Lessons Learned

Today was a good reminder as to why we should never underestimate the fact that there is always more to learn.  I'm a believer of life long learning and its not til I'm on a service trip that I'm reminded of why service trips are a wonderful tool for helping foster that.  This trip has contained some of the most rich and organic dialogue. Although we tried to foster this in the classroom, the raw conversations we have been able to have I believe are due in part to being outside the four walls of a traditional setting.

Our task today was to install dry wall in a previously flooded home in the Gentilly neighborhood.  By best guess the neighborhood had at least 10 feet of water. We could see water marks on the studs at about a 4 foot level but the house is also raised at least 4 to 6 feet off the ground. To keep the story short (and I'm sure someone else will take the time to blog about it) all the dry wall we hung before lunch,  approximately 3 walls in one room and 1 in another were all hung wrong and we had to take them all down and start over.  Everyone was frustrated because we had only done what we had been told to do. However it turns out we were told wrong and although we weren't responsible for the miscommunication we were responsible for fixing the mistake. Kind of like with racism or other injustices that exist that I might not personally be responsible for, I do have a responsibility to help clean up the repercussions they have caused.

I also learned that teams are only as effective as the communication within the team. We were all so focused on getting the job done that there wasn't really someone managing us as the volunteers. It remphasized that intentionality does not determine a job well done. Although it sucked to have to do the job again I was glad that we did because even if we would have finished our original way and we thought it was good, it wouldn't have really been finished because it was all wrong. I think through all of this we have all definitely learned how to correctly install drywall, but we also learned how to work together and persevere. Sure it took a lot longer but we came together and corrected our mistakes (and I do have to admit that it looks a lot better!). Tomorrow we set out on a strong foundation of practice and will hopefully accomplish a lot.

Renee

Different Kind of Dandruff

Today has been a very interesting day, we were able to sleep in today, which was very nice. When we went over to the other house to get breakfast, we were able to enjoy a quality meal prepared by a group of our own wartburg group. We were treated with pancakes, eggs and sausage. It was very delicious. I thank the ones who prepared that meal.

After breakfast we loaded up and went to the house where we did our dry walling. Dry walling was a great and frustrating at the same time. In my group, we were taking our time and trying to do the best job we could and as we were finishing up, we were told to take it down and redo it because we had done it wrong. We had done it wrong because of miscommunication. That was very frustrating because we spent all that time and effort and then have to take it down.

We took it down and started over making the corrections we needed to. That took some more time and effort but it felt better because we were doing it the right way, and making it great for the property owners of the home. But when putting the new pieces up, we had to cut a little bit more. I swear I will be finding dry wall dust in my hair these next few days because it got all over me. Now that we have the experience of doing it the right way, I feel that we will be able to get the dry wall put in right and much faster. And hopefully it will be less frustrating than today.

Once we got back to the house, we had a wonderful dinner of tacos. The tortillas were pretty bad but it still was a great dinner. When were doing our group discussion, Smiity graced us with his presence again. It is just amazing to listen to what he has to say. He is very intelligent and he has wonderful stories. He gets you to think critically with one sentence. Listening to him is wonderful.

Overall today was very good and I am glad to be in NOLA.

"I don't know anything about this stuff..."

Yesterday, the 28th of February was one of the best days out here in NOLA. Hell, it is actually had to pick which one is the best day so I'll rephrase and say yesterday was just another awesome day out of all the awesome days so far.

We went out to the Bayou Sauvage and did some work on a marsh. We planted trees on the marsh, shuffling through the bush; getting cut by branches, eaten by Mosquitos, being a couple of feet away from a snake; seeing over a dozen alligators and better yet riding on an airboat..."I'm on a boat!!!"

For me the most interesting part of all this is that service is commonly (mis)understood as helping out with churches, non profit organizations or people in need. It is rare that one thinks of planting trees in a marsh surrounded by alligators is doing a service. It is amazing to think that what we did yesterday may help the long-term recovery of the entire city of New Orleans as we helped restore the land.

