To be honest, leaving Dulac was somewhat of a relief. I was feeling sick, the days were exhausting, and it seemed like tensions were rising within the group. I was excited to see my friends and family and be able to talk about New Orleans and what a great experience I had. However, my recollections of the trip were somewhat tainted, presumably because of the last few days at Dulac. I went from raving about the trip the first week to whining about how much work I had to do. Instead of telling friends and family about Bourbon Street, the Jazz, and the Rock and Bowl, I would say I worked from 9-4:30, I was so tired, and we didn’t get out much.

After sharing my story I became surprised as to how much I complained rather than how much I talked about the fun I had. I began to wonder if it was because of how much stress I began to feel in Dulac. It is so easy for me to look back and think about the great experiences we had and the moments where my whole perspective on topics such as community service and New Orleans had changed, yet it is even easier for me to remember the times people were crying or complaining. It is extremely unfortunate that bad memories often take precedent over good memories in our minds, but the more I talked about the mini-term the more I recalled the great times.

The trip led me to become more mature and more aware of the world around me. I like to think that this is true for most people in the group and that they think more about the positives than the negatives, even though that was hard for me at first, too.

As we begin to wrap up our last day of work it is hard to believe that we are going to be going back to New York tomorrow. Our group has had its ups and downs in Dulac but as a whole I believe we really came together. It is hard going from New Orleans where everything is very structured and organized, to jumping into a place where we have to do everything ourselves. There was little instruction and help with our projects so we had to rely on each other to get things accomplished. At first it took a little getting used to but finally, by the last day, we figured how to set our day up so everyone can be involved and know exactly what needed to be done. It took time but we got everything done that we hoped to.

Since it has been about 5 years since Hurricane Katrina I would never have know the devastation that remains in New Orleans. Homes are still empty and people are still in need of the help of volunteers. That is why I am so glad I decided to do this trip. So many people do not understand that there is still so much work to do – including me before the trip.

Pam Jenkins, one of the speakers we had while staying in New Orleans, put everything into perspective for me by saying, “you are giving someone their life back.” This sentence sticks in my mind because I did not even think about it on such a personal level prior to her comment. I can’t image losing everything I own, escaping my town, and then returning to nothing. However, this is what many of the families in New Orleans experienced. By building these houses we are returning them to normalcy, giving them hope, and handing them back a piece of their life that has been taken away from them for five years now. In many ways this gives me back faith that every little bit counts. Every wall I insulated and every nail I had to screw was just one more step in completing this house. I am honored to say that I have played a part in repairing three homes – helping out so many people that truly deserve this.

Now I get to experience what those in Dulac had to deal with and I am very ready for that challenge.

I have always been very eager to put myself in new situations and learn new things. New Orleans is certainly something different for me to experience. I have never spent time down south and I am excited to see the differences in culture and environment. While I have done some community service projects, I have not get gotten the opportunity to travel and spend multiple days on a project. Not only does this help me appreciate what I have, but it also makes me thankful that we have such a large group of students that actually care about what is going on around us. Many people sit back in their living rooms saying, “Oh how sad but thank God that’s not me.” However, this group of Union students wants to make a great gesture by actually taking actions to help with the aftermath of the disaster.

I am thrilled to be doing work that extremely hands on, something I find more rewarding than anything I could be doing to help sitting at home. I think it is important for me to be able to see firsthand what people have experienced in order to truly be empathic. While we have seen many documentaries, I believe that my knowledge in the topic will exceed anything that a book or movie would be able to teach me. Each person in New Orleans has a story to tell, whether it is the construction worker helping us out or it is the Sociology teacher from one of the local colleges. I have never been so anxious to hear stories and learn about lives and experiences much different than my own.

Since fall term has begun we have received so much education about Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. There are always new topics to be discussed such as the psychological affects and the environmental affects. Not only has our readings and discussions made me realized how these two disasters, essentially, were “manmade disasters,” but it also opens my eyes to how unprepared our society is for “worst case scenarios.” I have really enjoyed getting a closer look at issues that America has been seemingly desensitized to. By traveling down to Louisiana I am only continuing this journey.