What it is to lose one of the most important parts of your life? When I saw the building in Dulac that was flooded by the Harricane Gustav, I couldn’t have any word to descrive my shock. The building has been used as a community center where children could play after school and where the neighbors gathered. For Houma Indians, in Dulac, families, communities and cultures that have grown in the area dominate their lives very much, because the Houma have lived there from generation to generation. They have built a strong community sense throughout their history. Their cultural identity and heritage live in the community and are tied deeply with who they are.

I thought about what the experience and feelings are like when a person almost lose a part of his or her identity. Talking about my experience, I have loved dancing and committed much time for it. Dancing dominates a big part of who I am now. Seeing the flooded community center made me think if I lost dancing from my life. I may not be able to have a way to enjoy my life. I may lose myself and become mentally ill. It is very hard, or impossible, to fully understand and describe the feelings of the Houma. They have experience what I have never encountered in my life. But today’s opportunity to see the building help me see the Houma people’s sadness.

Yesterday we arrived in Houma at the First United Methodist Church.  After settling in and claiming our respective futons, we enjoyed the plethora of recreational activities at the church.  There is a rec room with pool and ping pong and such and also a gym with a basketball court.  Overall, we spent the afternoon bringing out the 12-year-old in all of us.

This morning was all business, however.  We had a 7:15 wake-up in order to leave at 8 and arrive in Dulac by 9am, at which time we met some of the people at the Dulac Community Center, which we will be staying at from Saturday until our departure on Wednesday. 

Being in Dulac was a complete shock.  It was like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Yes, New Orleans had its areas that have still not recovered from Katrina and it was hard to see them, but Dulac is still freshly devastated from Gustav and Ike and it was quite apparent.  Driving through the small bayou town that is inhabited 80% by the Houma Indians or their descendants, it was rare to see a house that seemed what we would consider in liveable condition. 

My group went to gut a house today.  It was almost morbid tearing this man’s house apart.  We literally took crow bars to his walls and threw away what seemed like years of memories.  I was astonished that the homeowner, Terry, seemed so nonchalant about having to tear everything out of his home. 

Terry is a fisherman, as are most of the residents of Dulac, so their income during the year is quite variable.  Terry told us that in the winters they don’t really work but rather make repairs on their boats and simply prepare for shrimp season.  In this way, there is no real source of income during this time.   In addition, seeing as the economy is the way it is, the poverty in the area is quite high, which is apparent in the condition it is currently in. 

I think today was hard because, while in New Orleans it felt like we were rebuilding but it felt like today we were destroying someone’s house.  It was a little depressing for me and also the entire group.  I think when we were finished, we were a bit eager to go out and help so many more people needing our help but there wasn’t much else for us to do the second half of the day.  It was frustrating to want to be using every second of our time to help the community and feel like we just weren’t doing enough.  The truth is that sometimes there isn’t enough organization or specific tasks to get done. 

Hopefully this week will prove to help us learn more of this close-knit community and really make a difference in their lives.  Until then…   

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?

In Dulac I worked on the team which gutted Terry’s house.  This mostly consisted of removing drywall and furniture.  Terry’s trailer was up on stilts but the water level still reached chest height.  While he clearly appreciated our help, and was extremely thankful, it must have been difficult to watch a dozen stangers tear his home apart.  I was also seriously conflicted about cleaning out Terry’s kid’s room.  There were lots of childrens’ toys and photos which he asked us to throw out.  It seemed like this was because the whole experience was very difficult for him. 

So this morning we woke up early and traveled to Dulac for our first day of work here. Driving through the wetlands and following the bayou, I was shocked at the amount of destruction and damage that was hardly touched. Driving to our first location to work, we passed a large fishing boat that was on the side of the road. Besides the excessive amounts of debri and trash, the houses were torn apart and extremely damaged.

For most of the day today there was a small group of us that stayed at the community center in Dulac and helped organize and do small projects.

While we were there, I was walking around and saw the water lines and the walls there were completely gutted. I think the saddest thing was the kids’ library there. In this particular room, the bottom half of the wall was torn because it was water damaged.

In particular, on the top half of the wall was a mural that was ruined. For me this was sad because the center is now going to require so much work and time in order to fix.

We left New Orleans yesterday and our now continuing our work in Dulac. For the first few days we are staying at a church in Houma so we spent most of the day getting settled in and playing basketball/dodgeball in the gym. Molly Head and I explored the streets surrounding the church by going for a run…in the pouring rain… Despite the weather it was nice to get outside for a little bit. I had a lot of mixed emotions about our departure from NOLA. I am excited to start helping rebuild Dulac, especially since they were so devastated by Gustav and Ike but at the same time I was really enjoying everything about New Orleans. The last two days in New Orleans I worked with a group on Ms. Olivia’s house. Unlike the other house we worked on, Ms. Olivia was there the whole time and was one of the kindest people I have ever met. She and her brother are hoping to move back into their house by Christmas. We were able to make a lot of progress on her house in only two days and I really wished that we were able to help complete her house and see her move back in. While we took our lunch break, Ms. Olivia and Roy (her brother) sat on the porch with us and talked. Roy, who is a musician, also played guitar for us and it was such a memorable experience. I feel like Ms. Olivia is someone I will remember for the rest of my life despite the fact that our paths only crossed for a brief time.

