So today is January 5, which makes about two weeks since we’ve come back from Louisiana.It was a relief to be home finally after a very stressful/difficult week in Dulac and talk to my family. I think that now being back at school its become very challenging to come up with the best answer to the question “How was Louisiana?!”. I have very mixed feelings about how I should respond. Part of me wants to go into a deep explanation of the stressful situations that we faced due to our environment and the dynamic of the group and group leaders. While part of me also wants to just say “It was fun and very rewarding.” because there were many aspects of the trip that I did enjoy and that were very rewarding and eye-opening.I usually tend to say a mixture of the too, because I wouldn’t want to mislead anyone about the experience. I wouldn’t want them to think it was a bad trip because it most definitely was not. However, I wouldn’t want them to think that it is a relaxing mini-term like some of the other mini-terms. There are multiple aspects of the trip that I would change for the future, but overall I do think it was a very valuable experience.

I think that after listening to numerous speakers and seeing the situation of neighborhoods like Mid-City and the 9th Ward while doing construction work or volunteering at the Blair Grocery Project, I have a much better understanding of what the situation of New Orleans is like. Its one thing to read articles and watch movies, but its another to see something with your own eyes. Five years after Katrina and Rita, there are still so many homes in certain areas that need to be fixed, which I knew before I came down but actually seeing it had such a strong impact on me. One of the things that I also found interesting was the talk from Malcom Suber about the situation of race and the corruption of the police department. Never having been in the deep south before, I guess I was unaware of how present racism is as opposed to the northern states where racism still is present but much more discrete. It seems that New Orleans is a city still has many race issues that also relate to the corruption within the N.O.P.D. Malcom Suber told us that the corruption of the police department has become more corrupt after Katrina, when you’d think would really be the opposite way around.

When thinking about service work and volunteering, I think there is a big difference between the two. I would consider Blair Grocery Project and Pheonix of New Orleans two organizations that do service work. They are really making an effort to serve the specific communities that they work in over a long period of time, where as the volunteering we do has a much smaller impact. I also think that our volunteering has a larger impact on us than it does on the people/community that we are trying to help.

I’m just about done with all my packing and as I sit here I am anxious and nervous but most of all…excited!! Yesterday, we had a lot of fun at the Schenectady Community Land Trust learning how to properly use certain tools in addition to putting up sheetrock. The construction aspect of the trip will be a lot of  fun and hard work, but I think what I am most looking forward to is  the more cultural aspects of the trip. In my mind, the best parts about traveling are meeting new people, hearing their stories, trying their food and getting a glimpse at what life is like in that particular place. Meeting New Orleanians, hearing their stories and being able to learn about their very unique culture, is an opportunity that I’m very excited for. The many tragedies they’ve endured over the years-most recently with Katrina and the BP Oil spill-are still very much a part of their lives and I feel very thankful that I will have the opportunity to (hopefully) listen to their stories and perspectives on the disaster while helping to rebuild some of the houses within the community! I cant wait to see what’s in store for us!! Nola here we come! 🙂