We set off at 8:45 this morning (after pancakes) for the Lower 9th Ward: the most economically depressed and (no coincidence) hardest-hit part of New Orleans. The area still looks like it was leveled by bombs. Our project was to remove weeds and overgrowth from the yards of people in danger of receiving fines for lack of upkeep. It sounds mundane enough except that the fine can run as high as $500 a day, even for people who haven’t been able to move back into their destroyed homes. Such penalties have forced some to sell their homes which suddenly makes it all look like an insidious land-grab.

With this in mind the group tore those yards up. I haven’t seen a group work that hard or fast before. We hacked and raked far beyond the anticipation of our coordinators, the Survivor Council Community Center, so we even cleared a bonus yard. This group of students is a real blast to work with.

After the blisters and soreness and run-in with a hill of fire ants, Sr. Mary Pat lead us on a “reality tour” drive through other destroyed and developing areas of the city. We found our way back to Duchesne House for dinner, a documentary about the importance of wetland restoration, and much needed showers. Student reflections to follow…

Also, take a look at the “Pictures” page for a slideshow. We’ll add more photos as we take them.

Today was the last full day in New Orleans and we had a very difficult job to do. This day we had to scrape the paint off of a house. It was very warm and sunny and it made it somewhat difficult to work in. The paint for some parts of the house was very easy as they were already coming off, but for the last hours of the day, the paint became very difficult to chip off. A speaker, named Lisa Wharton, also came by this night and gave us a little taste if her experience during Hurricane Katrina, as she was working in the Superdome. This really gave all of us somewhat of the devastating truth of Hurricane Katrina and the lives of the people that survived it.
-Molly Gallagher

We are truly blessed with a new understanding of the desperate situation here in New Orleans. Whether we are shoveling dirt for a new garden in a park or chipping paint off a house, what we do here will benefit long after we have left. Children’s memories live in the flower beds and monkey bars of parks that were turned into lakes. If only you could see the tears run down the speechless face of a loyal New Orleans woman in awe of the 15 San Franciscans helping rebuild the house. Nowhere else in this country is need for national support so great. As Californians, there is no understanding of the situation until you see the truth of the poverty in our nation. It’s all interconnected.

Fresh water tears
Flowed down faces
Mixing with bile and blood
Choking on lies
Drowning in a sea
Of fat ugly lies

Destruction
Reconstruction
Your tie hanging crooked
You hit balls
Back and forth
On your fancy courts
Shmancy court sports
While we watched your people die

Fresh water tears
Fell from the sky
Raining guns bullets and glass
Holding onto sweaty hands
Slipping away

Stretch out your hand
We sang
Holding onto
Living music
Coursing through my veins
Through my fingers in to you
Into me
Lift up your voice
And cry

Freshwater tears

-Jovel

Today was the last day that we would spend in the broken city of New Orleans. As the week went on my vision of what the trip would be slow dissipated into nothing. The heart-wrenching activities and reflections made my “vacation” into something more. As I drove around the flooded Lower Ninth Ward and Gentilly regions, I realized that the media had slowly turned the public eye away from a broken and destroyed city. As I worked on the park and scraped paint from a formerly flooded house, I wondered how I did not see or hear any of the emotions that were present all around me. My experience here has opened my eyes to the deception of our established government. I now understand why the people of New Orleans are angry. I now understand (more than I already did) my high distaste for President Bush and his negligent racist regime. However, I do not understand how any human being could see the suffering of those of his/her own nation and not do anything, how some in our established government could just carry on and even vacation.
-Nate

It was an overall eye-opening and awakening trip. Before I went on this trip I had no idea of what scale this disaster was on and the effect it had on everyone. It’s truly amazing how everything was tied in politics, class, race, and more. I think everyone should go on a service trip like this or see the Katrina video we saw at least once to open their eyes. The work itself was sort of repetitive and could seem insignificant but I had fun doing it and enjoyed the experience. I would love to come back but probably never will because of the convenience I have with the service sites I have near me. Still, I think it was definitely worth coming here.
-Kristijounas

-Annick

This trip has been very eye opening because what I heard about New Orleans in 2005 was covered in water for one month then it was over, which made me think the incident was over but I now realize that a lot has been done but there is still more to do. Visiting the French Quarter, it was a day I won’t forget because everything is about voodoo, clubs, and much more.
-Marco

I often wonder if doing community service in far away places makes much sense when there’s always so much to do at “home.” That’s a very logical and reasoned perspective. However, every time I go with students to Mexico and now New Orleans, I witness minds and hearts opening to a larger world. This happens because we leave our comfortable places and live in close quarters with one another in very different cultures. We meet people that we would never otherwise meet and their lives and perspectives help shape our own. I do not want to suggest that all students experience some deep transformation that changes them for life. That could happen but I do see their minds stretched by new information and their lives enriched by the goodness of others. This was very clear in their coming to New Orleans. Before this trip, it was just another far away city that had a bad week. Now, they know how bad it really was and continues to be and they question why while they continue to service. All of this does not necessarily happen at “home.” They also got the chance to see a new culture very different from their own. These things make serving in other places worth all the time, effort, and money it takes to organize them. So, at Convent-Stuart Hall we’ll continue to do them and much more.
-Mr. O’Connor

We drove from City Park to Academy of the Sacred Heart, The Rosary – still in New Orleans. They showed such warmth and hospitality. Students gave us all tours of their gorgeous campus…I think they may love Harry Potter even more than our girls at CSH. This idea of community continues to grow for us. More words and some photos on the day still to come so stay tuned.

