Last day bits

Today is Friday, the last day we are volunteering at TCC. Today's finally a warm spring-like day, which we have waited all week for. However, ironically the warm weather only arrived when we were about to leave New York. Contrary to what I thought before the trip, this week went by extremely quickly. At first, I thought the hours from 10am-4pm every day would pass by very slowly, or at least very tediously. This is probably because I had no clue what our interactions with the residents at TCC would be like. However, we've had such a blast at TCC, and none of us could have imagined that the week would end so soon. The night before, we all stayed up to make personal cards for the residents that we connected with, and on Friday the residents were overjoyed to receive cards from us. I had made cards for Scott (who I lived vicariously through), Shantella (who taught me the basics of Spades), and James (who taught me how to play advanced Spades). All of them were really about to cry....and that makes me want to cry. Just me being there was enough for them to well up with tears, and how could I not be moved by my own week spent at TCC? I think all of us were thinking the same thing, and that was how this week went from the most unknown experience in the world to something we would want to continue to do in the future. Leaving TCC in the afternoon was a bittersweet moment, since we knew we had brought the residents a sense of companionship that they haven't felt in years, yet we could only do so much in the mere 5 days that we stayed in New York.

This Alternative Break experience was something I could have never experienced anywhere else, and I was so glad to have taken this extraordinary opportunity in only my second semester of college. This trip inspires me to go on more AB experiences in the future, and to make more of an impact on the world that we all share. I have made so many new friends on this trip, and they bring me so much joy when we work together. AB makes friendships into a cooperative effort to make a difference, and I can never be grateful enough for this chance of a lifetime. Thank you, TCC, and thank you, AB!

-Jason Hsiao
March 21, 2014