Being back home in Danvers, MA is not what I expected it to be. I honestly thought I would be eager to see my friends, family and evidence that Christmas is only a week away. While I am happy to see everyone, I find myself wishing I were back in Louisiana. The people, the culture and the things we did and learned have already had a significant impact on my life. When people keep asking me how it was I don’t know how to put into the words the experience we had. For me, I think the biggest thing I learned was why people never want to leave Louisiana. Pre-trip, after hearing about the devastation from Katrina and then from Gustav and Ike, I repeatedly asked myself, ‘Why would they move back?’ I thought it was ridiculous that people would live in harm’s way instead of moving to a safer area. Now I know exactly why they want to stay right where they are. Not only do many extended families live within the same neighborhoods, but many have lived there for generations. Jamie at the Dulac Community Center said it beautifully when she said that her people were “one with the land and water.” People are so kind and good to one another and they have great pride. The sense of community is genuine and strong and this land has and will always be their homes. I completely understand why people don’t leave even after being repeatedly hit by hurricanes. Louisiana is special. The people, traditions, food and music all make it a unique and wonderful place, a place that I am now missing, and a place that I now understand why people keep going back for more. If anything I hope that I will be able to share this knowledge and understanding with my friends and family at home and when I return to Union in January. I miss you all!!

I have been catching up on reading all your blogs and it looks like you have all had an amazing experience. I wish I could have been there to understand the difference between NOLA and the wetlands. I think the work you did getting rid of the invasive species should be so meaningful in that not only are you rebuilding but you are helping to avoid a disaster of this magnitude ever again. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you soon!

[Note: Because of a death in her family, Amanda had to leave the group just before we moved to Dulac. We missed (and miss) you, too, Amanda! – Jan]

I just returned from our final day of community service. It was definitely one of the more trying days of this trip- my group installed fiberglass insulation on the underside of a trailer home. I tried to cover as much of my skin as possible but am still incredibly itchy. I was a little reluctant to install this poisonous product, however. It’s projected that 40 percent of today’s youth will suffer from respiratory diseases, which are in large part due to poor indoor air quality. More troubling was the fact that the fiberglass company, Pink, claims to be “Green.” On the package it says “Pink is Green,” suggesting that their product is good for the environment. Their claim is not entirely incorrect, as insulation does prevent heat from escaping in the winter, which therefore means less heating is required, and thus less electricity is consumed. However, fiberglass insulation is probably the least green of all insulators. Soy foam spray, structurally insulated panels (SIPs), or to a much “greener” degree, straw bale, are far more environmentally friendly. They also have higher R-values (the unit for measuring insulation effectiveness).

It’s just a little discouraging to see non-green materials used in new construction. I realize that cost is a big concern, but their are ways to build green without spending a fortune.

In both New Orleans and Dulac I noticed something about people, specifically about survivors of natural disaster. At first I was surprised that people could live normally and appear to have a calm mindset when they were surrounded by debris left over from the hurricanes, and while their homes were still in shambles. I soon realized that the challenges the locals face are not unlike those of others, in that they must be processed emotionally but then (to an extent) be put aside.  Eventually, you force yourself to move past troubles, and adjust to hardships simply because you have to in order to lead a normal life, and in order to maintain your sanity. You have to come to a point where you can remove yourself from the problems that once monopolized your thoughts. This simple observation helped me to understand why residents here were not more distraught at times. Sure, they still seem disappointed with their circumstance, but just like any other people they can experience a normal, healthy range of emotions, and are not constantly overwhelmed by the burdens imposed by the storms.

The past couple of days have been awesome……starting Saturday when we moved into the Dulac Community Center and returned to work at Mrs. Barbara’s house. She has been very nice and hospitable to us the whole time we have been there (she also has a slightly obese dog whose bark is bigger than its bite). At her house we have repaired the plumbing and put in a new toilet as well as adding trim and molding to the kitchen, living room, and hallway. She has been very appreciative of all of our work and is always quick to offer us local cuisine (such as homeade pork grinds and dried shrimp). On Sunday we took a 2 hour drive down to Grand Isle to help BTNEP (Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program) remove invasive plant species in the nature preserve. It was interesting to find out how important the nature preserve is to the migratory birds as well as its role in protecting inland areas from hurricanes. After a days work in the HOT sun we cooled off with a dip in the Gulf of Mexico…..it was freezing!!! Sadly, today was our last day at Mrs. Barbara’s house…..I am gonna miss working there and hearing her incredible stories.

