I wrote this for our reception last night, and it was very well received, so I thought that whoever's still reading this might appreciate it.
The Top 10 Reasons Why You, Yes, YOU, Should go Volunteer in New Orleans
10. The weather. Especially when it's winter in Canada.
9. The chance to run into celebrities like Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake.
8. Bourbon Street. You have to experience it at least once in your life.
7. The in-jokes you can create on the 18-hour bus ride.
6. The empowering feeling of using a skill-saw for the first time.
5. Camp Hope. Bad food, cans of FEMA water, singalongs in the communal showers, and a sense of spirit that is inspiring.
4. Who knew that a sense of community could emerge between a group of near-strangers? Not just including our group, but our new friends on the Habitat staff as well.
3. You know that feeling in your gut when you see images of Katrina destruction on TV or on the web? It's 10 times more unbelievable in person.
2. The stories you hear and the locals you meet and will never, ever, forget.
1. Because you can. Like blood, your heart is in you to give.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Photographs
Hello - Here are some photos of our trip.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, especially:
Cooperators Insurance, Senior Management Group -University of Windsor, Alumni and Development -University of Windsor, Tecumseh Laser Centre -Joanne Duff,
University Staff, Faculty, Friends and Family of the Habitat Team!
Beth
Please join us at our reception on Wednesday, March 21 from 4:30 til 7:30 Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall, University of Windsor.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, especially:
Cooperators Insurance, Senior Management Group -University of Windsor, Alumni and Development -University of Windsor, Tecumseh Laser Centre -Joanne Duff,
University Staff, Faculty, Friends and Family of the Habitat Team!
Beth
Please join us at our reception on Wednesday, March 21 from 4:30 til 7:30 Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall, University of Windsor.
Students ready for action
Mike & Danielle
Laura
Thanks to our Sponsors! One of our 3 houses -after a full week of work
Home Sweet Home!
Brooke and I donning our lucky work gloves.
My new friend from Musician's Village, David Fountain. He has the most contageous laugh of anyone I've ever met!
Enjoying the New Orleans Spirit
Me, Sandy, Brooke and Sandra (aka the GPS ladies at the front of the bus)
Monday, March 5, 2007
On returning home...
It's 4:30pm. At this time last week, I was probably napping, exhausted after a hard day's work. Today, despite getting up much earlier than I would normally choose to, I find myself unable to be productive. I've spent most of the day slacking about on the internet to avoid the homework I failed to do during the week, and the only thing I accomplished was getting my laundry done.
One of the reasons I'm finding it hard to focus on homework is that it no longer seems that important- the script I have to write for Theatre for Young Audiences right now is not about to make a direct impact on someone's life in the way that our stairs and insulated houses will. I find myself staring at our photos and wearing Mardi Gras beads rather than forcing myself to fit back into the mold I have here.
Dear NOLA- I miss you.
One of the reasons I'm finding it hard to focus on homework is that it no longer seems that important- the script I have to write for Theatre for Young Audiences right now is not about to make a direct impact on someone's life in the way that our stairs and insulated houses will. I find myself staring at our photos and wearing Mardi Gras beads rather than forcing myself to fit back into the mold I have here.
Dear NOLA- I miss you.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
one hour from home (12:00 Sunday)
Hi:
Once we get through customs and make a quick stop at the duty free, we should be in the vanier circle around 1:30.
Thanks for following our journey!!
The Habitat Gang
Once we get through customs and make a quick stop at the duty free, we should be in the vanier circle around 1:30.
Thanks for following our journey!!
The Habitat Gang
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Saturday adventures in NO
This is my first attempt at blogging from my blackberry.
Lancer mens basketball just won again. Way to go boys!!!
Blogging Thoughts from Mississippi
Here we are in Merridan Mississippi having a bite to eat. It's 8:49 pm Saturday night. Everyone jumped off the bus and headed over to McDonald's.
