Coming down
Assignment: Hurricane Ike response, Shelter Management, Houston HQ, Texas, USA
Volunteer: Derrick Harvey
Hometown: Comox, British Columbia, Canada
As with all intense experiences in life, coming down after the fact is often more stressing and emotional than the actual event itself. I have now been home for about 3 days and a lot of that was spent dreaming of sugarplums etc, etc. The last day of my deployment was spent saying goodbye and going through out-processing.
Returning my cell phone was bittersweet. It has been the lifeline between my shelter managers and me over the past 3 weeks. Some days, I really thought that it would melt into a little puddle of plastic by the end of the business day... there were days when my last call of the day could be confused with the first call of the next day.
Fleet decided that the car I was assigned could be returned to the Avis desk at the airport and so my long trip to Houston International Airport was somewhat simplified. My last goodbyes were said, lots of long and meaningful hugs were shared with my colleagues who had become part of daily life in this Texas town of close to 6 million. I have found friends that will stay with me forever and we have experienced an opportunity to give something back to our fellow inhabitants that cannot be measured.
My last night in Houston was quick coming, with sleep overcoming me around 7pm that night. My roommate, Jose from Tampa, a logistics truck driver, decided that he should go to the airport at 1 am and so I was awake as he packed his bags and said goodbye. We only met a few hours before, but because we shared this Disaster Response, we both understood the nervousness of our leaving and going home and the lack of a good nights sleep was not a big deal.
Jose was desperate to get home to his family and his favourite granddaughter. I understood this completely... it was exactly how I was feeling as well. So we shared a coffee at 1.30 am and I walked him out to his taxi and we hugged and said goodbye. A mutual understanding of how our roles over the past 21 days had played out for us personally.
I miss the intensity, the close knit team that I was part of, the challenges thrown at me 24/7, the need to think on my feet AND outside the box and the daily application of the mission and principles of the Red Cross. Needless to say, the unique relationship with my fellow Canadians and their contributions made us all feel especially proud.
It is said that the culture shock one experiences when returning from a different locale is often harder to cope with than that which hits you when going. Coming home this time has made me realize that this is what I need to do, what I want to do and how I want to spend my available time. Working with those other like-minded individuals, who also feel the pull of Disaster Response. Working for those people who through no fault of their own, have a need of the services provided by the Red Cross.
Hurricane Ike is now a memory for most of us, but for those people who are still in the shelters in Houston and Galveston, it is as real as if it happened yesterday. Their memories will be different from mine and will have a profound effect on the life that they strive to get back to. For me, I can go to sleep tonight knowing that there are other Red Cross volunteers who have stepped into the role I was playing and that of other people who have gone home. I will not soon forget my experiences in responding to DR 238-09 Hurricane Ike.
Cheers
Derrick Harvey
Canadian Red Cross
Volunteer: Derrick Harvey
Hometown: Comox, British Columbia, Canada
As with all intense experiences in life, coming down after the fact is often more stressing and emotional than the actual event itself. I have now been home for about 3 days and a lot of that was spent dreaming of sugarplums etc, etc. The last day of my deployment was spent saying goodbye and going through out-processing.
Returning my cell phone was bittersweet. It has been the lifeline between my shelter managers and me over the past 3 weeks. Some days, I really thought that it would melt into a little puddle of plastic by the end of the business day... there were days when my last call of the day could be confused with the first call of the next day.
Fleet decided that the car I was assigned could be returned to the Avis desk at the airport and so my long trip to Houston International Airport was somewhat simplified. My last goodbyes were said, lots of long and meaningful hugs were shared with my colleagues who had become part of daily life in this Texas town of close to 6 million. I have found friends that will stay with me forever and we have experienced an opportunity to give something back to our fellow inhabitants that cannot be measured.
My last night in Houston was quick coming, with sleep overcoming me around 7pm that night. My roommate, Jose from Tampa, a logistics truck driver, decided that he should go to the airport at 1 am and so I was awake as he packed his bags and said goodbye. We only met a few hours before, but because we shared this Disaster Response, we both understood the nervousness of our leaving and going home and the lack of a good nights sleep was not a big deal.
Jose was desperate to get home to his family and his favourite granddaughter. I understood this completely... it was exactly how I was feeling as well. So we shared a coffee at 1.30 am and I walked him out to his taxi and we hugged and said goodbye. A mutual understanding of how our roles over the past 21 days had played out for us personally.
I miss the intensity, the close knit team that I was part of, the challenges thrown at me 24/7, the need to think on my feet AND outside the box and the daily application of the mission and principles of the Red Cross. Needless to say, the unique relationship with my fellow Canadians and their contributions made us all feel especially proud.
It is said that the culture shock one experiences when returning from a different locale is often harder to cope with than that which hits you when going. Coming home this time has made me realize that this is what I need to do, what I want to do and how I want to spend my available time. Working with those other like-minded individuals, who also feel the pull of Disaster Response. Working for those people who through no fault of their own, have a need of the services provided by the Red Cross.
Hurricane Ike is now a memory for most of us, but for those people who are still in the shelters in Houston and Galveston, it is as real as if it happened yesterday. Their memories will be different from mine and will have a profound effect on the life that they strive to get back to. For me, I can go to sleep tonight knowing that there are other Red Cross volunteers who have stepped into the role I was playing and that of other people who have gone home. I will not soon forget my experiences in responding to DR 238-09 Hurricane Ike.
Cheers
Derrick Harvey
Canadian Red Cross
Labels: Canadian Red Cross blog hurricane Ike 2008 volunteer Derrick Harvey
posted by HB at 8:22 AM
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