It has been about two weeks since we have been back from New Orleans and I have had much time to reflect on the time we spent down south. It’s interesting because when you come home everyone always immediately asks you how the trip went. My first instinct it was to say “Great!” While it was a great trip, it was difficult at times. I find it necessary to discuss how the trip was difficult because it would be misguiding to let everyone think it was all just a joy.
There were many times which one found themselves to be frustrated with either the conditions of southern Louisiana, or with the amount of work which one personally accomplished. At first I didn’t feel as though I accomplished as much work as I thought I would prior to going to N.O.L.A. However, it was hard to judge exactly how much work I did think I would be getting done. I keep reminding myself that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. While one can have a clearer understanding of the conditions while being in New Orleans for two weeks, they are unable to fully grasp the weight of the situation down south. Sometime you have to accept that there just isn’t enough time in the day to finnish what you had once hoped to finnish and that not meeting ones complete goal is O.K.
Overall though, our time in New Orleans was well cherished and I hope to make it back down to continue to help with future projects.

Viva La New Orleans!!

What I didn’t expect:

What surprised me was how much work we actually got done. I didn’t think the group was going to be able to finnish as much as we did on the houses. It always feels much better to finnish more than you thought you would in any task. This week was a good successful week in my book!

What I learned about service:

This past week really taught me the importance of service learning. What really stuck out was how the group would put their differences aside on the work site and always came together to work on the project of that day. Last week the group split up into two smaller groups to work on two different sites. The house which I was in was small and crowded in the beginning of the week but opened up with time when the house came together. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of everyone in the group and volunteers. This help is much needed all throughout New Orleans.

Today (Dec. 14) the group went out to the wetlands to plant some trees to help with coastal preservation! It was an early morning when we piled into the vans at 6am! Fortunately, all of us were able to sleep on the way there except for Jan and Joe who were driving.
We knew that we were going out on boats and there would be no toilets or areas to become warm. We packed our lunch and were off like a heard of turtles!
The day was spent by drilling holes into the Earth with very cool power drills. Once the holes were created, someone would plant a small plant in the hole and cover it up with dirt. We ended up planting about 1000 trees! This was quite a day at work. The view from the marshes was beautiful. At the end of the day it was nice to stand on the marsh and look over a calm area. It was one of the first times I was able to see through the harsh conditions in Louisiana and recognize the hope and essence of this wonderful place.

Till next time . . . .

Yesterday the group left New Orleans and moved to the Dulac community. The van ride was about an hour and a half. For the most part I slept through the whole thing. I also didn’t feel well the night before which was probably why I slept most of the day.

Once we got settled in our new community we took it easy the rest of the day. Everyone really needed a day to catch up. The evening ended with watching Inception!

Today we are off to help within the community of Dulac!

Today (Dec. 7, 2010) was the 3rd day that the group has been in NOLA. It was also our second full day of work! The entire mini-term group split up into two groups and are working at two different sites, where we are putting up insulation and sheet-rock. We have been fortunate to have the assistance of the members of Americorps! It has been great to see the progress which our team has made on the house over the past two days! Even though the conditions are tough, it is well worth it to struggle through them.
Today was especially exciting because the man whose house we are working on stopped by. Sargent Johnson was very pleased with the condition in which his house was coming along. He showed us several moral boosting strategies that he learned while being in the army. Being able to meet Sargent Johnson really helped being emotions into the work that we were doing since we now knew exactly whose house we were working on.
It always feels great to shower off a day of successful work!

Till next time . . .

Dream Team Member,
Rob

Well, technically it was lentil soup. None-the-less, it was a terrific evening. Jan (Professor Grigsby) and her husband were kind enough to invite our 2010 NOLA group to their house for dinner this evening. There really wasn’t too much left for the “dream team” (2010 NOLA group) to discuss as we waited like anxious children preparing for Christmas.

The group seems to be bonding quite well, however we definitely still have a ways to go. As of now we are comfortable with our territory, but tomorrow this will change. We will enter the southern part of the States with open arms, with hopes to be received the same. I feel well prepared for what adventures head our way both emotionally and physically. Luckily, my greatest concern at this time is my packing situation. I know what your thinking, “It’s 10:40pm and you have to get up at 5:45 am and you haven’t packed!” I can assure you that I am packed. What I’m concerned about is whether I packed too much or too little. Only time can tell, or Joe might be able to tell in the morning, either way there is nothing I shall do about it now. Other than that I am more than excited to finally get back down to NOLA to help out the community! On that note I am off to bed and in a few hours our adventure will truly begin.

Signing off from Schenectady, NY.

Goodnight fellow bloggers!