I decided to go it alone and head down to Arby's. Ahhhhh, some alone time finally. No chatting, giggling, conversations. Just me, myself and I. Time to think quietly. Time to consider the week I just experienced. What follows below are some random. thoughts:
But first I'll tell you how we spent the last 24 hours. Last night we headed back to Bourbon Street to collect some more beads and hear some more of that great jazz music. We finally got some cajun cooking!!! Some of us headed for the Gumbo Shop. We started with some Alligator sausage and some great New Orleans Albita beer and topped it off with some seafood gumbo and cajun rice.
We ran into groups of the students in different areas of the city. Well moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, I'm proud to report that everyone was very well behaved and a lot of hard earned fun was had by all. True U of W ambassadors all week long. Even some of the Habitat builders joined the students on Bourbon Street.
We headed back for our last night in the Habitat Hilton and I went to bed happy knowing that it would be my last day of having to deal with overflowing toilets and plunging them. Apparently the septic truck comes to the school four times a day to siphon out the waste! The problem got a little worse on Friday as more spring breakers arrived and the population grew to as many as 700.
As a result of the problems with the school conditions, they made the decision this week to halt all further renovations and instead move the operation down the road and demolish this building. I guess the students' hard work on painting the Lancer logo on the wall will soon be destroyed.
After packing up our very messy dorm room and loading it all on the bus, we headed back downtown. We had the pleasure of taking a two hour steam boat cruise down the Mississippi River. The day was picture perfect with sunny skies and a high of 72 degrees! The river bank is largely industrial, but is filled with a rich history which was narrated to us as we moved along.
After disembarking, we moved on to a guided bus tour around the city. More great history and information about the city, a visit to one of the aboveground cemetaries made this a great way to see the city and the areas damaged by Katrina (80 percent of the city).
So after that we got back on Casey's bus and headed out of the city around 6:00 tonight.
Since being here we have seen the best and worst of the city. We've been both tourists and workers. We've been each others' friends, co-workers, problem solvers, coaches and mentors. We've been inspired and inspired others.
I've tried to make it my mission this week to get toi know each of the students and to commit their names to my memory. Since I have a terrible memory for names this has been quite the challenge. As of tonight, when I wasked to the back of the bus and tested myself, I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered 27 out of the 31 names! I'll have them all by tomorrow.
So back to some more thoughts. Although there are literally thousands of people coming to NO each week to help rebuild, and because there is so much to rebuild, it's easy to think that we can't make that much of a difference. However, seeing how fast we were able to work as a team to move a huge and intimidating pile of sand, it confirms that we each can work together to collectively make a difference. Plus, the the people here are so appreciative of our efforts and are always telling us so. One of the greatest ways they showed us they appreciate is when they drove down our build site and honked, waved and shoiuted "thanks". Pretty simple, pretty powerful. So I guees I learned that it's important to always say thanks because it does make people feel good, from the dishwasher to the builder.
Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting my grandfather's hometown in Ireland for two weeks. While there we saw some beautiful scenery, met wonderful people and delighted in the traditional tastes of gourmet food.
In some ways this trip was a huge contrast as you can imagine. But, in other ways it was just as interesting. Before I left, I knew very little about the deep culture and traditins of New Orleans and assumed that this trip had but one purpose to work on helping rebuild. Having had the opportunity to get to know the spirit and resilience of the people of Louisiana has definitely made me realize that I will be back again. At the risk of sounding like a travel agency, even if you never think that you would be able to help with a build project, I would highly recommend getting to know this city.
Well, we are now in Alabama and it's getting late. I think I will try and curl up on this double bus seat and get some sleep. One more night and then I get my bed back. Just imagine how all those people missed their beds.
G'night!
Lancer mens basketball just won again. Way to go boys!!!
Blogging Thoughts from Mississippi
Here we are in Merridan Mississippi having a bite to eat. It's 8:49 pm Saturday night. Everyone jumped off the bus and headed over to McDonald's.
