After five days of sitting in a 12-passenger van with 12 people + luggage, we reached our destination. Camp Hope is an old middle school building in St. Bernard where many volunteers stay to help with Katrina relief. It was actually flooded with four feet of water. I am staying on the second floor of the building in a room called “Mardi Gras” with my whole team. It has already been quite the experience.
It is still amazing to see all of the mess that has not been cleaned up yet. There are piles of trash outside of houses, temporary street signs, and FEMA trailer parks. It’s frustrating to see all of these disturbing views after two years. I haven’t been back to New Orleans since December of 2005, and I definitely have noticed improvement. Apartments and new houses have gone up. There is also so much spirit here. Football fans are crazy. And locals do seem so proud of their town.
I hope to do some construction work for my Individual Service Project hours, but I also want to work with the women’s shelter and animal shelter. Hopefully I’ll learn so much here from all of the people I meet and the experiences I have. Can’t wait to tell you about my first week of work!
p.s. I ran into a famous chef yesterday in the french quarter. He said he would love to come work with us so hopefully he’ll come by and teach us a few skills. :0)
Getting Things Done
I – L – B
Matt Langdon said,
December 3, 2007 at 7:44 pm
A famous chef is just what you need it sounds like. Maybe you’ll learn some mad skills and come back to cook some cajun recipes for me.
Matt Langdon said,
December 4, 2007 at 7:59 am
Did you see what Brad Pitt is doing in New Orleans? Maybe you should invite him to one of your dinners.