After dinner, the day took an unexpected turn. We were visited by a man named Smithie, undisputedly one of the most interesting people I have had the honor of being in conversation with. Knowledgable, and a thinker, a philosopher. He spoke about many things but he made sure to question everything everyone said. Not to tell them they are wrong, but to make sure they think more, that they question more, that they philosophize...it was amazing!!!

He spoke about Katrina; imagine the chances of all the terminology he used and everything he spoke about being exactly similar to the things we spoke about in class.

"I don't know these things..." he always said that before blowing your mind and actually telling you (indirectly) that he does know these things.

Never in my dreams..

Never in my dreams would I have imagined such an experience that is occurring right before my eyes. I was so afraid coming in to this not having a best friend with me every step of the way like other trips. I also was excited to come and experience the culture and life of New Orleans and to learn about the disasters that have happened here. This trip so far has blown my expectations out of the water and even more in the days to come. Renee said in the beginning that she would never imagined that our group would get along so well and I have to agree. I didn't think the trip would be like this at all. The way we all have bonded so quickly and become such great friends is incredible. I have not laughed this much constantly in a long time. I can't even count the amount of "inside jokes" that we now have from this trip.. Sorry Bill. I can't wait to see how the rest of the trip goes and create many more memories we'll be able to look back on someday.
Service has always been a huge part of my life. Mostly done through mission trips or work all with my church. This is a little different. Service through my school that is required for class. I was unsure of what a required service trip would entail but obviously had to go along with it. After the experiences thus far, who can say they got to perform service by riding on an airboat through the wetlands and marshes of New Orleans? Few. Amanda said it well today during discussion that while working today she stopped to think about how blessed and how amazing this experience was.. To do service in New Orleans in a wetland planting trees that will hopefully survive and last a very long time. The work we do now will contribute to the land in the future. This trip makes me feel like I was in the right place at the right time signing up for IS 201 back in January. I love service, and I need service. Its something that keeps me grounded, reminds me of what I have and how I should be thankful for it. Service is an act of kindness with nothing in return to keep except for the memories made.
I am so thankful for the reflection time each night. It is very interesting to listen to my classmates and teachers and learn from them. We are a very diverse class and have many different answers, reasons, ways of thinking for every situation and question...this could be why so much conflict starts...not to worry though, it always gets resolved. Tonight I didn't talk very much in our discussion but just listened to the different opinions through the diverse ways of thinking. The chance to sit in a room with 10 other people discussing life, disaster, and anything else that comes to mind is such a learning experience that I am beginning to cherish greatly. In such little time, I have learned so much just from talking to people and opening my mind up to what others have to say. We have to be thankful for the diverseness in each of us because its what makes us individuals.

I am so thankful that I got the chance to participate in this service trip to help make a difference even though it may be small. I said once in the beginning of class, what can one person do? What can one small group of individuals do? We won't be able to make a difference, were too small? I was wrong. One individual or one small group can make a difference. The little change can create bigger change and lead to bigger and better things.  No matter how small you are or how small the change you do is, it still makes a difference. I love this experience. I love my class. and I love New Orleans.

New Orleans: Let the Good Times Roll!

I never thought I would have such a good time going on a required service trip to New Orleans with a group of people that I didn't really know much about before we started class seven weeks ago. Now I couldn't imagine not having the experiences I have had thus far. It has amazed me how well the group has worked together and grown closer. If you had told me a couple rural Iowa kids (Laura and I), a couple bigger city Iowa kids (Gavin and Taylor), a Twin Cities gal (Amanda), a couple South Chicago gals (Alex and Bri), and a couple guys from Africa (Njorgi-Kenya, Tweet-Swaziland) would get together so well, I would have laughed at you. Now I know that if even one of these people were missing, the group would feel incomplete. But enough about the group dynamics...

