Monday, June 05, 2006
The Bunk House Became Home
Thursday was the demolding project, as I mentioned earlier. The house was on a street that seemed to be abandoned. As far as I could see all of the houses were empty. Some had been gutted; some still had the owners’ belongings in them. Aside from the few cars that passed by, it seemed like a ghost town. There were two port-o-potties at then end of the street that the city had provided, but apparently didn’t bother to empty or clean. I won’t go into graphic detail, but let’s just say they probably would have been unbearable without my mask on. I worked on this project with a group of boy scouts and a few individual volunteers. It is kind of funny but I don’t even know most of their names. You go to these projects everyday and most likely you will be working with different groups, because volunteers choose which project they will go on that day, and no one really introduces themselves to each other. You talk with each other at breaks, but inside it is hard to converse with a respirator on.
Friday I woke up feeling under the weather. By mid-day my body was feeling a little achy and I was running a little fever. Jessi, Kayla, and I had signed up to cook dinner Friday night, taco salad, yum (Jessi’s idea and it was a hit). So, we had to leave the project early anyway to shop and start cooking and Jessi asked if we could tour the lower 9th ward before going to the store. The lower 9th ward is where the levies broke, so this area had the most damage. Two long-time volunteers drove Jessi, Kayla, Kevin and I there. It was a pretty intense sight to see, just complete devastation. There were mangled houses and cars, houses on top of cars, houses that had been completely swept away and all that was left was the foundation, and one makeshift memorial that read “You are not forgotten.” There were some workers there; apparently these were the first workers the long-time volunteers had seen since they had been there. It felt weird to take pictures knowing the tragedy that took place.
Saturday I woke up feeling worse than before with a bad cough. I am sure sharing a room with about 60-70 people can play a role in getting sick. I tried to sleep through the usual loud music and bright lights that we wake up to at 6am every morning but to no avail. We were leaving today, so I stayed in bed for awhile waiting for it to clear out a bit. I talked with Scott who was in the bunk next to me for awhile before finally getting out of bed. I watched Jessi and Kayla pack and decided I should do the same. After Jessi and Kayla’s departure and a nice warm shower, a few of us walked up to Magazine St. to look in some shops and get a frozen cappuccino, which was refreshing on a hot, humid day. Igor’s would be my first and last stop in New Orleans. I said goodbye to Jeff, the bartender Kevin, Mary, and I had spoken with on our first day, and bought a t-shirt. When we got back it was time to call a cab to the airport. It was strange leaving, like the bunk house had become home. I felt as though I was there a lot longer than one week. The residents that lived near the church were friendly when they saw us because they knew why were there; I always got a head nod or a hello. We said some goodbyes at the bunk house and eventually more goodbyes at the airport (I hate goodbyes, by the way, but I think most people do. They just seem so awkward to me). Finally, I was on a plane, sick and exhausted, back to Arizona with one thought on my mind, when can I go back.
I felt my time in New Orleans was well spent. It is amazing the amount of work that volunteers are doing there, but also the amount of work that needs to be done. I am not sure what will happen there, will people return, will everything be rebuilt, and how long will it take? I do know one thing, though, the work that is being done is uplifting. Watching people come together for a cause is very powerful and I am fortunate enough to work for a place that let me be a part of it.
I also want to thank Kevin and Mary, both former AmeriCorps members at Make A Difference, for coming with me. They were serving their terms at Make A Difference when Katrina hit and, along with the staff and other AmeriCorps members, worked round the clock to answer calls and help run the shelter at the Coliseum. They also helped raise funds to aid in disaster relief. I think we all had a good experience.
Megan ¶ 3:22 PM
Friday I woke up feeling under the weather. By mid-day my body was feeling a little achy and I was running a little fever. Jessi, Kayla, and I had signed up to cook dinner Friday night, taco salad, yum (Jessi’s idea and it was a hit). So, we had to leave the project early anyway to shop and start cooking and Jessi asked if we could tour the lower 9th ward before going to the store. The lower 9th ward is where the levies broke, so this area had the most damage. Two long-time volunteers drove Jessi, Kayla, Kevin and I there. It was a pretty intense sight to see, just complete devastation. There were mangled houses and cars, houses on top of cars, houses that had been completely swept away and all that was left was the foundation, and one makeshift memorial that read “You are not forgotten.” There were some workers there; apparently these were the first workers the long-time volunteers had seen since they had been there. It felt weird to take pictures knowing the tragedy that took place.
Saturday I woke up feeling worse than before with a bad cough. I am sure sharing a room with about 60-70 people can play a role in getting sick. I tried to sleep through the usual loud music and bright lights that we wake up to at 6am every morning but to no avail. We were leaving today, so I stayed in bed for awhile waiting for it to clear out a bit. I talked with Scott who was in the bunk next to me for awhile before finally getting out of bed. I watched Jessi and Kayla pack and decided I should do the same. After Jessi and Kayla’s departure and a nice warm shower, a few of us walked up to Magazine St. to look in some shops and get a frozen cappuccino, which was refreshing on a hot, humid day. Igor’s would be my first and last stop in New Orleans. I said goodbye to Jeff, the bartender Kevin, Mary, and I had spoken with on our first day, and bought a t-shirt. When we got back it was time to call a cab to the airport. It was strange leaving, like the bunk house had become home. I felt as though I was there a lot longer than one week. The residents that lived near the church were friendly when they saw us because they knew why were there; I always got a head nod or a hello. We said some goodbyes at the bunk house and eventually more goodbyes at the airport (I hate goodbyes, by the way, but I think most people do. They just seem so awkward to me). Finally, I was on a plane, sick and exhausted, back to Arizona with one thought on my mind, when can I go back.
I felt my time in New Orleans was well spent. It is amazing the amount of work that volunteers are doing there, but also the amount of work that needs to be done. I am not sure what will happen there, will people return, will everything be rebuilt, and how long will it take? I do know one thing, though, the work that is being done is uplifting. Watching people come together for a cause is very powerful and I am fortunate enough to work for a place that let me be a part of it.
I also want to thank Kevin and Mary, both former AmeriCorps members at Make A Difference, for coming with me. They were serving their terms at Make A Difference when Katrina hit and, along with the staff and other AmeriCorps members, worked round the clock to answer calls and help run the shelter at the Coliseum. They also helped raise funds to aid in disaster relief. I think we all had a good experience.
Megan ¶ 3:22 PM
