We’ve had an interesting week so far in Dulac/Houma.

For one, it has rained more than I’ve ever thought was possible. There was even one day that we didn’t go in to work on the houses until the afternoon due to flooding.

 We arrived at the Dulac Community Center on Friday night after a rainy drive from New Orleans. We got settled in and in the morning we went over to the warehouse in Houma to meet Jim, our supervisor. We were divided into two groups and my group went to a house nearby which still needed a lot of work done. I worked on insulation with a few others, while the rest of the group started to hang dry wall on the ceiling. We were glad to have the opportunity, right from the first day, to meet the couple who would be moving back into the house. They are both part of the Houma tribe, and it was nice to finally meet a couple of Houma’s, since we had read about them. They were a very nice couple, and we felt their need to move in before Christmas, and I think that motivated us to work as efficiently as possible.

On our second day working on the house, we found out that all of the insulation that we had done so far (which covered most of the house) was done incorrectly, although it had already been approved. We were worried that the improper insulation would cause problems in terms of heating/cooling but Jim claimed that it would be fine.

Today we got a lot of work done and only have a few more rooms to cover with dry wall so we are hoping to get as much done tomorrow (our last day in the house) as possible. Friday we will be heading back to New Orleans for a few more days before heading home.

 This past Sunday, we took a break from working on houses, and drove two hours to Port Fourchon, where we worked with BTNEP. As we got closer to our destination, we were struck by the landscape around us. There was so much water, fog, and grayness on both sides of the road we were driving on, and as we drove over bridges we saw roads once in use that simple ended in the middle of no where. It seemed like something you would see in a fantasy movie, and even the pictures that we took don’t capture what is there in its entirety.

After signing a waiver, learning a little more about coastal erosion, and covering our selves with bug spray, we all jumped on the boats and headed out to the mile long piece of land on which we spent the day planting. While it was exhausting and tedious, it made us think about how much work it requires to save land like that. What strikes me most is that in that area, a football field of land is lost every 38 minutes. Also, as exhausted as we were at the end of that day, I had to remind my self that the guys we were working with have dedicated themselves to this cause and they go out and plant like that quite often. It was interesting to meet people who are directly affected by the land loss. Inspite of all of the bug bites, it was worth going out there and seeing an area VERY different from anything I have ever seen, and learning more about coastal erosion and land loss in this area.

This evening we met Jamie, the director of the Dulac Community Center, and she talked to us about the Houma tribe and a little bit about her life. Her baby was adorable and her talk was interesting as well. It was painful to see that she was so dedicated to giving to her community, and yet it was so hard to get funding and to make sure that everyone was getting what they need. We were all frustrated by the fact that we were not working directly in Dulac but rather in Houma and in Golden Meadow (an hour and a half away).

In our time here, we have learned a lot about some of the frustrations and obstacles a volunteer might encounter. Back in New Orleans, one morning before going to work we were informed that someone had broken into the PNOLA warehouse and stolen a lot of the tools and resources. This set us back as well but we eventually went into work, later on in the day. Here in Dulac, we had the issues with the insulation, as well as a delay due to flooding. We’ve been doing our best to continue keeping a positive attitude as a group and reinforcing eachother in order to make sure that we can keep giving our all while we are here volunteering.

I hope our last day and a half in Dulac will be fun and rain-free! I’m also looking forward to going back to New Orleans for our last project and enjoying our last few days together!

For the past four or so days, the group has been spending time in both the town of Dulac and the city of Houma. We have been staying at the Dulac Community Center but traveling everyday to work in two houses in Houma. The house the I have been working on was hardly assembled when we began working. Our supervisor told us that the house should have actually been torn down because there was so much damage from water and termites. However, we were told that it would have been more expensive to rebuild the entire house. Due to this, the whole house had been gutted and when we walked in there was minimal construction work that had already been done.

