I waited until I got back to school to post for a reason.  When I first got home and I was asked how NOLA was I found myself not knowing what to say.  How can I put into words everything that we experienced?  I let myself really sit down and think it all through over the rest of the break.  Now that we are back to school and I get asked that question I have a clear head and although I can never explain in words this experience I found a few that helps: eye opening, great experience. At first I was worried to say I had fun.  I thought that people would think I didn’t take what we were doing serious.  Now I realize that its ok to say I had fun and developed great friendships.  We will all have something special to relate to each other about and that is something we will never forget.

I can’t believe how fast these two weeks have past.  This experience has made me so grateful for everything I have.  Sometimes I catch myself and others saying how it doesn’t feel like Christmas.  Why? Because there are no lights, decorations, or music (well music…that doesn’t involve washboards).  When I take a minute to think I realize that this will probably be the most meaningful Christmas I ever had.  Giving is what the holidays should be about.  We are helping out in giving a family a new home and a new chance to start rebuilding their families and lives.   The homes we built for PNOLA will now be done before Christmas thanks to our help.   Merry Christmas!

It is so much harder to tear down someones house then rebuild it.  When we arrived in Dulac today I thought it would look just as New Orleans did.  Some homes were still destroyed but a lot of them rebuilt or in the process of being built…I was wrong.  Almost every home in Dulac had major damages.  On the road we drove down I counted 4 or 5 houses that were rebuilt.  Gustav and Ike hit this area really hard and since all the homes are a few feet from the bayous the water and wind damage was horrendous.  When we arrive at one of the homes, we met the owner of the house…Terry.  He told us house his house was fine in the storm until his neighbors roof flew off into his house and took out the whole backside of his home.  This left a big hole for the rain  to fly into his house and eventually destroy everything inside.   He told us to just throw everything out (which i was shocked to hear because the house still was furnished with a couch, family pictures, and a entire room of toys.  The toy room was full  of barbies and dress up clothes.  Although his children are older now (13 and 16) I thought to myself how sometimes I find myself in my own basement looking through my old dolls and dress up clothes…looking through my childhood in a way.  Maybe its just me and hate to throw anything away (right mom?) but these toys hold special memories.  And im sure they hold the same for Terrys daughters.  At one point I picked up a  Barbie and had trouble throwing it out in the window into the trash pile.  What would the girls think if they saw me doing this?

Saturday we worked with an organization called Kaboom and built a playground. There were many other organizations there helping and it was nice to speak to them and share experiences. At one point during the day I got a chance to speak to the kids who go to school where the playground was being built. The excitement on their faces when they saw the big yellow slide go up was the best thank you I could have got.

Today we went on a Tour around New Orleans with Jim. We drove around and he showed us the levees and some neighborhoods that were badly destroyed. I was shocked to find how close some of the homes were to the levees and even more shocked to find some of them being rebuilt. Why would they rebuild these homes if they are most likely going to be destroyed again? Jim explained to me how generations of families lived in these neighborhoods and how its home to some people. I guess I was naive to to think that people would just abandon the homes they grew up in. Being here and experiencing New Orleans explains why people keep coming back. It is not like anywhere I have ever been before. The city is so rich in culture and everyone is so outgoing and friendly. How could you leave somewhere like that? Last night Chelsea met this man and when I came over and listen to their conversation I heard him say “We laugh and smile on the outside, but on the inside we are crying…Thank you so much for coming down and helping us” He then gave us all big hugs. What he said brought tears to my eyes. Everyone is so thankful and although we are only five days into the trip I can honestly say this is the best experience of my life.

I can’t believe we leave tomorrow!  Our class has become so close so fast.  This will  make the  experience even more worthwhile.  Having friends to go through this experience with me will connect all of us on a deeper level and will leave an everlasting friendship that we might not be able to have with our family or friends from home. After going to the land trust, I am a lot more comfortable with using tools and excited too show them what we are capable of in New Orleans. Although we have seen numerous amounts of film about New Orleans, every film still hits me. We watched When the Levees Broke after dinner one night. The images in this movie were heartbreaking and disturbing.  One rescue crew found 5 stranded children in a house with their dead mother in one of the rooms.  My goal in going down their is to help this grief stricken community in anyway I can.