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!