New Orleans has been great. My dad's side is from Louisiana, but that didn't prepare me for everything I was going to experience in NOLA. I did have the cuisine covered, though! :) Being a small village person, I'm not much for big city life, so I'm always a little uncomfortable with so much bustle. Bourbon Street on Sat. night was especially uncomfortable, and I did not enjoy my time there. That's just not my cup of tea. However, the church service on Sunday morning was really good, with a mixture of Lutheran and Southern (Black) services rolled into one nice package. Exploring New Orleans after the Mardi Gras museum was fun, as I got to spend more time getting to know people better. We always have the best conversations, but our laughter can be a little much sometimes... :)

We FINALLY got the the service part of our trip on Monday, doing some tallow removal, which choked out the natural trees after Katrina. Teamwork was huge in getting work done, and everybody pitched in. Today we headed to the Bayou Sauvage to plant some hackberry and oak trees in a part of the bayou unaccesible by truck, so we got to take airboats back in there. We saw some gators on the way, which was neat. Amanda and I hacked our way through just about everything, planting trees while crossing paths with feral hog paths, armadillo dens, fire ant hills, and a cottonmouth. Don't worry, I steered well clear of the poisonous snake!!! We also went and planted more trees in an area that was originally going to be a housing development, but it was too wet. After we had another amazing supper, a gentleman just let himself into the house and started having a philosophical conversation with us. He had great ideas and really made me think about a lot of things that happened during Katrina. It was amazing how he touched on many of the things we talked about in class and have conversations about ourselves. "Smitty" provided a lot of thought-provoking ideas, and I'm sure that I will be analyzing what he had to say for a long time.

This trip has been amazing thus far! The people are what has made this trip what it is, and I will be taking many great friendships away from this experience. The other thing I will be taking from this trip if nothing else is a greater appreciation for diversity because there is sooooo much diversity down here that it can be almost overwhelming. I'm glad that I have a great group of peers to pull experiences and ideas from in order to comprehend and analyze what we are experiencing down here in New Orleans. This trip is about so much more than service; service is the medium through which we make connections and learn about people. I'm looking forward to hearing more stories and sharing more experiences with this great group of people!

In the midst of our reflection discussion this evening I had a moment (or a few, really) of complete unbelief. I couldn't believe how much I was learning, growing, and appreciating what was going on around me. It was one of those moments that you feel like you can save the world. You know? Those times when everything seems so clear and obvious and all of the world's issues seem to be right in front of you, so easy to tackle. One of those moments when you realize your purpose; not just on the trip, but at Wartburg, in the education department, and with these people. It became so clear that where I'm at right now and what I'm doing right now is exactly what it should be. I think we all have those times in our lives that we doubt our futures and our plans. This was one of those moments when I realized I should never doubt my future. Throughout everything we have done on this trip, to planting trees, getting rid of harmful ones, and trying to just make whatever difference we can here, this was still by far one of the most empowering experiences I could imagine.
We had a long conversation tonight with a guy that seems to go by the name of Smitty. He just happened to walk into the house while we were eating dinner, and conversation just flowed from there. There were moments of frustration and inspiration and amazement, but what really stuck with me was his talk about education. Obviously a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I'm an education major and feel passionate about educating children in the future. But what was so empowering was listening to this man talk about the importance of education in a whole nother context. He isn't a teacher and hasn't been one (as far as I know), but from his life experiences and his knowledgability, he had so much to say about how important good education is. And I'm not talking about state-of-the-art text books or technology or having the newest, cleanest buildings, or having the highest enrollment and graduation rates. I'm talking about having passionate, influential teachers that care about their students, care about the future of the nation, and are devoted to making change. So much of what WE have learned in this class revolves around this idea of needing change in this society. And I agree, our society DOES need change, in many many ways. But the way it most relates to me is in the education system. Tonight opened my eyes to the fact that change in the education means change in so many other areas and problems in our society. For a man like Smitty to have gone through what he has in terms of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation that came along with that, to be able to tell our whole group that the answer to many of our society's problems is education, is just so awesome to me. And not awesome in the 'really cool' sort of way, but awesome in the awe-inspiring, there-are-no-words, breath-taking sort of way. But it didn't stop there. When our reflection discussion went back to the education topic and I heard my classmates express their opinions on the importance of education and how 'corrupt' the education system has gotten, I felt even more empowered. I felt like what my future holds for myself is really actually so much bigger than myself. And it's not that I hadn't realized that before, but it's a whole different story to realize something like that in a completely difference context than normal. A lot of times people look down on teachers. Our profession is seen as the easy/fall-back profession that anyone could do if they needed or really wanted to. Many times we don't get respected or appreciated for what we're doing- which I can sometimes see why considering where the education system is at. But at the same time, I realized that even though people may not recognize how vital our profession is, the important part is that WE recognize how vital our profession is.
When I grow up, I won't be saving lives, or putting out fires, or bringing justice to the community- but I will be educating our youth. Our future. I will be making an impact. And impact that can affect the way our entire society works, from day-to-day business to dealing with horrific natural disasters. THAT is empowering and that is life-changing.  My classmates are teaching me so much, whether they realize it or not. Not just about my profession and calling, but about life and laughter and fun and work and passion and conflict and love and friendship. I couldn't ask for a better learning experience. I am so blessed.

