I’ve been working on this house the past two days with 6 students from the class.  Sheetrocking is hard work — the stuff is heavy, and none of these homes have square corners.  But, we are getting pretty good at it and just about finished it all today, Tuesday, our second day.  The Americorps workers were hot on our tail with the taping and mudding.  Tomorrow, we’ll be doing that, too.  It’s been in the 30’s each morning, pretty cold for this kind of work. But, can’t complain when we hear about sub-zero temps back home.

Today (Dec. 7, 2010) was the 3rd day that the group has been in NOLA. It was also our second full day of work! The entire mini-term group split up into two groups and are working at two different sites, where we are putting up insulation and sheet-rock. We have been fortunate to have the assistance of the members of Americorps! It has been great to see the progress which our team has made on the house over the past two days! Even though the conditions are tough, it is well worth it to struggle through them.
Today was especially exciting because the man whose house we are working on stopped by. Sargent Johnson was very pleased with the condition in which his house was coming along. He showed us several moral boosting strategies that he learned while being in the army. Being able to meet Sargent Johnson really helped being emotions into the work that we were doing since we now knew exactly whose house we were working on.
It always feels great to shower off a day of successful work!

Till next time . . .

Dream Team Member,
Rob

The journey has officially began and all I can say is “Who Dat?” The day started off quite cool. I would almost say it was down right cold as Ice in the early morning of our church residence. Once my contacts were taken from there solution bath and replaced in the windows to my soul I navigated my way to the kitchen. Talk about a fest-HBO and 1% milk. This was followed by a sandwich train and resulted in a new combination-hummus, turkey, cheese and roast beef. It was so amazing that I might need to copyright its proportions. Next came the journey to PNOLA, an amazing organization with just 2 full time staff, where we learned from a former Minnesota girl about building houses for New Orleanians. We then split up again and headed to our respective work sites. I was blessed with the privilege of working with some of the taller students in the group which resulted in making us more efficient at sheet rocking the ceiling. I must also admit the the students who lacked the height advantage definitely added to the group dynamic by just being ever so helpful and cool and funny. We learned how to insulate a house and survive in a room filled with Sheetrock debris and fiberglass from the insulation instillation. What a great lesson to learn LOL. This steep learning curve was followed by an exciting lunch with great AmeriCorp volunteers from Kentucky, Illinois, and Long Island (Notice that I put the location from NY on the same level as a state). Had a great discussion about things ranging from Public Health School, GREs, Future Plans, Majors, and expectations for future outings. Best First Day Ever.

Could have only been better if I wasn’t missing something or someone.

After being on campus for a week I cannot wait to finally arrive in Louisiana! I am excited to leave cold Schenectady and get to work in warm New Orleans and Dulac. On Friday we learned how to handle and use power tools, sheet rock, and electric saws. At first I was a little nervous to learn how to use the tools, but now I am excited to put my new skills to use! I am really looking forward to meeting the people who live in the Dulac community and hearing their personal stories from Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for my thesis. I am interested in gaining an understanding on how their lives have changed since the disasters, how they are trying to cope, how they see their situation in the future, and how they see the government is helping them deal with the disaster. By going to Louisiana it is going to be much more of a learning experience to actually witness the situations people have been going through from what we have been reading and discussing about first hand .

This trip will be amazing cultural experience to learn about a different culture and community. I can’t wait to arrive this afternoon and begin the trip with our great NOLA Community Service 2010  group!

Hello!

My name is Shabana Hoosein. I am a senior at Union with an Environmental Science major and a music minor. Tomorrow I head to New Orleans, LA with 14 peers, one dirty dish loving RD and an enthusiastic sociology professor. I titled this day (-1) but we have been on campus at Union for the past 4 days preparing ourselves mentally and physically for the growth, obstacles and knowledge ahead. So far, it seems like we have a good, diverse group with us here and I’m looking forward to accepting this group as my family for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

I cannot express how excited and anxious I am. I have been waiting to go to New Orleans for the past 5 years. When I became aware of the immense amount of damage that had taken place after Katrina hit, I knew (even at the age of 16) that I had to get down there to help. Of course, my very strict parents  did not want me to go help at that time. Now that I am with a secure group of people and have traveled overseas by myself, my parents were confident that I would be safe on this trip. At first, my father was skeptical about our purpose in NO. He said “Katrina happened 5 years ago. I think they are finished with recovery.” After our weekly meetings fall term I confidently told my father, “You have no idea.” The reality is that I, myself, have no idea.

From what we have learned so far, help is needed. I’m glad that I have been granted the opportunity to live my dream. Community service is not only rewarding, but (more importantly) it is a learning experience. The world has so much to offer and we just have to get out there and grab it. I have faith that I will learn sooo much from this trip. The itinerary  caters to a variety of things such as wetland vegetation restoration, domestic violence, construction work and urban farming.