I decided to go it alone and head down to Arby's. Ahhhhh, some alone time finally. No chatting, giggling, conversations. Just me, myself and I. Time to think quietly. Time to consider the week I just experienced. What follows below are some random. thoughts:
But first I'll tell you how we spent the last 24 hours. Last night we headed back to Bourbon Street to collect some more beads and hear some more of that great jazz music. We finally got some cajun cooking!!! Some of us headed for the Gumbo Shop. We started with some Alligator sausage and some great New Orleans Albita beer and topped it off with some seafood gumbo and cajun rice.
We ran into groups of the students in different areas of the city. Well moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, I'm proud to report that everyone was very well behaved and a lot of hard earned fun was had by all. True U of W ambassadors all week long. Even some of the Habitat builders joined the students on Bourbon Street.
We headed back for our last night in the Habitat Hilton and I went to bed happy knowing that it would be my last day of having to deal with overflowing toilets and plunging them. Apparently the septic truck comes to the school four times a day to siphon out the waste! The problem got a little worse on Friday as more spring breakers arrived and the population grew to as many as 700.
As a result of the problems with the school conditions, they made the decision this week to halt all further renovations and instead move the operation down the road and demolish this building. I guess the students' hard work on painting the Lancer logo on the wall will soon be destroyed.
After packing up our very messy dorm room and loading it all on the bus, we headed back downtown. We had the pleasure of taking a two hour steam boat cruise down the Mississippi River. The day was picture perfect with sunny skies and a high of 72 degrees! The river bank is largely industrial, but is filled with a rich history which was narrated to us as we moved along.
After disembarking, we moved on to a guided bus tour around the city. More great history and information about the city, a visit to one of the aboveground cemetaries made this a great way to see the city and the areas damaged by Katrina (80 percent of the city).
So after that we got back on Casey's bus and headed out of the city around 6:00 tonight.
Since being here we have seen the best and worst of the city. We've been both tourists and workers. We've been each others' friends, co-workers, problem solvers, coaches and mentors. We've been inspired and inspired others.
I've tried to make it my mission this week to get toi know each of the students and to commit their names to my memory. Since I have a terrible memory for names this has been quite the challenge. As of tonight, when I wasked to the back of the bus and tested myself, I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered 27 out of the 31 names! I'll have them all by tomorrow.
So back to some more thoughts. Although there are literally thousands of people coming to NO each week to help rebuild, and because there is so much to rebuild, it's easy to think that we can't make that much of a difference. However, seeing how fast we were able to work as a team to move a huge and intimidating pile of sand, it confirms that we each can work together to collectively make a difference. Plus, the the people here are so appreciative of our efforts and are always telling us so. One of the greatest ways they showed us they appreciate is when they drove down our build site and honked, waved and shoiuted "thanks". Pretty simple, pretty powerful. So I guees I learned that it's important to always say thanks because it does make people feel good, from the dishwasher to the builder.
Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting my grandfather's hometown in Ireland for two weeks. While there we saw some beautiful scenery, met wonderful people and delighted in the traditional tastes of gourmet food.
In some ways this trip was a huge contrast as you can imagine. But, in other ways it was just as interesting. Before I left, I knew very little about the deep culture and traditins of New Orleans and assumed that this trip had but one purpose to work on helping rebuild. Having had the opportunity to get to know the spirit and resilience of the people of Louisiana has definitely made me realize that I will be back again. At the risk of sounding like a travel agency, even if you never think that you would be able to help with a build project, I would highly recommend getting to know this city.
Well, we are now in Alabama and it's getting late. I think I will try and curl up on this double bus seat and get some sleep. One more night and then I get my bed back. Just imagine how all those people missed their beds.
G'night!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Friday -last day on the site. We all want to stay another week or more. I want to learn more building skills!!!