This city girl....

Today was an amazing day even though this city girl had a rough start. Seeing the wetlands at its worst and people who have dedicated their lives to making a change for nature is something thats unforgettable. Today was day 2 for the wetlands and it was hard but I have come to realize that people that have some faith in what they believe in will achieve. Got a couple of 1st on the beginning of this service trip. My 1st time seeing alligators, riding in an air boat, & getting bit by red ants. Lol. When this service trip ends it wont be the end of my journey. So what do I do now? Being interactive from home. Wherever home may be I can do things to contribute to the on-going efforts here in New Orleans to essentially restore the peoples faith for there city. As this week continues I will continue to be open minded and remember what this week is all about. Allowing myself to experience only a portion of what is going on and what still needs to be done is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Loving New Orleans and all of the wonderful people I get to share this life experience with.

Photos from today

Trees, gators, and lots of sun!

The day is barely half over and already our group has planted around 450 trees, seen more than 20 gators, been on two air boat rides, and gotten some good old farmers tans. We fought through thick trees, mosquitoes, and even a snake or two.  Today we worked at the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge near Lake Pontchartrain planting trees. After riding the air boats out to a marshy area, we all unloaded and split up into pairs. One person was in charge of digging a hole and the other was carrying the trees and in charge of getting the tree into the ground. In order to spread out and plant all the trees we had to make our way through thick areas of trees and brush. We all came out with scratches, cuts, and a lot of mosquito bites, but for the most part had a great time.
We have all had a great time so far working together and getting to know each other. Yesterday's work day was exhausting but so much fun. My highlight was watching my classmates single-highhandedly pull trees out of the ground with their bare hands and no shovels. How empowering to be able to grab onto a tree trunk, push it back and forth, and just pull it right out of the ground. Watching Bri take control of a 30ft tree all on her own was by far the best part of the day for me. The boys dominated probably 10-15 massive trees as well. It got difficult sometimes to even feel like we were making a difference because there were so many invasive trees to get rid of, but after stepping back and looking at what we had accomplished, I was pretty darn proud of our group.
Our evenings are mostly just spent laughing.  Laughing and eating junk food. With this weather, accomplishing what we have, and getting to do that each evening, I couldn't even dream of asking for a better trip. I feel so spoiled. But so blessed.

Profits over People

I am learning a lot about the real BP and what really cause the oil spill and negatively impacted the Gulf communities, the state Louisiana and all Americans. 

The BP Oil spill is the worst man made disaster in the US, immediately making BP, a British oil company, the antagonist in this nightmare. Everyone wants to know how such a thing could happen. A leading expert in oil drilling is more inept that one would imagine. During my research, I exposed BP's dirty little secrets and understood why our oceans were flooding with toxic oil. 