Today was our first day working in Dulac and it was extremely emotional for me. Just driving around the town is heart-wrenching. Even though most people know that New Orleans was spared from Gustav, many don’t realize that the wetlands of Louisiana were absolutely ravaged by both Gustav and Ike. As a result, they are years behind NOLA in the recovery process. As we drove around the streets of Dulac we saw boats that were uprooted by the storms on the side of the road and scores of houses that are still waiting to be gutted. We helped to gut one such house. The father was home and helped us to gut the house. I had a hard time with the whole process and kept thinking about how we had just put up so much dry wall in New Orleans but here we are ripping it off all the walls in this man’s home. We also helped to clear his house of all his belongings. As we threw his couch over the railing onto the ground, I felt my heart sink with it. Despite his appreciation for our help, it was hard for me to feel like we had really helped since we were basically throwing away most of his life. He has two teenage daughters and we threw away all their childhood toys. Even though they are obviously not still playing with Fisher Price toys, I couldn’t help get choked up as we threw them in various huge garbage bags. I think it will definitely take me a while to fully process today’s work. Time to brave the cold and go across the street for dinner!

Living and working in New Orleans has been an amazing experience. While I have only been here a week, I have learned so much. Before embarking on this trip I was somewhat concerned about our group presence in Louisiana. I was worried our group would get too caught up in the idea of helping people and not internalize the larger theme of spreading awareness about the long-standing effects of Hurricane Katrina. My worries quickly dissolved after I listened to each student’s reflection about our trip in a group discussion a few nights ago. After this group meeting I am reenergized and even more enthusiastic about our contribution towards New Orleans during our stay and after we return home.

Our group has made large strides both tangible and perceptual ways. We helped build a playground for Gentilly Elementary school in just six hours. We have also worked on three separate homes where we painted, put up sheet rock and laid flooring through a few step process. After listening to residents ongoing concerns about housing and staggered relatives throughout the country, our perception has not quite changed but seems more aligned with the true concerns of the locals. When we visited the lower 9th ward with Jim, it was a very emotional experience that I am sure we will all remember for the rest of our lives. I am looking forward to the work we will continue to provide for the next week and the more educated we will become about residents’ issues. I think we have a great group dynamic and our teamwork and positive attitude will ensure our best work is still to come. As we are packing up and heading out to Houma and Dulac I am eager to work alongside a few residents and hear more about their stories.

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 been very impressed and inspired by the spirit of NOLA residents. On Saturday at Kaboom I got to know a woman whose actions and attitude demonstrate a passion unique to New Orleanians. Michelean, a 32 year old mother, was friendly and excited to be at Gentilly Terrace. She explained that her family lived in the city for generations and had a hard time after the storm. They tried to settle elsewhere but found it was much hard than expected. Leaving New Orleans was just too difficult. Michelean returned committed to restoring her community. I believe she currently works two jobs (she came to Kaboom only a couple of hours after getting off of work at 7 am). In addition, Michelean helped to rebuild her own house and volunteered to work on another in St. Bernards parish. After everything she and her family has been through, she seems to have remained confident and continues to give herself and her time generously. I really admire Michelean’s commitment, selflessness, and optimism. Talking with her helped to make Saturday special, and strengthened my desire to help the New Orleans community.

I was extremely excited when we learned we would be building a playground. It was probably the one of the activities I was looking forward to the most as well. What really surprised me the most was becoming immersed in the community. We have heard from several of our readings and past participants of the program that the sense of togetherness and community that New Orleans has is extremely unique. It has been proposed to us that this companionship between the people of New Orleans is part of the reason many people stayed and why people are so eager to rebuild in such a dangerous area. And I never really understood. I could easily recite that the sense of community played a major role in this city but I never really got. Until we built the playground. I still don’t fully understand what it really means to be a party of the New Orleans community, seeing as I don’t actually live here. But on Saturday I finally started to get it. I met so many people from all walks of life that had some sort of connection to the school and were more than happy to give up their Saturday to participate in this amazing project. Not only was I surprised at the 200 plus volunteers that showed up, I was even more impressed by the hospitality and sincerity that the people I met had. I met this woman Shelley who not only asked me where I was from and why I was down here, but she was sincerly interested in me, my family, my school, the program. It wasn’t a simple formality of “hey how are you” or her just being nice. And she was completely open to telling me her story as well and talking about her 14 year old daughter who doesn’t like to wash the dishes. And it wasn’t just her. It was every person I talked to. It was almost overwhelming how caring these people were to a complete stranger and how appreciative they were that so many people cared about their community. After the playground was built, although I only contributed a small part to putting everything together, I really felt like we as a group helped accomplish a really great thing. And I loved being able to see what six straight hours of work could do.