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!