Day 352: NOLA!

Hey all!! It's Olivia here and I'm back from my spring break service trip in New Orleans!! I had an absolutely wonderful time!

Day One: Sunday, March 4th
We had to meet at 4:30am to catch a shuttle to BWI Airport. I had a group dinner the night before and finally finished packing around 11pm, so waking up at 3:30 was a struggle, but we all made it to the shuttle and off we went! We had a connecting flight in Ft. Lauderdale, and I wished I had enough time to stop by Nannie and Indy, but I was thinking of them! We got to New Orleans early afternoon, and arrived at our housing location: Common Ground Relief (CGR), in the Lower Ninth Ward. This organization began in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and was one of the first responders to rebuilding, fundraising, and medical care. CGR has a model home next door that we stayed at, but we ate breakfast and dinner with the organization leaders. A group of girls from James Madison University in VA also stayed in the house with us and arrived later that night. After we settled in, off we went to adventure! First we went to New Orleans City Park, which is sooo beautiful! The landscape was so green and the gardens were so pretty. We also went to Bourbon Street in the French Quarter: incredible!! We had dinner at Cafe Beignet, where I had gumbo and a beignet, which was delicious! We headed back to CGR for a nice long sleep. Unfortunately, I struggled with my allergies ALL week, and I was taking antihistamines every 24 hours, which helped some, but it was still a struggle as my sinuses and nose were stuffy the majority of the time!
Day Two: Monday, March 5th
Today was our first work day! We got up and had breakfast by 8. We went to the Audubon Lousiana Nature Center, where we worked on wetland restoration. We learned that with every mile of wetlands, the wave surge decreases by 1 foot. Most of the wetlands have ruined, and the saltwater from Lake Ponchartrain killed a lot of the wildlife. It also brought in a foreign plant species, the Chinese Tallow. This plant is extremey fast growing and one tree sprouts over 100,000 seeds. These trees were everywhere! They can be cut, but a special chemical has to be sprayed on it 30-60 seconds after its cut or else it will continue to grow. We spend the whole day cutting the tallow, from the size of small plants to trees! We also went grocery shopping for snacks for the week, and ended up at Walgreens. Where Google Maps said there was a grocery store, it was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the flooding moved the stores, but Google hasnt updated the maps since the hurricane. The man we talked to shared that when he returned from his evacuation, he had to keep guns on him at all times, for alligators and wild boars would run around attacking people. He said, "Alligators can run up to 35mph, so if you ever need to run away from one, run in a zigzag pattern!" Haha good to know! Later at night we went to tour the St. Louis Cathedral with the University of San Diego, in Jackson Square. It is the oldest continuing cathedral in the US. We had a special tour, so we went up to the bell towers at the tippy top of it and could see a beautiful view of the Square and the Mississippi River through a small vent in the rickety wooden walls. We also got to hold the chalices that Popes Benedict and John Paul II gave to the cathedral. I learned that archbishops and bishops from the cathedral that have passed away are buried under the altar.

Sanding-I'm in the back in the purple shirt

Day Three: Tuesday, March 6th
Today we spent part of the day doing construction work. We helped sand down sheetrock! This house was a "double home", meaning the porch had two doors on each side for two seperate familites. We almost finished both houses, so we spent the majority of the day there. We spent the night in, talking and playing a game called "Mafia". It was a relaxing night, and we got to sleep early.
Day Four: Wednesday, March 7th
We had another day of environmental work. We went to a nursery and planted cyprus trees and redbud trees. We must have planted 200 trees! At night, we saw a lecture about immigration in New Orleans. It was really interesting!!
Day Five: Thursday, March 8th

An abondoned house, still with the "X"
on the door stating date inspected, #dead
etc. 

Me painting!

This must to have been the worst and best day of the trip!! We painted a house for an older couple and their three year old grandaughter. The original color of the house was the color of our house, and we painted it a salmon pink color. The man was so adorable! Every five minutes or so he would ask if we wanted water, and he kept thanking us for our work. I was talking to him individually and he said "I'm a preacher myself, and I keep saying that God will help us all. And God brought you guys to me!" I said I was happy to be there, and he responded with, "Well, then God Bless You! God bless you, your parents, you got any brothers and sisters? (I nodded) God bless them too!" He was so sweet and appreciative of our help. Unfortunately, we had a day planned in the city and had to leave early, but it was a great morning/early afternoon! We went back to CGR and quickly showered, as we had a tour at a museum exhibit called "Katrina and Beyond". It was all about the hurricane and why the floods happened, and shared some peoples stories. It was fascinating, but so sad! This is where my day went downhill: I was in the museum bathroom, and as I was leaving my purse fell and I picked it up and I whacked my head against the latch to the door. It was one of those hits you feel through your whole body. It swelled up in a second (literally) and I walked out of the stall my friend screams, "its growing! you need ice, now!" Everyone in my group was confused as to how I could hit my head that hard, but I was too! I went with my leader to a nearby restaurant where they gave me a bag of ice, which helped, but I still have a bump on my head, and I've have a headache since the accident. My friend was nice as he offered to help me find a pharmacy for advil, and it eased the pain a little. I don't think I have a concussion, but I've been keeping a close watch just in case. Anyway, we went to the French Quarter again and did some shopping, which distracted me a bit. I got a fun Mardi Gras mask and a I Love NOLA shirt. At night, we went to a blobk party where the girls from USD were staying. They stayed in a house of Sisters, and they were so cute! A few of them reminded me of Nana and Nannie. The party was fun, and I got to meet with the Indian Chief of Mardi Gras! He makes his own costumes by hand, and they are beautiful! It was a fun night, I really just wanted to get some sleep. As soon as I got back to CGR, I fell asleep!

Brad and Ellen!!!!

Day 6: Friday March 9th

A port near a levee

Today, CGR didn't have any plans for us! They told us we could have a free day, so we used the time to our advantage. We went to another water source that overflowed and walked along the levee. We also said goodbye to the Sisters, and we actually hope to be housed with them next year during this trip. In addition, we saw a Food Co-op, full of organic, healthy food. Yum! We went to the Loyola New Orleans campus too, which was beautiful! The highlight of the day was seeing Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres!!! Brad started the organization "Make It Right", where he's building 150 eco friendly, structurally sound, roof-escapable homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. There was a fundraiser that week, so he came by to work on some houses and see the progress. He was showing Ellen around, but we got to talk to them! We first saw Ellen across the block and she waved, but we ran over and she told us to give her 5 minutes and she'd come down and talk to us. She's so sweet, and thought it was wonderful the work we were doing. Brad did too! We ended the day at Cafe Beignet/Bourbon Street, and had dinner at a local restaurant, Parkway Bakery. I ate alligator!! Well, it was a smoked alligator sausage, so it was pork meat and gator meat in a casing, but it was still alligator. And it was sure yummy! Tasted like chicken!
Day 7: Saturday, March 10th
We had a early start, as we went to a farmer's market and then to the airport to Baltimore!

The group!
(If you zoom in you can see my bump...)

For more info about CGR, visit www.commongroundrelief.org.