To no surprise, I’m still very much consumed by the trip. I find myself thinking about New Orleans and Dulac very often. I’ve gotten to tell my family a lot about the trip and found I could go on and on in trying to paint a clear picture of what it’s like in Southern Louisiana. I didn’t realize how much I learned until I began explaining my experience and detailing all the facts I’ve absorbed since the start of the miniterm.

Being back in New Jersey, I can already tell I’m a little bit different – or at least my thought processes are (is there a difference?). First, I can’t describe how thankful I am for my family, my friends, and my home. Although I have always felt privileged, this trip has deepened my appreciation for everything in my life. Since my return to Warren, I’ve been stopping to think about how grateful I am to being able to do (what I previously considered) the most basic things. With that, I feel somewhat guilty that I had taken these opportunities and abilities for granted, and that I am returning home to luxuries that many others have never known.

It’s also frustrating to think that so many others take what they have for granted. For instance, last night I was considering the types of children I have been a camp counselor for in the past couple of summers. I remembered how some of them were so ungrateful for what they have and for what people do for them…the way they demanded things without being trained to even say “thank you.” They couldn’t care less about things that underprivileged children would go crazy for. (Of course, this is a generalization that doesn’t apply to all of my campers.) They won’t know until they’re older how safe their lives have been, and how amazing their childhoods are. With the exposure and experience that comes with growing up (furthered by opportunities like service learning) I feel so fortunate for my own childhood and for the life I live.

I thought about my campers when Jenny came to talk to us about her work with City Year, and the terrible things that some of her students in New Orleans have experienced. I’m so glad that my campers and other children I know have not been exposed to any of the horrors that Jenny’s students have unfortunately come to know. I really admire Jenny’s work, and I know I want to continue volunteering with children at home, in Schenectady, and/or in New Orleans.  On that note, I feel a bit incomplete and know that my work in New Orleans/Dulac is not done. I already want to go back.. 

I’ve had a really hard time explaining my trip to my friends. Parts of the trip were very fun, while other parts were difficult. We were tourists enjoying ourselves, while realizing more fully the troublesome realities that challenge the region. I feel like I can’t convey my total experience well. I still think some of my friends assume the trip a vacation in which we happened to do some physical labor. Therefore, I try to express how much work still needs to be done in New Orleans and in the wetlands. Maybe the pictures they see will help to give them a better idea of what the trip was like…they can see our group having a good time in the French Quarter, but also see our worksites and pictures of Dulac. I don’t know. I know there is still a lot of processing to be done. I’m definitely very grateful to have had such a great experience.

I hope everyone is enjoying their time at home! Happy Holidays!