Working on this house though has really been a great experience. I’ve really learned so much; from installing fiberglass insulation, to cutting and screwing in dry wall. Although its been a very rewarding experience, as of late I’ve been getting a bit tired and cranky. Although we only work from 9 to 4 manual labor is really tiring.
To be honest being in Dulac has been a bit strange. At nighttime I’ve gone running with Pat and it is very easy to realize how different this place is; the dilapidated boats on the river and the houses on stilts. Most importantly, the mindset in dulac is very different from the northeast. Things are very slowpaced here while things in new york are very quickly paced. Although I enjoy experiencing this place and its people, I really do miss home.
Xoxox
Rachel

So the past couple of days in Dulac have been quite interesting. When we first got here, it seemed like a different world, the sky was a color gray that I had never sceen before. To be honest I wasn’t sure if the sun would ever shine…(today was beautiful though!) Anyway for the past couple of days a group of us have been working in a house in Houma for an old Houma Indian couple. I haven been primarly been stapleing insulation on to all the walls. Not so bad, except for the terrible itchy fiber glass and the staple guns constantly jamming. Today we joined the dry wall crew to help finish the ceilings and walls.

              Something that has really struck me over the past couple of days was how appreciative this couple was to have us helping them. The first day that we met them, they looked at us with the sweetest eyes and asked if their home would be done by christmas. With not even the insulation in the walls, and simply a house full of studs, I knew that the answer was no, but how could you say such an awful thing to people who have been waiting so long? I simply did not have the heart. We smiled at the grateful couple and promised that we would try our best.

              On Sunday we took a drive to Port Fourchon to plant grass on the Bayou, which is literally washing away, one football field every 38 minutes!! That I found insane. In addition, Jamie, the director of the community center who came to speak to us tonight imformed us that if we do not do things like this, Dulac will be underwater in the next 40 years. This is not only a piece of land where people live, their homes are established with their whole families, generations after generations for years and years. This is so sad to me. It also maked me think about my own community, and how I cannot really relate to the people here, because my whole family lives in another country. My family and I would have no problem packing up and moving to anywhere else in the world. At this point I am not sure if thats a good or a bad thing. Of course for these people it is very different.  Well back to the planting, we planted 4,000 plants along the plot of land that is in the process of being rebuilt. This was very exhausting, but we made the most of it and it felt awesome after all 4,000 were placed into the drilled holes and covered in soil.

      Tomorrow is our last day in Dulac and then Friday morning we are off to New Orleans onace again for the rest of our trip.

Tomorrow is our last day in Dulac, and it has definitely been a lot different from our week in New Orleans. My group has been working on a house in Houma that is owned by a Houma Indian couple. They have been out of their house for a long time now, and have been living with their daughter who also lives in Houma. They visit us and their house pretty regularly, and we have had some great opportunities to talk to them and gain a sense of what their experiences have been like in Houma. Though they are hoping to be in their house by Christmas the house still needs a lot of work and it looks like an early move in is probably not possible. 🙁

My group has been working on insulation and sheet rock in the house. The insulation was pretty frustrating because it contains fiber glass which has been making us all itch for the past couple days, but it has been really rewarding to see all that we have accomplished at the end of the day. Today we also did sheet rock which the other group working on the house has been doing. The sheet rock makes the house look much more complete and it has been really cool to see the way that the house is coming together.

Tomorrow is our last day of work, and then we return to New Orleans for two more days before heading home for the Holidays. Dulac has definitely been an interesting experience, and it is so different from any place that I have ever been before. It has definitely made me gain some perspective on how differently people live in other parts of the United States, and how diverse our country really is. Dulac is home to a lot of Houma Indians, many of whom make their living off of the land, through fishing or other activities. This lifestyle has been really interesting to see, and I have definitely learned a lot about the culture of the people who live here.

We are still in Dulac and as of now it has not rained at all today, which in my book is a miracle. Besides being shocked by the lack of rain, I cannot believe that there are only a couple of days left on the trip.

So far I am having a wonderful time, and loving the work that we have been doing although at times it has been difficult. At the house in Houma we are working on I have been putting up insulation and dry wall. Last weekend we planted 4000 plants on a patch on land as part of restoration project in the wetlands. At times this work seemed a bit boring and tedious but at the end of the day it was rewarding to see what was a patch of mud covered in plants.

I feel that seeing the owners of the houses we are working on is much more rewarding personally. It is such a great feeling to see the joy and excitement on their faces when they see the work that is being done to their homes. This really makes me feel that what we are doing here is making a difference even if it is only a small difference.