Our clapping, singing, and praying created quite an appetite. From St. Augustine we drove a short way to Cafe Degas (duh-GAH, as in the 19th Century French impressionist, not Vegas with a “D”) for brunch which was Delicious (with a capital “D,” nonetheless).

Then we were off to the historic and tourist-focused French Quarter for beignets (ben-YAY, as in, “We’re a bunch of tourists from the Yay Area. It’s lovely to meet you.”)

Sister ML led us on a “reality tour” of those areas most affected by Katrina. Below are reflections on that and other Day Two experiences.

Jovel
The Reality Tour: Smashed windows, collapsed roofs, and empty parking lots, many with the deepest blackest shades of silence. Chills ran down my back. I felt like I could hear the cries of ghosts in what had become a ghost town. Nowhere in the United States does there exist such an apparent economic, social, and political crisis. Though we haven’t begun building, I believe I have learned more today than I will on this trip. As a debater, I am physically seeing the intricacies we discuss all the time. We’re helping people, but we’re learning about crucial societal issues that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Nate
New Orleans is possibly the most interesting and eye-opening experience that I have ever been a part of. Though I jokingly complained about the destruction of half of my ski week, I am really “enjoying” some of the experience that I am having. The “misery tour” and the emptiness of New Orleans on NBA All-Star weekend have struck me profoundly. The lack of life, amount of destruction, and blatant disregard by the national government has made me realize exactly how bad the situation here is. I envisioned the city as the fun, active, metropolitan city. I saw it as one of the party cities I always wished to visit. I saw it as over after one day, this city said the same. The city is but a shadow of what it once was.

Josh
Today’s experience shocked me and I feel confused as to why.

Kristion Mardosas
I was surprised at all the unfixed and abandoned houses after almost three years. I enjoyed the spirit and enthusiasm of the mass.

Tommy
Today was fun…well, the beginning was. We went to mass and it was really hoppin’. We went to the French Quarter. Graham made a funny joke.

Molly
So far, this experience has been memorable and very hard to see the devastation of people’s homes and lives two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina. Today we went on our reality tour, this was a real reality shock seeing how homes are still ruined and seems as if nothing has been done to rebuild or help those in need where the hurricane struck the hardest. We also went to the French Quarter, which was very fun and entertaining as we got to see the first place that was built in New Orleans. However, tomorrow is when our real work begins as we start to paint a house in need.

Marco
Devastating. Some houses have weeds flourishing inside and growing through the empty window area. The X [spray painted on house fronts] has different quadrants about animals lost, people lost, the date the house was inspected and the group which inspected.

Savannah
I’m really enjoying my time in New Orleans. The French Quarter was amazing and embodied the culture of New Orleans. The reality tour struck me because I was astonished at how little has been done two and a half years after the hurricane. The lack of government support has made reconstruction that much harder. New Orleans is a beautiful city that needs all the help it can to get back on its feet.

Doug
We started the day with mass. It was really different than the other masses I’ve been to. It was very energetic and positive! At one point Jovel and I went up to the front with some of the locals and clapped and danced to the music. It was interesting to see another form of the same religion we practice at school. Then we went on the reality tour and it was shocking. You see pictures and hear stories and they are not even close to preparing you for that experience. There was still rubble everywhere and we saw at least ten houses where the roof was either fully off or sliding off the houses. We then came back and listened to Alexis Blanch speak about her experience and watched a movie she made. It was very meaningful, especially after going on the reality tour. New Orleans needs way more help than I had thought.

Graham
Angry: That not enough is happening.
Depressed: That a huge number of people have either decided not to return or lack the means necessary to return/rebuild.
Afraid: That the significant number of peoples missing will prevent the city from regaining its true, unrivaled character.
Happy: That I’m in New Orleans.

Annick Brett-Kearns
French Quarter: It was great to be in the French Quarter. The building were still decorated from Mardi Gras, and there were glittering masks in every store. We all wandered around and just looked at everything. Especially when we found the Beignet store that sold three giant beignets from $2.00.
Reality Tour: The reality tour was really eye-opening. While the re-building was obvious, still the prevalence of the destruction was astonishing. So many people have come to help and yet there is still so much to be done.

Our evening reflection considered the questions: How do I feel being in New Orleans and the days to come? How am I open to God’s blessing? The depth of every single response testified a deep and intelligent concern – this is not just some vacation. Tomorrow we go on a “reality tour” of the city. More photos, stories, and insights to come.