way we felt as we sang it, as the song is a story in itself, always changing to be reflective of the people it passes through. With this we began our journey at Once Upon a Time. 

After breakfast, we split off to work with Erlene on making jam. This was really fun and we got a chance to explore more of their home and talk with people from Vermont at the same time. Next up was a nice one-mile hike where Ed taught us about some of the features of the trail. Then, we had lunch and orientation. During the orientation, Ed and Erlene told us more about how they got started with this program. Once they were officially accepted as a host spot, they kept expanding, building (by hand) more shelters, bunks, and furniture to accommodate more students. We found out that they started this program not only to teach about the environment and about the native Cherokees, but to pass on a love and appreciation for nature to the next generation so that we could be its future protectors.

With that sitting in our thoughts, we hiked down to an area of the woods to pick out honeysuckles. We learned that the major reason for this was because these plants were brought over from another land and, as a result, they have no natural predators in this region to keep their population in check. As we picked out the vines from the area, we had fun talking and singing with each other. Afterward, it was time to split wood. We all attempted wielding the ax, one by one, some more successful than others at actually splitting the wood. This was a lot of fun and we got to cheer each other on, as well as our new friends from other schools.

By nightfall, we had some free time and happily ate dinner. It was a pretty relaxed day overall and the work was surprisingly enjoyable and educational. It was a great start to the week and we had plenty of time to get to know each other just a little better. We started to really understand the culture and differences in perspectives here. It has been great so far and I know that we all are so excited for the rest of the week!

We are All Immigrants (Washington D.C.)

By: Simran Nanwani

Trip:  Stopping Traffic at the Corner of Humans & Justice

It feels a little unreal how time flew so quickly and we’re already halfway done with the semester.  But here we are today, on day one of our Alternative Break trip and I am extremely humbled to be a part of this journey with twelve other intriguing women; working on a project that focuses on stopping human trafficking. Today was quite relaxed - we drove down to DC and headed to Taco District for dinner. While dinner was absolutely great, I noticed a poster on the bulletin board which said “We are all Immigrants”. This got me thinking about how grateful I am to be studying in the United States of America because this a place where people openly express their views and discuss the social cracks that exists within its society and it’s important to realize that even a country like the United States can have social problems, one of the major ones being human trafficking. The integral part lies in actively working towards overcoming these social problems, in any way – big or small. All you need is a little bit of initiative!