BP has a long standing history of disaster after disaster and along with that a terrible safety record. Ever since they started drilling in the US, they failed to secure enough resources and managerial capacity to handle expansion. The struggling firm was forces to make some serious cutbacks to stay adrift in the oil industry and church out a profit each year. 

Eager to expand BP caught a big break when it was offered to drill in the Gulf's deep waters. The risky endeavor was welcomed by top executives at BP and government officials. The opportunity created a new stream of revenue, little to no liability and a pride for the company. the gig was, however, very expensive and the company was more money that anticipated. 

Pressure to turn the tables paved the road for error and oversight was virtually forgotten. Investigations into the cause of the matter reveal this and more. BP was once again more concerned about the bill than the people on the rig and the responsibility the had for them and the environment around the rig. They failed to ensure all policies and procedures were followed, and cut corners wherever they could cut costs. The result was the worst disaster in US history and along with that huge monetary losses for the company. 

Pages will be written about the spill for years to come. We still have no idea how much of an impact it had on our environment  and we will never know how it will affect future policies on oil drilling until some changes are made. The MMS was used a scapegoat and largely blamed for letting the disaster. Although they were blamed as a government policy enforcement agency for not enforcing the policies got more blame that necessary because other agencies were really not prepared to handle the disaster on such a magnitude. 

In my opinion politics will always mar progress and the greedy public will always squeeze all the can from one another. We live in a ruthless, dog eat dog world. in our world(US) the size of the dog matters in the fight because the little dogs can't find. Is this democracy? I really think its more like mans fallibleness and its all B.S.

Njoroge

The worst accidental disaster in history.

Well we all heard about the BP oil spill back on april 20, 2010 when it happened, but few know the dirty details behind it all. I worked with Njoroge on this project and we dug up quite some information together. We found that BP has a history of doing a poor job on many projects. In a 5 year time span BP has had three major blow outs with their equipment which have led to much clean-up.. BP's history of failure and inadequate work had never been brought up until the disaster was big enough to have an impact. More than 200 million gallons of oil spewed into the sea contaminating the water, affecting the wild life, hurting the industries and economy, and destroying the lands. Many people lost their jobs, some lost everything they knew. The disaster was large but very hard to compare to others such as Katrina in the  sense that 11 men lost their life on the oil rig where as in Katrina a little over 1700 people lost their lives..I have learned a lot about disaster, the recovery stages, and most importantly about the dirty history of BP. A company that would slop together a job just to get it done and put many lives, humans and animals, the life of the wetlands, the life of the city of new orleans, and everyone else affected at stake just doesn't sound right to me. I would hope that BP and many other companies out there have learned from their HUGE mistake. Profit is not always everything.. from BP's experience, if you rush through to make a large profit quickly, you may end up losing most all of it.

Real friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget

This trip has been one of the scariest and most rewarding things I have ever done...and to think I have only been here two days.  Deciding to participate in this service trip was a tough decision for me.  I have always wanted to do one, but at the same time I didn't really know anyone in the class that well, and that made me nervous. We knew of each other, but we never really hung out together.  I have never gone anywhere "far" away without people I was really close with.  I was either with my family or with the basketball team, so going this far away from home without those people made me worry about what would happen.  Would we all get along?  Would people separate into groups and we not grow together as a whole class?  I soon came to realize I did NOT need to worry about these questions.  Everyone on the trip has been so open with everyone else and we have had a lot of fun together.  We laugh together, act crazy together, and tomorrow will work together for the first time.  We played the longest game of flash we have ever played, and I  have never laughed so hard in my life.  I learned things about my classmates that I had never learned before and it felt good that they were open about these things and it also felt good to be open to them.  We throw out some crazy movie quotes....Renee....and played some intense games of Clue and Monopoly which had some cheating problems, but overall we just have fun together and that is one of the main parts of this trip.  I know from this I have built some close friendships that will continue when we return from New Orleans. I can't wait to see what is yet to come with this crazy bunch!

