Sorry it’s been a couple of days since we posted.  I’ve been having a heck of a time getting this blog software to let us post pictures.  I’m working on this as I sit in the van, while the students are hard at work putting in flooring in one of the houses we are working on.  They are doing awesome work and having a fantastic time doing it.  Hopefully, over the next day, you’ll begin to see their posts, illustrated!

Our Housing in New Orleans 

Carrollton UMC are our gracious hosts here.  They have been housing out-of-town volunteer groups ever since Katrina.  We are in one big room on the second floor, sleeping on bunk beds in our sleeping bags. The Carrollton Church [see link to their website at right] did not flood during Katrina, although many members’ homes were damaged.  The church is near the foot of S. Carrollton avenue, very near the Mississippi River.  You can’t see the river from here, of course, because it is behind the levee!  Carrollton Ave is a beautiful tree-lined boulevard, down the middle of which runs the St. Charles street cars, now back in service.  The homes in this area are old, classic southern style and you feel transported back in time to see them. 

A word about the neighborhood and crime…

We are close to some familiar landmarks from home — a new Rite Aid two blocks up the street one way and Walgreens two blocks the other.  So far the students’ favorite though is the French pastry shop which sells great gourmet coffee.

The students also go running in Audubon Park nearby.  The zoo is there, plus golfing,  and a running track.  They’ve been great about sticking together in groups.  

Jim Coningsby, our program director, did a good job of clarifying the safety issues here for them.  In many ways the crime here is as in any big city — you have to be street smart!  There is more crime here than in many other US cities, as you’ve heard, but for the most part the real situation is not as the media hype describes.  What the media leaves out is that virtually all the crime is done by folks with criminal records against others with criminal records.  As long as we don’t do stupid stuff like wander the streets alone, we are as safe here as we are in Schenectady.

Food!  

We have the run of their kitchen, which has about everything we need.  We just provide the food — Molly and her crew stocked up with $600 worth Wednesday nite and we’ve already made a big dent in it. We are divided into 7 work teams for cooking, with different teams doing set up, cooking and cleanup each night.  We each make our own breakfast and sack lunch.  So far it is working great. Carl Winkler’s team served up a tasty pasta dinner last night.

Oops, I’m running out of battery power — more later!!!

Please feel free to comment on our posts — the students grumble about being embarrassed, etc, but they really do love hearing from you all — me, too!  NOTE — please post on this page, not the Katrina page, ok?  That’s for another course!!!

bye y’all – Jan