So, today began again at 5:30. Everyday we hear the alarm clock buzz and awake from our bunks quickly to get ready. I'm amazed at how well all these young people get up at such a dreadful hour. Plus, they are so worn out by the end of the day, they are in bed by 10:30 or earlier! It's not what you expect from a group of residence students!
Today we finished installing the fascia and soffets on the side porch and then spent quite a fair bit of time slugging a load of sand from the front yard to the side. I love moving dirt (or sand in this case). I like "operating the wheelbarrel". It feels so good to be outside working after such a long winter of being lazy and inactive. I can't wait for spring back home now.
After the build today, we ended early and walked through Musician's Village and got to see all of the finished houses. There are people living in them. I took a great photo today. It's a simple close up shot of one of the side porches of a Habitat home. Next to the porch is a bike lying on its side and a Fisher Price Basketball net beside it. Why would I choose this as a favourite? Because it's shows the fruits of our labours. That's what it's all about -giving families their simple, normal lives back after so much tragedy.
This was such a rewarding week on all accounts. I can't say enough good things about it. I will do a wrap up blog when I return home -perhaps Sunday or Monday when I'm back home at my comfortable computer. I'm back beside this vending machine and my feet are freezing. Tonight we head out to Bourbon Street and if I don't get some N'AWLIN's food, I'm going to be very upset. I've yet to have any!
Although I'm beat right now, I'm sure I will perk up. Tomorrow we will arise at 7:00, pack our things, take a 2 hour boat cruise and a 2 hour tour of the city. Then we will head back to Windsor on the bus. We should be home Sunday morning but I can't recall the time at this point. Beth
So, today began again at 5:30. Everyday we hear the alarm clock buzz and awake from our bunks quickly to get ready. I'm amazed at how well all these young people get up at such a dreadful hour. Plus, they are so worn out by the end of the day, they are in bed by 10:30 or earlier! It's not what you expect from a group of residence students!
Today we finished installing the fascia and soffets on the side porch and then spent quite a fair bit of time slugging a load of sand from the front yard to the side. I love moving dirt (or sand in this case). I like "operating the wheelbarrel". It feels so good to be outside working after such a long winter of being lazy and inactive. I can't wait for spring back home now.
After the build today, we ended early and walked through Musician's Village and got to see all of the finished houses. There are people living in them. I took a great photo today. It's a simple close up shot of one of the side porches of a Habitat home. Next to the porch is a bike lying on its side and a Fisher Price Basketball net beside it. Why would I choose this as a favourite? Because it's shows the fruits of our labours. That's what it's all about -giving families their simple, normal lives back after so much tragedy.
This was such a rewarding week on all accounts. I can't say enough good things about it. I will do a wrap up blog when I return home -perhaps Sunday or Monday when I'm back home at my comfortable computer. I'm back beside this vending machine and my feet are freezing. Tonight we head out to Bourbon Street and if I don't get some N'AWLIN's food, I'm going to be very upset. I've yet to have any!
Although I'm beat right now, I'm sure I will perk up. Tomorrow we will arise at 7:00, pack our things, take a 2 hour boat cruise and a 2 hour tour of the city. Then we will head back to Windsor on the bus. We should be home Sunday morning but I can't recall the time at this point. Beth
The Lunch Ladies
Hi All:
Following are some photos for you to see of Thursday's events, but I'm having difficulty putting them where they need to be. I wish it was easier to post photos, but without a mouse and the ability to drag the photos in place, it's too time consuming.
Following are some photos for you to see of Thursday's events, but I'm having difficulty putting them where they need to be. I wish it was easier to post photos, but without a mouse and the ability to drag the photos in place, it's too time consuming.
I guess I have some catching up to do. I tried to post yesterday in the middle of a thunder storm and lost everything I typed, so here we go again. Yesterday, Brooke, Sandra and I remained at Camp Hope to help out because the Kitchen Nazi (MAN is he a nasty man -could it be because he works 7 days a week from!) needed some extra help.
