A week and a half has passed since our trip, which has given me time to reflect and share stories with friends and family. Jan forewarned the group that many of us might feel a disconnect from our home life or not feel satisfied when explaining to others what we experienced. I still struggle with the latter concept. I’m normally comfortable with settling back in from trips, even when I was abroad in Vietnam for 3 ½ months. I found it easy to get back into routine habits, but difficult to share how my trip went with those who inquired. While my immediate family was comforting, understanding, and well aware of Louisiana’s current condition, friends and relatives did not seem to fully grasp what I was explaining to them. It seems as though they wanted a quick, joyful story and not be bothered with real issues that Louisianans face. This became very frustrating the more people asked about the trip, because unless they probed further about the current situation (which fortunately some have), I felt reluctant to share my entire experience. On a more positive note.. I am so glad I was able to work in Ms. Barbara’s house in Dulac. She was a wonderful, light-hearted woman, who always had a smile on her face. Whether we sat down and made fun of a talk show before packing up for the day, or discussed her memories of the flooding, I enjoyed conversing with her. She had a very positive outlook on life, and did not seem to have dampened spirits by her situation, which was refreshing and showed a lot about her character.

I am currently applying for Teach for America, so I have been busy over break. After being on this trip I have seriously considered volunteer work based in New Orleans or Dulac, if I am not accepted into the program. With all the privileges most Union College students have received throughout their life, I think it would be great for many of us to give back to those less fortunate. As we discussed in our final session, we are all most likely volunteer oriented and have a similar mindset, so I think it is important to encourage our peers to experience the mini-term Union offers. Looking back on this trip, I’m glad we had to take a class and are required to write a research paper. While volunteer work is great, I think the combination between applied work and becoming educated about the issues really supplies us with the proper knowledge and experience to share with others. I am so grateful to have experienced a trip with such a great group of people. I’ll admit I had a few doubts on how well we would internalize the experience (before we left Union), but after listening to everyone during our group discussions in New Orleans and after we returned I am convinced we all took a lot away from this trip. Our group really seemed to get it, and every person had a unique and original perspective to add to our discussions. During these discussions individuals brought up aspects of the trip I had not thought of and encouraged me to further digest our experience. Others responses inspired me and reaffirmed feelings I had, which made me feel comfortable that I was not the only one contemplating various issues. It was a true delight to be on the trip with this crew.

I hope everyone is enjoying their last few days of break and spending lots of time with loved ones. I look forward to seeing y’all when we return!