Driving around Dulac it is crazy to see how many houses are still devastated from the hurricanes of this past summer and I’ve finally realized the differences between New Orleans and Dulac. In New Orleans you can drive around for an hour and never see a house that needs rebuilding, but if you go to the areas behind the main streets or drive to the lower ninth ward you will see the loss and emptiness left from Katrina. The Tulane University campus and the French Quarter have been built back up so much that it’s easy to forget this area was devastated only 3 years ago. Down here in Dulac it’s a completely different story. You can’t drive down the street 100 feet without seeing a house in ruins or a boat up on the sidewalk. It scares me that people in New Orleans didn’t even know what Dulac was and yet this area was so deeply affected and is still struggling to recooperate after the storms. At the slow speed in which the community of Dulac and these more Southern towns live their lives it worries me to think about how long, if ever, it will take for them to rebuild all their homes and get back to their lives post-Gustav and Ike, and also be prepared to face hurricanes of these statuses in the future.

I can’t believe how fast these two weeks have past.  This experience has made me so grateful for everything I have.  Sometimes I catch myself and others saying how it doesn’t feel like Christmas.  Why? Because there are no lights, decorations, or music (well music…that doesn’t involve washboards).  When I take a minute to think I realize that this will probably be the most meaningful Christmas I ever had.  Giving is what the holidays should be about.  We are helping out in giving a family a new home and a new chance to start rebuilding their families and lives.   The homes we built for PNOLA will now be done before Christmas thanks to our help.   Merry Christmas!

Like I mentioned previously, I have had the pleasure of working on Ms. Barbara’s house with Paul, Kenny, and Graham in Dulac. She is by far one of the nicest and sweetest people I have ever met and I have really enjoyed working on her home. Not only did we finish her living room on Saturday, today we completed her kitchen and the hallway (just for the record, we trimmed the whole kitchen before lunch). The bathroom still needs more work and the bedrooms just needs to be trimmed but overall the house is, in Ms. Barbara’s word, really starting to look like a house again.

Today we got a chance to listen to some of her stories about her experience during the hurricanes. Even though her home is raised four feet off the ground, during this year’s flooding there was about 16 inches of water in her house.
She also allowed us to take the rest of her MRE’s (Meals, ready-to-eat) from the military. Kenny is actually eating some of them as I type. It’s pretty awful and I can’t believe that people had to live off this after the storm. In each package there is “everything” you need to make a meal including a bag to heat up the meal. It uses a chemical reaction that releases heat and can heat up meats or drinks. It is kind of a neat concept but, according to Kenny et al, it’s pretty awful tasting.

She also gave us a bunch of Mardi Gras beads and one of those huge holiday tins of popcorn. She actually bought the popcorn for us which I feel is so sweet of her. She continuously offered us food throughout the day including dried shrimp, fried pig skins and chocolate covered strawberries. Her hospitality and appreciation for our work is incredible and I really wish that we could go back tomorrow and put in another day’s work for her.

Today we headed even further south to Grand Isle to volunteer at the Nature Conservancy.  Basically we cut down invasive trees in the barrier island and picked up garbage and debris from the last storm.  We worked in the morning in about 75 degree weather which was wonderful, but quite warm in all the clothing we were wearing. 

We broke for lunch and one of the leaders of the effort, Mel, spoke to us for a while about how the wetlands have become the most disappearing land mass in the world, the importance of conserving the wetlands and different measures that could be taken to build them back up.  It was great to get to go down and actually experience a community directly affected by the dissapearing wetlands and get to contribute to conserving them. 

After lunch, Mel gave us the option of going back to the “camp” that he stays at right on the beach to just hang out on the beach for the rest of the day.  Obviously, we eagerly got in the vans and headed over.  Almost all of us swam in the Gulf in 69 degree water- it made for an interesting and a bit chilly ride home. 

We stopped at Big Al’s on the way back to Dulac and all enjoyed an awesome meal of seafood.  Overall, we all had a great day and are ready to get back to work in Dulac tomorrow morning. 

Yesterday we went to Grand Isle and it was a nice change of scenery for us. We worked hard getting rid of invasive plant species in the nature preserve. The nature preserve was not huge but it plays a vital role for migratory birds: it is their pit stop on their way to South America and back during their mating season. Now we can say we helped rebuild some of the wetlands and it is a rewarding experience.

Swimming in the Gulf of Mexico was tons of fun too! The water was so cold but it felt refreshing after working under the hot sun. At the beach we could see the oil rigs about 5 miles off the coast and it was an interesting sight. It makes you think about oil production in a new way, especially since Exxon’s main command center was across the road from where we went swimming.

Grand Isle is a gorgeous place that is the vacation home to many and business home to many northern fisherman. I would love to go back.