It’s been more than two weeks since we left New Orleans, and i must say that it has been more than exciting to be back home and back to Union.
            Being in Dulac was unlike any other experience I have ever had and is definitely considered the biggest amount of ‘culture-shock’ I have ever been a part of. The big question that I have been hearing from all of my family and friends was ‘HOW WAS NEW ORLEANS?’
           My concise answer is ‘good!’, but I am more than certain people do not want to hear about every little thing I did each day. Furthermore, people do not have a clue what Dulac is or where it is located, so it was very difficult for people to comprehend that I didn’t spend my whole two weeks in New Orleans.
If I had the opportunity to elaborate to each person that asked me how the south was, I would inform them of the work we did with Ameri-corps, the struggles we faced and Dulac, and how this mini-term was an eye-opening experience much different from any of the other mini-terms that students went on. With all of that said, it’s awesome to be home, but I will forever have memories from the 1 intriguing week in New Orleans and the 1 infamous week in Dulac.

A few days ago, Professor Grigsby said, “I don’t think of you guys as inanimate stones. You are all working very hard”. Being in New Orleans was the experience of a lifetime. I can now successfully say that I am able to put in insulation, sheetrock, and put in tiled floors. One of my favorite parts of this trip thus far was working with the people in Americorps. Their hardwork and dedication to society really made me strive to have that same determination. In only a week at NOLA, I helped re-build three different homes around the city, ultimately putting a smile on the homeowner’s faces. I did not know I had the ability to do construction on houses, but it goes to show that you can do anything you sincerely set your mind to.

It is hard to comprehend the amount of new information I have obtained on this trip so far, but I specifically recall the disaster tour with Jim last week. Going to the different sites around the city to see where levees broke was truly fascinating. Furthermore, I was very intrigued by the countless amount of X’s on the houses, indicating that the house was searched post-Katrina. It really hit home to know that so many houses were searched for unpleasant purposes, and to see that many of the X’s are still present on the houses five years later.

Aside from the incredible nightlife on Bourbon Street, My biggest excitement has been my will to wake up every morning to embark on a new journey. Every day has been very different and quite informative, I only hope to recall as much information as I can to share it with as many people as possible upon my arrival home.

As my frozen hands type my first blog in my frigid room on campus, it makes me that much more eager to get on the plane to New Orleans sooner rather than later. For the past 20 years, I have lived in Massachusetts and ended up not going very far for college. With that said, I am very anxious to immerse myself in a new culture away from the North, as well as seeing the area first hand. It is quite difficult to look past all of the media’s viewpoints on New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, so I am very curious to see the city through my own eyes and judge for myself.

After learning about ‘voluntourism’, I am somewhat worried about being looked down upon by the New Orleans residents. My hope is that they do not think we are there for personal praise, but rather to help the community in every way we can.
Furthermore, I am not particularly close with anybody in the group. So aside from working diligently all day, I am very excited to get close to this small group of Union students because we will not only be working hard together for two weeks on and off the construction sites, but we will hopefully be making a difference in people’s lives. We are all going down with the same determination, which reduces any anxiety I have been feeling. My nervousness has slowly shifted to excitement, because we will all be in this together and I plan on making my first (and hopefully not last) trip to New Orleans a great one.