Today was the first day of volunteering and it has been quite a long day. My group spent the entire day painting a house in the upper ninth ward and tomorrow we will be using power tools to install stairs to an attic. So far the work has definitely been rewarding but there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to complete the house. Other than the hours of painting, which i never realized was such a meticulous, labor-intensive task, I have thus far had a few other memorable experiences. The first was when my group went to a small local take-out food restaurant down the block from the house we were working on. Items on the menu included gumbo, po boys and when our food arrived it was a completely different style than the types of food I am accustomed to from the northeast. I came to New Orleans without any ideas or preconceived notions of what the city would be like and after being here one day I can confidently conclude that it is a place unlike anywhere I have ever been before. Today, I witnessed everything from boarded-up houses and gumbo restaurants to the gorgeous, elaborately decorated Tulane campus and a SAKS fifth Avenue store. These were just the first of many discoveries.