This mini-term has thus far exceeded my expectations in every way. I’d heard great things from some of last year’s participants, but naturally, only now understand the hype. We’ve worked two days on site (at specific house projects), one day building a playground, and today got a tour of the city. The tour specifically focused on the levees. The lower 9th ward, which received a lot of media attention in 2005, was especially eye-opening. This lower-class community was devastated by the collapse of the levee that separated it from the canal, and now, in 2008, less than half the number of pre-Katrina homes still stand. Most of these are either entirely new or required a ton of repair. One neat thing going on in this area is Brad Pitt’s “Make it Right” project. He’s teamed up with architects and builders across the country to make energy efficient, green homes. Some are critical of his organization because these houses are not conventional “New Orleans style” architecture, and input from will-be occupants was minimal, but in my opinion the residents likely lack knowledge of good building techniques, and old methods are obsolete. It may take some getting used to, as the homes are multi-colored and unconventional in appearance (lots of weirdly placed overhangs and sloping walls), but green building takes into account many considerations that usually go overlooked. Proper orientation, for instance, harnesses the sun’s warmth and captures as much natural light as possible. Green building in the re-building efforts will serve as the focus of my project for this class, so these are issues that are particularly of interest to me. On another note, I just got back from a local oyster bar where I ate raw oysters and watched football- it’s only two blocks from our church. Overall, this city’s pretty special.