Our work is just about complete as we approach the final days in Dulac. My group is working on a house in Houma for a Houma Indian family. The family usually stops by once a day to see the progress on their house and are very egar to move in before christmas.  So far we have put up cielings and insulation, but there is much work to be done on the house before they are finally able to move back in. Hopefully the next group of volunteers are able to continue the work that we have done and finish up the house. Life in Dulac (a.k.a LAC) can be very quiet, but it has been a nice change of pace. While staying in Dulac we drove down to Port Fourchon to work with BTNEP. We planted 4,000 plants in order to bring back some land and prevent further erosion.     

Dulac, for sure, is quite a lot different from New Orleans. For one thing, we’ve been here since friday and today was the first that wasn’t rainy (which was greatly appreciated by most of us). We are currently working in two separate groups at houses that are about an hour apart, which has also put some strain on the process, i think. Especially Jan since she has to drive back and forth the whole time while we get to rest. Personally, I”ve enjoyed our time in dulac even though it is extremely rural and there isn’t a whole lot to do after we get back from doing work. We went to see Invictus at the Houma movie theater last night and that was a lot of fun but today i think we’re going to have more of a low key night. Everyone is a little run down from the stress and work.

While on this trip we have had a number of reflections about our work and how we feel about everything. One question that always seems to come up is why are we doing this? Why are we down here in Louisiana building houses and carrying on? And more generally, why do people do community service? We’ve talked a lot about this topic and, honestly, beaten it into the ground, but in all seriousness it is an extremely useful question. We’ve come up with some things, like the gratification of giving back and helping people who have less access to necessities than ourselves.  I won’t go into it for a blog but i think this question is pretty important.

Saturday we went port forchoun to the estuary run by btnep. We went out on a boat to a six thousand foot landmass. We planted four thousand plants. I’m not going to lie the mosquitos were extremley irritating i got bit about one hundred times. Though we may have saved this land mass they said every thirty minutes we lose a football field of land. Because of this it kind of makes it seem like a losing battle.

On Saturday we went down to Port Fourchon to work with BTNEP, a wetland recovery program. Our task was to plant swamp grass on a piece of land that had been articficially recreated. The idea of the whole project is to recreate and rebuild the wetland and bayou areas that have been eroded over the years. Doing this creates a buffer from future hurricanes and hopefully prevents future eroding. However, there has been a lot of damage to the areas and progress has been slow.

It was definitely a long day- we planted 4,000 grass plugs and by the end of it we were all dirty and tired. However, it was rewarding to think that in some small way we may be part of the restoration of such an important part of land. For the people living in areas like Port Fourchon, it is their homes and their towns that are dissapearing, though to us the idea of our hometowns literally sinking into the ground or being washed away is completely foreign. At some points it was definitely hard to think that what we were doing was actually going to make a difference because our planting was so little compared to the huge amount of land (a football field) that is dissapearing every minute. However, it is small things like our planting that will eventually make the difference between the land being preserved or being washed away forever.

When we first arrived in Dulac on Friday night – all I could think about was what does this place look like in the light?! When we all sleeply entered the community center we were all excited to see an amazing kitchen filled with food, a common area with a TV and what appeared to be much softer beds 🙂

On Saturday, we had our first day of work. We met at the warehouse ands talked about the 2 houses we’d be working on – neither one being in Dulac!

The house I decided to work on is located in Golden Meadow – a good hour and a half away from the Dulac Community Center. At first, I thought the trip would be easy and would be a way to catch up on sleep. But the lack of time working is catching up to us. Our supervisor, Jim quickly explained how to tile and put lament wood flooring on, and left – which caused one of our rooms to be redone today. I was pretty upset because it took us a good day’s work to complete, and I felt really let down. But it was great to keep positive energy and thoughts and team up to re-do it.

Despite, my swollen bug bites from planting in Port Fouchon, the lack of sleep, and now the stomach bug that’s going around i’m trying to stay positive and hopefully finish out the hard work for this house. I felt amazing when we were able to meet the home owner, Linda! She blessed us all, thanked us and told us how excited she was to see hardwood floors and tiles. She also mentioned how she’s a sheriff and works with kids who are all “hooligans”. I was so overwhelmed by all of her comments – it’s really inspiring me to get her house done!

I’m really thankful for everything I have in my life – and this trip has really helped me realize how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, a loving family, amazing friends and most of all a college education so I can take everything I learned back to all those around me! Thanks 🙂