Crazy Days

It's been about 55 hours since we left Waverly, Iowa and every minute of this trip has been awesome.

From the long drive, to playing board games (horrendously breaking rules) to all the laughs that never seem to end.

To be honest, driving into New Orleans on Saturday evening I couldn't help but think "how could this city have been so damaged by a category 4 or 5 hurricane. It looks like nothing ever happened. But I had no knowledge (or rather visual) of the current situation in the Lower 9th.

Immediately we were immersed into culture, going for dinner in one of Louisiana's most popular places. I loved how the place maintained a southern taste to it's decor. I loved the food, and better yet I loved the company I head. That game of flash we played was the longest flash game in history probably but learning what everybody had to say to those questions just helped me in getting to know everybody more outside of our classroom.

Bourbon Street: I have never, ever seen anything like this before. I thought I knew a party culture. But not even Africans; who love music, food, laughter and stuff that's illegal on this particular trip; have anything on the people of New Orleans. Besides the smell I loved every bit of it. The music, the freedom, the creepy people, the dancing. It amazed me how there wasn't one particular type of person on Bourbon; there was a multitude of diversity all sharing the same spirit...a post Mardi GRAS spirit that seems to be instilled into all New Orleanians.

After seeing the damage in the 9th Ward, I've began to wonder; how and why exactly there can be so much diversity and connectivity between all creeds of people on Bourbon yet areas of the 9th still experience some sort of segregation in that they have began forgotten. Why?

I'd be Damned if I Didn't - NOLA welcomes you & A life long journey entails

Ask what I think of NOLA and the answer is simple. I feel  like apart of me will forever love NOLA. It is full of life, adventure and music.
I love my class and I love all the people that took the class. I enjoy all that they have to offer in and out of the classroom. I feel as though trip trip has to New Orleans has united us and will forver unite us should we choose to untie with one another and really(truthfull) get along with one another. It been tough really connecting with group and hard to decern how they each individually felt about the diveristy issues we talked about. We eventually found connection in preparation for the trip and I found a way to relate with the class by commiting all that I am to the discussion and group activities. My first real break was occured when assigned to work on a project with Taylor. We got right to and gave a steller presentation. A channel for friendship was opened we all has gone well. Serveal lines of friendship and communication are open thanks to the class structure and will of my classmates open up to one another. I'm truly blessed.
The best part of our class is our will to deal with contenious issue and realte with on another on all levels. We all come several distinct and different walks of life. Amanda and Gavin are elementary education major; Taylor is an athlete; Josh is soon to be a married man and small town folk; Laura is also a small town folk, athletic, bursting with life and blissfull. Bri is exocentric, undenialble straght forward and a real wonder of amazement. If fact thye all are full of amazement and I could write an entire thesis like Soesbe on each individual character. They each have so much to offer the school, themselves and each other. 
We all have to learn from one another and have a lot to learn. I'm really eager to find out what we all have to offer because so far its a blast. We get along, joke with each other, and on some level understand one another. Tonight we all share childhood memories after we listed the house rules, and pinned them to the wall. Lauru then spontaneously led a all willing participants all in an excersie workout prompting subsequent workouts to ensue. Its a blast and I love everysingle moment I've had with the lot. I don't think I or the group will encounter any dilemas because we have all resolved to reslove any issue and be honest.
I have resloved to complete honesty, and opened myself to others. I'd be damned if I didn't.
I'll pick up where I left tomorrrow we all have to be up early to seee the Lord in church.
Incomplete Thought & Points of interest & Continued Disscussion
We are grapling with some real, deep, emotional, and contentious issues steming from poverty to racism and I really appreciated how real and personal this has is for me. The class has I'm reavealing parts of mysleft no else was priveleage to experience or know of. My life is evoling as I open up to the world and see into the life of my classmate and the city of new orleans. connected we 
Njoroge

The bomb dot com

Finally settled in to our common ground house!

