We left on Saturday morning and drove all day to Memphis to spend the night. We arrived in New Orleans the next evening and began work on Monday. There were 21 of us, led by the college chaplain and an alum who is now a general contractor. My group of 10 worked at Laura's house, which had been flooded by about six feet of water. The structure of the home remained, but needed completely redone: enter volunteers like us. We worked on siding and flooring at my site, and some of the pictures are below.
Yes, we drove... 16 hours. I spent the whole time in the backseat with two people that I kind of knew before the trip, but not surprisingly know a lot better now!
One day after we got done working we drove to the lower ninth ward, where the hurricane did the most damage. Seeing the devastation really hit home when we were in this area. This picture is of Jenny and Gunnar sitting on what used to be the front porch of somebody's home.
This is me cutting some concrete board that we needed to put down on the floor. I didn't have any experience or knowledge about flooring, but I feel like I'm an expert now. I guess thats why they call it a liberal arts education.
In the morning before getting to work on our last day. We met with Christiana (in the white), our construction manager every morning to get our assignment for the day. In addition to directing our work, Christina was full of insight and inspiration.
On Thursday night it was our turn to cook dinner at camp. Rob bought some crayfish and we ate like true Cajun-lovers!
A trip to New Orleans isn't complete without a trip to Bourbon Street. We got to go out one night and I made the most of it, eating authentic Jambalaya on a balcony, and of course doing a little dancing.
This is out of chronological order, but this is us in Memphis at a jazz restaurant. There was a live band playing the entire time we were eating dinner. We then went to a different club where there was a blues band who had been playing on Beale Street for over 40 years!
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