Being back home in Danvers, MA is not what I expected it to be. I honestly thought I would be eager to see my friends, family and evidence that Christmas is only a week away. While I am happy to see everyone, I find myself wishing I were back in Louisiana. The people, the culture and the things we did and learned have already had a significant impact on my life. When people keep asking me how it was I don’t know how to put into the words the experience we had. For me, I think the biggest thing I learned was why people never want to leave Louisiana. Pre-trip, after hearing about the devastation from Katrina and then from Gustav and Ike, I repeatedly asked myself, ‘Why would they move back?’ I thought it was ridiculous that people would live in harm’s way instead of moving to a safer area. Now I know exactly why they want to stay right where they are. Not only do many extended families live within the same neighborhoods, but many have lived there for generations. Jamie at the Dulac Community Center said it beautifully when she said that her people were “one with the land and water.” People are so kind and good to one another and they have great pride. The sense of community is genuine and strong and this land has and will always be their homes. I completely understand why people don’t leave even after being repeatedly hit by hurricanes. Louisiana is special. The people, traditions, food and music all make it a unique and wonderful place, a place that I am now missing, and a place that I now understand why people keep going back for more. If anything I hope that I will be able to share this knowledge and understanding with my friends and family at home and when I return to Union in January. I miss you all!!

Driving around Dulac it is crazy to see how many houses are still devastated from the hurricanes of this past summer and I’ve finally realized the differences between New Orleans and Dulac. In New Orleans you can drive around for an hour and never see a house that needs rebuilding, but if you go to the areas behind the main streets or drive to the lower ninth ward you will see the loss and emptiness left from Katrina. The Tulane University campus and the French Quarter have been built back up so much that it’s easy to forget this area was devastated only 3 years ago. Down here in Dulac it’s a completely different story. You can’t drive down the street 100 feet without seeing a house in ruins or a boat up on the sidewalk. It scares me that people in New Orleans didn’t even know what Dulac was and yet this area was so deeply affected and is still struggling to recooperate after the storms. At the slow speed in which the community of Dulac and these more Southern towns live their lives it worries me to think about how long, if ever, it will take for them to rebuild all their homes and get back to their lives post-Gustav and Ike, and also be prepared to face hurricanes of these statuses in the future.

On our first day in Dulac, a group of us gutted the inside of a house. We had to rip out the drywall layers and insulation and throw away the ruined furniture and toys. The first room we did was a little girl’s room and it was hard for all of us to throw away the toys, dolls and clothing. Most of the toys seemed salvagable to me and it felt like we were throwing away the memories of this little girl’s childhood. The homeowner Terri was very kind while he helped us but I couldn’t help but wonder how he could possibly be feeling about throwing away all the furniture and toys that he had worked hard to purchase for his family. The way he spoke was positive and it seemed as though his family would be able to rebuild and eventually get back into their home but it was still devastating to have to destroy the house. This day was definitely the hardest I’ve faced so far. Before we had been fixing things and making the home better but this job was the complete opposite.

The past two days I have painted and last night we went to the Jolly Inn for some cajun dancing and edible food! We all got really into the dancing and learned the darryl and the Cajun Stomp. Kenny was the best dancer out of any of us. Tomorrow we are going down further south to work in the wetlands. It takes about 3 hours to get there and we are going to be witnessing many of the images that we saw and read about in our pre-trip assignments.  We aren’t exactly sure what we are doing but we know that we are helping in the preservation of the wetlands and it will be a far different experience from everything we’ve done so far. I can’t believe we only have 3 days left. I am not ready to go home!

I can’t believe we’ve already been here for a week! This trip has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined it to be. Starting with my work on Miss Frank’s house; we worked here for 3 1/2 days and laid down almost 4 layers of flooring for the entire house. Our group worked so well together and had so much fun it didn’t even seem like work. The experience was much more meaningful for me when we got to meet Miss Frank and hear her story and experiences with the storm. She was so appreciative and excited to finally have her son and her grandchildren living with her again that it made our hard work so worthwhile. The playground build was definitely the best thing we have done. We transformed an empty school yard into a huge playground that is going to impact the lives of children for years to come. Just seeing the excitement on the children’s faces proved what an amazing thing we were doing. The tour Jim gave of us of the Lower Ninth Ward was unexplainable. It was hard for me to describe the scene to my friends and family who I talked to afterwards. The area is so desolete and eerie and you can’t even describe the feelings you experience when you witness the area in person. No pictures or descriptions could ever do justice to the devastation that this area still faces. It’s almost impossible to even try to explain it. The tour of the evacuation route at Union Station was informative and interesting to see the steps that the city is taking to avoid the devastating affects that it faced during Katrina. Although the plan worked during Gustav, our tour guide said he was worried that it may not be as effective during the next storm and that is a scary thing. Although we have been working very hard, our group has also found time to have fun and enjoy the city. Bourbon street and Rock N’ Bowl were fun nights that we got to bond and take in what the city has to offer. I can’t believe we have already been here a week and I am not ready to leave! I finally understand why natives of this city don’t move away! This trip has been hard work but also enjoyable and an amazing learning experience. I look forward to doing more work in Dulac and Houma and spending more time with this great group of people!

I’ve learned so much already through our readings and movies but I know that the most important things we are going to learn are going to come from the people we meet and the experiences we have. For me it’s very hard to view some of the footage and I think it’s going to be worse than what I ever expected. I’m excited to get there but I am also very nervous as to what we will find and how I will feel when we have to leave.