And we have arrived! A royal welcoming with food from Mothers Restaurant. Mmm good!

A royal welcome to the culture and taste of NOLA with our first dinner at Mothers Restaurant! Crawfish etoufee, red beans and rice and bread pudding!

Almost there!!

T minus 2.5 hrs til arrival!

Renee

Hannibal, Mo

Dinner stop in Hannibal, Mo. Nothing healthier than a greasy fast food stop!
-Renee

Topography

After conducting research on the topography I discovered so many different things about Louisiana and more specifically New Orleans.

In general there was some information about Louisiana that didn't stand out in particular, for instance, Louisiana lies wholly within the Gulf Coastal Plain, it is bordered by Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. This said, I immediately realized the problems that may come with being wholly engulfed by the Gulf Coastal Plain.

I found the fact that the lowest point in the whole of Louisiana is in New Orleans at 8 feet below sea level, the highest elevation in New Orleans is only 27 feet. This compared to an elevation of 1000 feet in Waverly, one can't help but wonder about Katrina and it's effect in relation to the elevation of NOLA.

Additionally, in general, the shape of New Orleans is bowl-like...many people attribute the damage that Katrina caused to the shape of the city. Some also argue that the levees and other flood & hurricane prevention systems simply weren't good enough. I personally felt that both were equally to blame, for instance it can't be a good thing (whether or not the prevention systems are good) that a lot of parts of the city are below sea level.

In retrospect, I am very excited to be going to New Orleans, to listen to the experiences of the people, to see the city, experience the culture (music, food, people).

24 hour countdown...

In about 24 hours you will be setting out on a journey that if you let it, and put forth the effort, it could be life changing…personally and professionally.

My advice to you is to open yourself up, face your biases and confront and challenge them, be ready to take risks, prepare yourself to be uncomfortable, be true to yourself and classmates, and embrace the emotions you will feel. Don’t waste any opportunities as part of this trip.

I have a unique perspective in that I get to see the before and after. I am excited to see the "change" in you. See the man or woman in the mirror and make the change.

Mardi Gras and Culture

As I researched about the famous Mardi Gras I found out a lot of interesting material. The history of Mardi Gras has been dated back to the Middle Ages. Mardi Gras was originally in Paris but it moved to North America. Originally Mardi Gras was called Carnivals and the preformers during this time were called krewes. Mardi Gras has been through some very difficult times since 1918. Mardi Gras has been canceled for many reasons such as WW1, the Prohibition, the Great Depression, and WW2. Things began to change in the 1950's for Mardi Gras. It drew so much media attention internationally the city of New Orleans had to create a special task force for the hundreds of thousands of people who came from all across the world. In 1992 many of the krewes had private memberships and New Orleans mandated that the krewes open their membership to all including blacks. Many of the krewes refused but Rex made there membership open to the public. As I researched Mardi Gras I was a little sad that we were not able to go during the Mardi Gras season. Although I was sad about that I am still grateful for this wonderful opportunity and I am very EXCITED to go. 

Culture and Mardi Gras

It is pretty difficult to learn about the culture of a new place in a classroom. Culture is something that you need to experience and live in order to fully understand and appreciate it. The pieces of the New Orlean's culture that I have learned about makes me really excited about being able to really experience it in less than a week. There are so many aspects of culture to experience and appreciate. Everything from the music, food, language, customs, sports, living accommodations and much more is involved in a place's culture. There are three aspects that stick out to me most about New Orlean's culture: music, food, and language. Music is everywhere you go in New Orleans- or so I've heard. The food has many different influences, making it all it's own. And even though the people of New Orleans speak English, they have their own way of speaking.

I can't wait to get to New Orleans and experience it all for myself. Traveling in general is so much fun and it's going to be awesome to be able to be so deep in the culture of the city next week. It's a shame that we're missing Mardi Gras, but I have a feeling we'll somehow still get a taste for what it was like in our own ways. It is one thing to be able to experience a city by simply being a tourist, but I feel so blessed to be able to experience New Orleans as a volunteer. It kind of feels like a back-stage pass for VIP only. Count down to the trip: 2 MORE DAYS!

