Arriving Back

Classes resume tomorrow, and we are all back in Madison. Some of us stayed behind in New Orleans a little longer to visit the Ogden museum of southern art while the rest of us decided to return early for a head start on homework. This trip was an amazing experience for all of us to get to help out in a place of need and also learn about the culture of New Orleans. There is still much work to be done, as rebuilding is a process with many steps. If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend going there to help out.

Rebuilding

Yesterday and today our entire crew headed to the Gentilly district to work on yet another aspect of the rebuilding process in New Orleans: rebuilding. It provided a stark contrast to gutting, and I certainly welcomed the change in atmosphere and difficulty (the previous two days, I ended up drenched in sweat!). When we arrived, we were split into groups to get quick tutorials on how to do our respective jobs properly. Because of the hopelessness of my spackling pursuit, I quickly turned to sanding, which because of its tediousness, kept me busy for the rest of the two days. As we all worked, I noticed how bright it was in the house, which was a lot different from the dark, moldy houses we had gutted the two days before. We all talked and listened to music as we worked, and the homeowner and his family were around for part of each day to encourage us and thank us for our work. It was definitely great to have him and his family around, as it provided us with the benefit of seeing the house’s occupants. Overall, it was a much more personalized and positive experience (building instead of destroying in order to build later), and it was all capped off today with a fried turkey and homemade jambalaya, which the homeowner’s brother assured us we would remember. It was great! So now we’ve done some gutting and some rebuilding, and this trip has given us a good taste of a lot of different types of work. If any of us end up coming back to help out some more (which is definitely possible as there still seems to be plenty of work), we’ll be more flexible from the start.

Our gutting crew on Tuesday:




After a day of spackling:

As an optional volunteer opportunity, three of us decided to branch from the group and work for a mobile respite unit. The organization hands out supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, and water to residents of hard hit areas. The idea is not to have people depend on our supplies, but have an outlet of people to listen and find resources they many need. Free medical blood pressure and blood sugar checks were also available to those that were interested.
We were able to drive around the lower 9th ward before our shift started. This area was extremely hard hit when the Industrial Canal levy was breached. When the hurricane was over a barge was sitting on houses in this area. The 9th ward was empty. Houses were caved in, completely eroded, or non-existent. It was hard to imagine that progress as been made on this area because it looks as if nothing had been done. This area is extremely slow to repopulate. In this deserted area there was one priest that rebuilt his church by himself. Where houses used to be is fields of weeds surrounding his building. It was awesome to see progress in an area so devastated by Katrina. His parishioners have to drive hours to come to his services.
As the site, I felt rather unhelpful at time because there were so many volunteers, but I did get to talk to a few people, most of who were very upbeat and grateful for the supplies available to them.
When I first started working I was interested to see how many people would drive up in nice cars. I was very skeptical as to why people in expensive cars were, in my eyes, taking advantage of the supplies that some people really needed. I voiced my observations to the other volunteers who understood where I was coming from. They explained that when many people evacuated the city, all they took was their car. When they came back there was nothing left of their house or it was in such bad shape they couldn’t live it in. Their vehicle is the only thing left. Even though houses were gone the house payments still exist. People have to pay for houses that don’t exist and on top of that they are paying rent on another housing unit. It is just a difficult situation that is making the poor poorer and the middle class poor.
For people that have established a new life in the places that they were relocated, it could just be easier to just stay.

Day Two: Gutting

Tuesday found us split into two groups, some of us worked in a mobile respite care unit around many parts of the city while the rest of us spent time in the Lakeview area gutting a large house. The neighborhood fell victim to a levee that broke nearby, and many homes saw water lines up to 8 feet. More houses in this area are in the process of rebuilding and there we saw a sparse amount of neighbors at home, working on their lawns etc. Tearing down ceilings took most of the time, as many of the older homes of New Orleans use the tough material plaster to cover their walls which can be difficult to take down. And with the mixture of plastic, wood, and the occasional piece of sheet rock from the ceilings, also came an amazing amount of fiberglass which completely covered the floor as well as our faces. As we were making our piles of dirt, a construction crew from FEMA came to haul it away and we witnessed some pretty great caterpillar driving skill. Definitely a fufilling day!

First Day on the Job

Today we started to gut houses. We all got up around 8 am, ate breakfast (pancakes!) and met downstairs for our orientation to New Orleans. We heard about the timing of the levees breaking and how some neighborhoods, like the 9th ward were completely underwater. The water damage left a ring around the houses. Also we noticed spray painting on many of the houses on the trip across the canal to the neighbor of Holy Cross where we were going to gut. The gut leader told us about the symbols: Xs mean that house has been checked by the emergency crews, and TFW stands for toxic flood waters. We arrived at the work site, a cute old french style house. First step was to empty the house of all contents. We hauled out everything from ruined china cabinets to TVs. Second step was to take down all of the walls. Than ceilings, which we didn't get to today. The toughest part of the day for me was when I found a photo album filled with all these ruined water logged pictures. We were able to save a couple here and there, mainly Polaroid, but the bulk of the collection were not salvageable. The owner of the house was there while we worked and he chatted with us and even told us about the pictures when we were drying them out. We got done, showered (we were filthy) and went to enjoy some real New Orleans cooking.

First Day in New Orleans

After arriving early morning in New Orleans, a much needed nap was taken. Our day only started around noon. Excitment filled the air as we drove in circles trying to find some place to eat. After deciding on a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant close to the homestay, we ventured into the city of New Orleans. We mostly wandered around, observing the life of the downtown area. Some stops included Bourbon street, the French Quarter, and the French Market. Shirts and souvenirs often included the events surrounding hurricane Katrina. These paraphenelia often poked fun at the manner by which the issue was approached by higher authorities. Although being surrounded by other tourits, the lifestyle of some locals was apparent. Locals seemed to be enjoying themselves. Sipping on beers, laughing with friends, and driving around in "supped up" cars with the stereo pumping are just some of the actions partaken by the local community. We next made a stop to a Super Walmart to stock up on groceries. The night ended in Kyle's masterpiece preparation of spaghetti (with assortments) and a game of cards. Still feeling the lag from the car ride, the night concluded a little prematurely, but tommorow sparks nother day; a day where work begins, and our journey continues.

The Journey to New Orleans

Hello Blog Readers! :)
We left for New Orleans yesterday at 9am, stopping along the way to visit St. Louis. While there, we visited the famous Arch. It was pretty amazing to see how truly huge that arch really is. At the bottom is a museum that gives you the experience of the western expansion, pretty neat stuff. After a quick meal we were off to Memphis. Memphis was kinda like a less intense Madison on Halloween, but instead of State Street, it was Beale state. Lots of live music, lots of drinking, and lots of people. We were fortunate enough to try a deep fried hamburger and see some intense mullets. After our fill of crowds we headed out for New Orleans. Driving during the night left us pretty much alone on the road. We did have the chance to stop at some great small town gas stations. good times. We finally arrived at our destination, Chalstrom House, at about 7am today. After a few hours of sleep, we are ready to take on New Orleans. Stay tuned for our daily events.