Biloxi bound

Last year's contingent from Dalhousie at the Habitat for Humanity build near Biloxi, Mississippi. (Photo credits here)

Sure, there are the trips to New Orleans and the chance to walk along the beach where the Atlantic Ocean is actually warm. But truly, the best part about spending spring break down south is swinging a hammer and working up a sweat.

“It’s a really unique way to spend Reading Week,” says Jessie Roy, who has helped organize busloads of Dalhousie students to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas in the American south for the past four years. “With 150 pairs of hands, you can get a lot done.”

And make a lot of friends—“I look forward to this trip each year. The closest friends I have at Dal are the ones I’ve made through organizing this trip,” says Iain Arsenault, a fourth-year student in microbiology and immunology.

Jessica Roy operates the chop saw while Jesse Howatt keeps his fingers out of harm's way.

In 2007, the Dalhousie chapter of Habitat for Humanity sent a relatively small contingent of 18 students down to Mobile, Alabama in a rented van. Last year, the numbers swelled to 150 students, who made the bum-numbing three-day trip from Halifax to Biloxi, Mississippi in three coach buses. (The students give a shout out to the bus drivers with Trius Tours—“they’re amazing!”)

This year, from February 19 to 28, DalHabitat is again taking 150 students, which organizers feel is the maximum number they can accommodate while still ensuring a good experience for participants. Joining them this year will be two more busloads of students, one from Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, the other from Saint Mary’s University.

Dal students who are interested in going can inquire about availability—people’s plans change and there may be vacancies, says Ms. Roy. If not, students can always apply for next year. (E-mail organizers at habitat@dal.ca or check them out on Facebook.)

Working with your hands in the fresh air feels good and is a welcome break from the books, says Rachel Aaron, a fourth-year student in community planning, Plus, the results are tangible: “You can see the benefits of your work right away. Where there was just a concrete pad is now a house.”

She says the people they meet are delighted to see them and appreciate their work. She recounts meeting a gentleman at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant on the way to Biloxi. Once he heard what the Canadian students were up to, he decided to pick up their tab.

“It just makes you feel good,” says Ms. Aaron. “You feed off the energy of everyone and it’s so much fun.”