Industry, Education, & Government

New Orleans has some interesting industries, a different education system, and a scrutinized government. Their biggest industry is tourism, with almost half the city's economy based on getting people to come to New Orleans. As others in our class will discuss, the BP oil spill had a negative effective on NOLA. The ship and aerospace industries are also hurting because some companies are pulling out of New Orleans. The health service industry is very big because many people in NOLA are still in need of health services years after Katrina hit.

The education system in NOLA is one of the strangest in the nation. Before Katrina the system was defunct and atrocious. There was not much learning going on before Katrina hit. After almost every school was destroyed, a lot of reform took place in New Orleans. There is now the highest percentage of charter schools in the nation in New Orleans. These schools are run by non-profit organizations in an effort to help students achieve more. The other group running schools in New Orleans is the Recovery School District (RSD), which was actually founded before Katrina hit. The combination of these schools has dramatically increased the achievement of students in New Orleans.

I'm really looking forward to heading to New Orleans. My dad's family is from Louisiana, so I've grown up with some of the Cajun culture. But more than the culture is the opportunity to serve and spread God's Love to everyone we meet. As an Eagle Scout, I know the meaning of service, and it will be an honor to help people that were put in a bad situation by measures beyond their control. I'm also looking forward to getting to know the rest of the class better. "Who Dat?"

Topography and Demographics Presentation #1

Topography and Demographics:
Hurricane Katrina was very devastating to the city of New Orleans.  It destroyed people's homes and businesses and flooded around 80% of the city.  People were left homeless and forced to go to the streets where there was an increase of crime, theft, and murder.  Demographics which I went over in our presentation shows the changes in different aspects of a population over time.  Some different areas are population, employment rates, home ownership, disability, race, gender, and age.  The population of New Orleans has gone down 30% in the last decade, and flooding from Katrina forced 200,000 residents to evacuate their homes.  Families were forced to live in makeshift camps in Mississippi, Texas, and other parts of Louisiana.  New Orleans is a very cultural city and has a wide variety of racial groups.  There are 33% Caucasian, 60% African Americans, and smaller percentages of Asians, multiracial, Latinos, and non-Latino Caucasians, and gender was pretty evenly split between females and males with 51% females and 49% males.  The disabilities in New Orleans pre-Katrina was 23%, but post-Katrina this rose to 27%.  This can be directly related to Hurricane Katrina.  One huge problem with disaster relief plans is they are shortsighted and terminated prematurely.  Traumatic events tend to see signs and symptoms one year after the disaster has occurred, but FEMA's crisis counseling services end nine months after a disaster occurs, this is problematic because when residents start having signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the services for help are not available to them.  Studies show that crisis counseling after traumatic events need to be offered up to two years after a disaster.  Unemployment rates right after Katrina almost doubled, from 5.8 to 11.6%.  Now a few years after the unemployment rate is 7.3% which is lower than the national rate of 9.7%.  Some people say this is because when most of the poorer residents evacuated they never returned back to the city.  It is common in the Lower 9th Ward to not own your home, but own the land your home is on.  This is because the land can be bought for as cheap as $8,000.  In the Lower 9th Ward before Katrina there was over 5,000 housing units, now there is only 2,000 housing units.  This just shows how much that area is still in the rebuilding process. 

I am really excited to go to New Orleans!  I have always wanted to do a service project and this class was the perfect opportunity.  I am excited to actually see what it is like down there.  I think there is a huge difference between how people describe the city to you compared to how it really is when you see it.  It's like you think you know what you are going down to see, but when you get there you see something completely different than what you were expecting.  I hope I get to talk to some of the people to hear how they actually feel about it.  I am just really excited for the whole trip.  I think it will be life changing and I can't wait!