A week later, now that I am back to school work, real food (meat), and hot showers, I am so glad I went on this trip. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has had a reaction along the lines of, “I didn’t know they still needed help down there… that was so long ago….” Even if people don’t hear anything about these Spring Break trips other than that they exist, it is still getting the word out that there must be some reason people are still going there. I’m glad that I heard about this trip and went, and felt like I actually accomplished something - my dirty clothes, scratched hands, and millions of pictures by Mordechai prove it. Hopefully people will continue to go down, and everyone there will have a house to live in. And hopefully the levees don’t break again and destroy all of our hard work. And hopefully people will stop blaming the engineers. Engineers are people too. Lastly, thanks to everyone for making this trip so great! As fulfilling as the work was, this would not have been a fun trip at all if everyone was boring, and that was definitely not the case. See everyone around… Rikki
Check out the link above to see all the photos we took of our progress at 2116 Mehle!
So… I just wrote this somewhat poetic, very inspired-sounding post and nearly finished it before realizing it sounded nothing like me and I should really write in a much more open fashion. Let’s do this. If I can be entirely honest, on the night before leaving on this trip (I’m considering the start of my trip Friday, March 5, because that’s when I left UC) I had a huge emotional breakdown and essentially did not want to go on this trip at all. My dad had driven from home to bring me my backpack, and seeing him made me extremely homesick, something that hasn’t happened in all of 3.5 semesters of college. Among the reasons for not wanting to come were exhaustion from school, not wanting to spend more money, huge desire to go home (so unlike me), and other stressors. It would be a huge simplification to say that I’m happy I came anyway. In doing this program, I’ve realized that the impact we can make stretches farther than just doing the hands-on work of building. This importance became clearer just a few minutes ago, when I was telling my roommate about the trip. Without going into details, her general feeling is that the flooding and damage that resulted from Katrina is a non-issue and that the city itself shouldn’t exist. As we all know, the city and storm are more complex than that. And for the sappy stuff - I feel like I walked away from this week with a group of friends. I don’t know what more I can say on this… I love you guys and really just had a great time. Thank you for accepting me into the group and answering my frequently silly questions. I had a great time and learned so much. With much love, Sara
2116 Mehle's Facebook Fanpage -
Our group spent the week rebuilding the house at 2116 Mehle Street so that it could become affordable senior housing in the future. Check out 2116 Mehle Street’s Facebook Fan Page where you can see photos from our build and track to progress of our house in the future.
The past week flew by! While I wish I could have another week to make up some sleep… I am really so happy I was able to go on ASB to New Orleans. I am really grateful for the opportunity to help rebuild the city (even if it was just one small step), learn about the current situation of NOLA, and tour the great city with incredible people! I feel so proud of and connected to our house, and I love the feeling of having actually DONE something. Thanks to everyone for allowing me to have this incredible experience!!
This is sydney posting from home in Haverford, PA. It is verrry depressing to be home, partly because the weather sucks and also because I miss New Orleans. On the flight home I was confronted with my first “How was New Orleans” question from the woman sitting next to me. Thank the lord we practiced what we were going to say because I definitely did not have enough time to pour out all my feelings to her, but instead gave her a very concise, meaningful answer that got the point across. As my friends start viewing my pictures on facebook the are slowly coming up to me and are astonished by how much damage there still is. I had a great time on this trip and cannot wait to spread the word and love of New Orleans. signin’ out. syduction
Today was our last day building. :( It’s crazy how attached we’ve become to this random house on Mehle street. They told us that each house in the program has a facebook page and we can’t wait to become fans! Sitting on the bus covered in spackle we are looking forward to relaxing this shabbat. Sarah Beth Feinberg
MRGO and the wetlands
Read other postings from our group members and students traveling with us from other campus Hillels
Today our house really started to look like a home. With all the walls in place, we really felt a sense of accomplishment and could begin to see that our work might really make a difference for seniors affected by Katrina in St, Bernard Parrish. We took some time to play games and bond with our Americorps volunteers. Denise even goes to Temple! We can’t wait to see her in the fall. Looking forward to making more progress tomorrow. Sarah Beth Feinberg