I'm home!

I have a lot to share with the community pertaining to my excursions in New Orleans. I'll go ahead and start from the beginning. We left early Saturday morning at 5:00 from St. Louis and began our long and arduous fourteen hour drive to New Orleans. Along the way we only stopped once or twice, never the less I was engrossed in the scenery as we made our way further south. The surrounding area took on an unmistakable aura. Perhaps it was the humidity detouring my thoughts but I had to assume it was not. I had read of the south in books written in days past and read of it's luster but I had never experienced the south personally until this trip. Almost everything I'd had ever heard about the old south seemed to be present. I couldn't believe it at first! Everything seemed so foreign and alien. The people were friendlier, the trees were taller, the grass was greener, the air was heavier. I felt as though my time spent in the south was a surreal dream.

When we had finally arrived at Peace Lutheran Church in Slidell where we were to be staying I was already breath taken. Seeing the south outside of a moving vehicle was something to behold. We were quickly introduced into our quarters and we began to socialize with the other volunteers we were to be staying with. We were accompanied by another St. Louis highschool, The university of Berklee in California, and Ohio State. Everyone got along well and the day passed quickly.

The next day we woke up early at five am to get ready for work. When we were prepared we loaded into our vehicles once more. This was my first immersion into the destruction in New Orleans. We traveled 45 minutes each day to our work site in the lower 9th ward. Along the way we passed all kinds of housing. Mildly wealthy neighborhoods sat only blocks away from desolate houses and ghettos. Seeing the markings the houses had caught me off my guard. We passed the marsh lands found before lake Pontchartrain only to find devastation still present years later. Foundations of houses sitting ominously and always looming. This was only a taste of the destruction yet to come. When we began to cross lake Pontchartrain I felt as though I was taking a drive across a vast ocean. It was easily the largest lake I'd ever seen. The water seemed to spread indefinitely in each direction, the bridge went on for what felt like forever. When we finally made it across the bridge the destruction of homes became even more persistent. We traveled through the ghettos of New Orleans and I was in awe looking at all the empty houses. I thought I was ready but the empty houses were hard to comprehend. Peoples lives were deep rooted in these old houses and the years definitively showed in the buildings. I felt that the culture lost with each house was almost unbearable.

When we had arrived at the lower 9th ward things began to look almost like a jungle and a warzone. Garbage lay in the street, and big plots of land lay uncut and untamed. We were to be working on an old church that had withstood the flood. When we arrived the church was in terrible condition. The watermark was noticeable on the once white building and it seemed as though it may have been anywhere from 10-12 feet high. The widows were barred up and covered. The roof needed tremendous work and the church needed painting. Overgrown weeds were dominating the yard and we had to remove the plants before we could even begin to work. The fire ants were furious that we should invade their sacred land. They attacked ferociously and we learned later that paint was an excellent way to destroy a colony of the bastards. We continued to work on this church each day of the week and I began to feel more connected with the project each day. The memories are substantial and I can only hope I do not forget them in time.

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Later in the week we were shown houses being built by an organization funded by Brad Pitt. These luxurious Californian homes seemed terribly out of place. I have to give the project credit however for building truly efficient homes. I felt saddened however that these new houses would detract from the true culture of the lower ninth ward. They people we spoke with in the community had felt the same sentiments as myself. They were grateful however that we had come to do what little we could to restore their church.

On Thursday we finally had a chance to delve deep within New Orleans and the French Quarter. The culture here was thriving even on a rainy Thursday morning. I was disappointed to not see any street musicians but I couldn't be surprised as it was raining tremendously. Still I walked through the streets in a daze. The buildings stood together so well, huddled and cramped. The actual streets stank with the terrible sewage of New Orleans but it was not enough to detour me from my experience. Everything had been present in this small little neighborhood. I can't even begin to describe how I felt, it is something that must be experienced personally. The people were terrific! I met all kinds of interesting people while in the city. From belligerently drunken men on a Thursday morning to casual marijuana smokers lying about the streets. I sat in front of St. Louis Cathedral and had never seen crack smoked so casually! It was a Thursday morning and still I could see hopeless drug addicts wandering about. The city truly had it all, from the exquisitely rich to the hopelessly poor and detrimental folks. I hope one day I'll be able to revisit and see the city in full swing. Until that day however I'll always have my memories.

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If anyone is considering doing a service project in New Orleans or anywhere I would recommend it completely. The experience and memories I've gained on this trip are worth more than anything I could ever want. I may continue editing this post in the future, check my photo album periodically if you want to see other photos from my trip.

Anyway, Lets get back to some CSS.