Since I’ve been slackin on the blogging, I will do a quick recap!

Day 1: It was a slow day. About five hours of sitting and traveling with two transfers (well we didn’t get off the plane but we landed twice). I guess the first day is always the “settle in” day. After traveling for the whole morning, I wanted to get out on the town and do a bit of walking. So, a couple of us went grocery shopping while the other half went walking around the church (Carollton United Methodist Church) neighborhood. We saw a couple of shops and cafes, but only had an hour to walk around.  Nothing too crazy the first night.

Day 2: Our first day of work. We were mostly sheet rocking the house this day. A couple of people worked on insulation, but I sheet rocked with “The Dream Team”- Kirsten, Isaiah, Ruth (an AmeriCorps volunteer) and me! We were working with three AmeriCorps volunteers who have been stationed in New Orleans since September. Our construction boss is Will (a young chap who graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans). We are working with an organization called PNOLA (Phoenix of New Orleans) who only has 2 paid employees (!). Their main man-power comes from volunteers through AmeriCorps and other people like us. It truly is amazing what people have done here on their own free will.

Day 3: Today, we met the person that we were building for. It gave our hard work a purpose. All of the windows of the house were covered by ratty old American flags. There were probably 6 of them. At first I thought that they were a symbolic reference to Hurricane Katrina. So far, I’ve noticed that many people in LA hang American flags outside of their houses. Therefore, I assumed that these flags collected must have been flags that this person found  during the disaster and hung it up on their windows to be sarcastic. Now, you might think “What does she mean by sarcastic?” The reality is that the community feels like they did not receive any help from the government. By hanging these flags from a disaster that would just show that the people had faith in America, but America did not help them (which is why they have to put these flags on their windows-to make sure that no one robs or trashes this empty house).

Nonetheless, the reality is that the flags were all souvenirs from the battles of Sergeant Johnson. The flags were from various parts of the world from New Orleans during “the storm” (as the locals call it) to Iran. Sergeant Johnson is a wounded warrior. He is a tall, jolly black man who had a full camo uniform, a bad limp and an ace bandage around his arm. To know that I am working hard to build this house for him is priceless. Without volunteers like us, Sergeant Johnson would not have a home for Christmas five years after the storm. Unbelievable! I just can’t understand how people are not in houses after so much time has passed. Driving through Mid-City, we can still see houses with big “X”s counting the number of dead bodies. New Orleanians have had to live with this disaster for the past 5 years and it has turned their life upside down. Where are the people that we depend on for safety? Where are the people that have been taking hundreds of tax dollars from us? And why do NONE of them have a soul?

Day 4: Last night we went to Bourbon Street. You know, the popular Mardi Gras, crazy college kid scene… I think it’s a bit over rated. Sure, it was cold and the businesses were empty, but I was more appalled at the vulgarity that is open to the public on this street. This street abides by only a few of the laws that the rest of the US does and it just reminds me of what life would be like if we always gave into desire. I haven’t been to Las Vegas, but I assume that it would be much like Bourbon. Nonetheless, it was still a great experience to absorb the culture. Our day today felt accomplishing. We got a good portion of the living room completed by The Dream Team! Overall, the house is starting to look more like a house which means its heading in the right direction! Today we had some interactions with the locals. For lunch, we sit outside of the house that we work at. Today, a nice old fellow told us to go to the church for a free warm meal. And after him, a couple of ladies greeted us and told us the same. First of all, when does anyone say hello to someone else on the street??!? On Long Island, your supposed to look away or just look down and not say hello. The people here continue to open their arms to strangers in the simplest, but loveliest ways. I’m delightfully surprised to find comfort in the neighborhood we work in!!!