This is my first sociology class. I am a science major and haven’t taken many classes outside of math, science and music. I feel like my science background will positively contribute to the group’s learning experience and I hope to absorb a massive amount of knowledge from the social perspective. Overall, this is experience will be a journey for all of us. Can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anywho, I should probably hit the sack. I’m all packed and ready to rock. Open the curtains and let the show begin!

Well, technically it was lentil soup. None-the-less, it was a terrific evening. Jan (Professor Grigsby) and her husband were kind enough to invite our 2010 NOLA group to their house for dinner this evening. There really wasn’t too much left for the “dream team” (2010 NOLA group) to discuss as we waited like anxious children preparing for Christmas.

The group seems to be bonding quite well, however we definitely still have a ways to go. As of now we are comfortable with our territory, but tomorrow this will change. We will enter the southern part of the States with open arms, with hopes to be received the same. I feel well prepared for what adventures head our way both emotionally and physically. Luckily, my greatest concern at this time is my packing situation. I know what your thinking, “It’s 10:40pm and you have to get up at 5:45 am and you haven’t packed!” I can assure you that I am packed. What I’m concerned about is whether I packed too much or too little. Only time can tell, or Joe might be able to tell in the morning, either way there is nothing I shall do about it now. Other than that I am more than excited to finally get back down to NOLA to help out the community! On that note I am off to bed and in a few hours our adventure will truly begin.

Signing off from Schenectady, NY.

Goodnight fellow bloggers!

I’m just about done with all my packing and as I sit here I am anxious and nervous but most of all…excited!! Yesterday, we had a lot of fun at the Schenectady Community Land Trust learning how to properly use certain tools in addition to putting up sheetrock. The construction aspect of the trip will be a lot of  fun and hard work, but I think what I am most looking forward to is  the more cultural aspects of the trip. In my mind, the best parts about traveling are meeting new people, hearing their stories, trying their food and getting a glimpse at what life is like in that particular place. Meeting New Orleanians, hearing their stories and being able to learn about their very unique culture, is an opportunity that I’m very excited for. The many tragedies they’ve endured over the years-most recently with Katrina and the BP Oil spill-are still very much a part of their lives and I feel very thankful that I will have the opportunity to (hopefully) listen to their stories and perspectives on the disaster while helping to rebuild some of the houses within the community! I cant wait to see what’s in store for us!! Nola here we come! 🙂

I am currently finishing up packing for New Orleans, which is 9 hours away(bus to airport), and after a series of jumping on my suitcase I finally got it to close. By my standards and history of traveling I have underpacked and I’m super proud of that! However, I’m pretty sure that by everyone else’s standards I have probably overpacked. I did my best, and since I can lift it, it’s probably under the weight limit… I hope. Everyone seemed to get anxious and excited during the tool workshop yesterday, and I think it was there that it dawned on everyone that we would be leaving soon. Everyone really seemed to be having fun with it, and I continue to pat myself on the back for keeping all 10 fingers and toes. I’m really excited for tomorrow because I love to fly and travel and it happens so rarely for me, and I feel like we’re going down to New Orleans to do some really great things for people who need it, especially with the holidays no near. It is easy for people to forget the privelages and blessings that we all have, and unfortunately it is not until we lose those things that we truly appreciate them. I’ve been lucky to have the family and things that I have grown up with and it is time to help out those who need it more. I am excited to work with the families who will be living in these homes, and I am excited to get down in the dirt and fix up the wetlands that we’re slowly destroying. Although if I find any animals that need some help, I may return with a zoo. My parents just don’t know that yet. I’m excited to encounter the good things and even the difficult things that are ahead for us all, and I’m really excited to share these experiences with such a great group of people, some that I have known for years, and others I am just now getting to know. Two weeks seem like such a long time to be somewhere so different from Union, or even little Rhode Island, but I know that on December 19th’s plane ride home I’ll be looking back thinking that it went too quickly, but I’m ready to take it all in and do my best to help out however I can. Maybe I’ll even get a little muscle out of it! So far, so good though, I have managed to close my suitcase.

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.

When I think of going south of the Mason Dixie line, I always think of going home but this is a completely new experience. We have learned a lot so far and I do not know what to expect once we arrive. I am not nervous but I do believe that I am anxious to see what is in store for us and to experience the culture and lives of the people of Louisiana.

I think I am overwhelmed with information and I am expecting something that is completely different from what I am used to in the south. I will be content when we arrive and I have had my first encounter with folks. I am very excited! I cannot wait to share this experience with new friends.