We started by cleaning up breakfast and then we inventoried all of the leftover sandwiches and made 300 more and then scooped peanut butter and jelly into bins. After that we set out to make the tuna salad. We opened can after can of tuna and then donned our gloves and started mixing. After that, as you can imagine, we smelled rather funky.
We started by cleaning up breakfast and then we inventoried all of the leftover sandwiches and made 300 more and then scooped peanut butter and jelly into bins. After that we set out to make the tuna salad. We opened can after can of tuna and then donned our gloves and started mixing. After that, as you can imagine, we smelled rather funky.
It was interesting to walk the halls of this building after we were done lunch duty. Each group of visitors has left a message on the walls. Some are very powerful and gave me goosebumps. I took photos of several of the ones that moved me.
After serving lunch, we had the opportunity for a little down time since the tornado warnings and torrential downpours made for a shorter work day. A few of the girls wanted to get all "purdied up" for the concert so I gave a couple of them a make up treatment.
Shauna looked as though she had undergone Extreme Makeover. When we were done with her, she had make up, nice hair and a great little outfit. Shauna says she's not one to fuss over her appearance, so this was a major transformation from her usual tight bun and no make up. Check her out.
As for the concert, it was located in the arena right beside the dome where all the New Orleans "refuges" were placed during the hurricane. The "nosebleed" seats made it a bit difficult to hear. Pink gave a great show but by the time Justin Timberlake came on, I was on the bored side. Sorry, I'm just not a fan. I actually fell asleep! I know, I know, how can you fall asleep at a concert? As did someone else in my group who is also over 40 and shall remain nameless (see photo above and look on the left hand side. I'll write about today's adventures above this one.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
"We're all in this together..."
We did indeed get rained out today- we got the stringers cut for our second set of stairs, just in time for the Weather Network to toss us a tornado warning, which convinced the Habitat crew to pack it in for the day.
Everyone's running around getting ready for the Justin Timberlake concert. While we've dressed so reservedly for the past week, suddenly the mascara and hair products come out. It's somewhat ridiculous, considering we're sitting in the nosebleed seats, but it's good to see everyone so excited- it may just be what we need to pump us up for the last day of work tomorrow.
I love the sense of togetherness that has evolved over the course of this trip, and the way we have all fused together. You can see it in the way everyone lends things to each other while they're getting ready for this concert, but also in the way we converse, have singalongs in the showers, and encourage each other while we work. While a lot of what we've seen and experienced this week has been rough, I think that having such a supportive team behind us has been instrumental in getting through it, and has greatly improved our morale at the work site. So I guess this post is really just a thank you to our teach, for sticking together through thick and thin and being great people to work with.
Tomorrow- the last day of work, the Bourbon Street encore, and Cafe du Monde. Also, the President is in town, apparently. Though frankly, if he were to be involved in our next celebrity sighting, I'm not sure that any of us would have any kind words to share...
Everyone's running around getting ready for the Justin Timberlake concert. While we've dressed so reservedly for the past week, suddenly the mascara and hair products come out. It's somewhat ridiculous, considering we're sitting in the nosebleed seats, but it's good to see everyone so excited- it may just be what we need to pump us up for the last day of work tomorrow.
I love the sense of togetherness that has evolved over the course of this trip, and the way we have all fused together. You can see it in the way everyone lends things to each other while they're getting ready for this concert, but also in the way we converse, have singalongs in the showers, and encourage each other while we work. While a lot of what we've seen and experienced this week has been rough, I think that having such a supportive team behind us has been instrumental in getting through it, and has greatly improved our morale at the work site. So I guess this post is really just a thank you to our teach, for sticking together through thick and thin and being great people to work with.
Tomorrow- the last day of work, the Bourbon Street encore, and Cafe du Monde. Also, the President is in town, apparently. Though frankly, if he were to be involved in our next celebrity sighting, I'm not sure that any of us would have any kind words to share...
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